Same Disclaimer, etc, applies here.
Please remember, this is *AU* so the characters are going to be OOC, and a lot of things are going to be changed. That's the fun of writing AU fics though. :)
As always, thanks to Kar for beta'ing. :)
Chapter Two
James paced in front of Peter, who was bound to a chair. The small, bare roomed seemed as if it was closing in on the smaller man, and he looked terrified now that he didn't have a wand. Sirius and Remus hovered in the background, sending shadowed glares toward Peter.
"Why?" The simple question broke the long, tense silence. The tone of James' voice told Peter that any chance of sympathy he might once have gotten was now gone.
"Why, Peter?" The voice called again.
'Why indeed,' Sirius thought. 'Why give up almost a lifetime of friendship? Why betray the people who cared about you? Why try to kill us?' Shifting slightly, Padfoot saw the same questions reflected on Moony's face.
The arrest earlier had been simple. Six aurors had apparated to the house and taken Peter, with strict orders from James to hold the death eater until he got there. James had comforted Lily and Harry, who had been most upset from his Godfather's screaming, while Remus helped Sirius shake off the effects of the Cruciatus Curse. Once everyone had calmed considerably, James left Lily and Harry in the care of three aurors, while he, Sirius, and Remus went to question Peter.
"What James, did you really think I'd be your tag-along forever?" Peter finally said quietly.
"Tag-along?! Peter we were friends! Brothers! Hell, we would have died for you! That obviously means nothing to you now that you take orders from your 'master'. Tell me Peter, where is he now, when you need help? Would your master die for you?" James snarled, slamming his hands down on the table in the center of the room.
Peter jumped slightly, losing any color that was left in his face. His hands shook and small tears prickled at the edge of his eyes.
James continued, oblivious to Peter's reactions.
"All of that is gone now. You not only broke the law, but you betrayed us, tried to kill my family, and threatened to kill my son. I will never forgive you, and you can rot in hell.
But as an auror, it's my job and responsibility," He said this with a grimace, "to tell you that if you supply us with the names of other death eaters, your sentence will possibly be lightened." The look in James' eyes said he'd rather not have that happen.
Remus silently agreed. Peter deserved whatever he got and more. The wolf within him wanted to burst forth and slowly kill Peter, but Remus held it at bay.
"I don't know of any other death eaters." Said Peter, his eyes downcast.
"Well then, enjoy your stay at Azkaban. Oh, and don't think of changing, the guards have been informed of your animagus abilities." James walked to the door, holding it open as Sirius and Remus exited. Turning, he said,
"Goodbye Peter."
Peter suddenly broke, trying to lunge at the door. The chains binding him to the chair glowed and heated the more he moved, but Peter paid no attention to them.
"James, wait! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Padfoot, Moony, don't let them take me to Azkaban! It'll kill me! I'm sorry! Please!"
James' eyes softened as he remembered the small boy that he had befriended on the Hogwarts Express. He caught a glimpse of the dark mark on Peter's arm, and stiffened again.
"You should have thought about that before you turned."
The door closed with a small click, leaving Peter all alone, whimpering on the arm of the chair.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The trial was short. Peter was set before the council, chained to a chair, while two dementors waited in the shadows of the doorway. James, Sirius, and Remus gave their accounts of the attack. When the Cruciatus Curse was mentioned, a murmur of anger swept through the judges. Afterwards, Peter was asked if he knew of any other death eaters. The response was the same and Peter was sentenced to life in Azkaban.
Two dementors swept in the room, and after Peter was put under the anti-animagus charm, they drug him out. His screams had died down to whimpers and sniffles, but no one in the room felt the least bit sorry for him. He did, after all, join Voldemort under his own free will.
The remaining Marauders left with solemn faces, each reminiscing of what once had been. The thought that maybe if they had been a little nicer, a little more supportive, Peter wouldn't have joined the dark side. But what had happened couldn't be changed, and each knew that their lives would be forever altered by this.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
James stopped Sirius and Remus in the hall, waiting until everyone was out of earshot. Sirius sent his friend a puzzled look, watching as James scrubbed a hand over his face.
After a few moments pause, James finally said, "Lily and I have been thinking."
Sirius and Remus waited as James collected his thoughts, trying to express what he wanted to say.
"We want you to come live with us." Seeing the incredulous looks on their faces, James hurried onwards to say, "I mean, the house is big enough. Harry loves both of you. And...we'd love to have you stay with us."
"James, think about this. I'm a werewolf. You don't want me-"
"Now that's where you're wrong." James fixed Remus with a steely gaze. "I do want you around Harry. I want you to be a part of his life. The wolfsbane potion keeps you perfectly harmless."
"But-"
"No buts. And besides...we have strength in numbers. Voldemort's supporters are growing. It would be better for us if we were close, rather than spread out across the world."
Sirius sighed slightly, before grinning and nudging Remus in the stomach. A few moments passed and Remus reluctantly nodded.
"When do we move in?"
James smiled. "Tonight, if you want. Lily is going to enlist the help of a friend, they're cooking a massive feast."
"Sounds like a plan." Sirius said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
-A Few Months Later-
Two year old Harry crawled into Remus' room, unaware that the night was a full moon. Even though the Wolfsbane Potion allowed Moony to keep his mind, he still didn't want Harry to see him in his animal form. Unfortunately, Harry wanted to see his Uncle Remus.
The child made his way across the floor, trying to spot the missing man. The man, or wolf, was currently asleep in the corner. A loud dog-like snore alerted Harry to the wolf's presence. Crawling over, Harry plopped himself down in front of the wolf's muzzle.
Slowly sticking a finger outwards, Harry poked the wolf's nose. The nose twitched slightly, and an ear flicked back. Grinning, Harry took both of his little hands and grabbed Remus' whiskers, giving them a fierce tug.
The wolf jumped up and yelped before rubbing his nose with his paw, turning to glare at Harry. Said child was too busy howling with laughter to notice.
Remus looked at the door, wondering how Harry had gotten in. Then again, he was the child of James Potter, so Remus wasn't really surprised.
Harry stopped laughing and slowly, to Remus' astonishment, stood up on shaky legs. He stepped forward before falling and Remus quickly ducked his head under the child to stop Harry from landing on the floor.
Harry situated himself so that he was lying across Moony's eyes, and tugged on the wolf's ears. Remus huffed, tilting his head forwards so that Harry slowly slid off and onto the floor.
Grabbing the back of Harry's trousers with his teeth, Remus trotted downstairs and into the living room.
James looked up from his newspaper as something was set down on his feet. He raised an eyebrow as Moony did his best to glare at him, which was next to impossible as he was also trying to extract his tail from Harry's hands.
"Need something Moony?" James grinned.
With a small growl, Remus nudged Harry towards his father. The boy was too preoccupied with tickling the soft fur on Remus' stomach though.
"Might as well get used to it Moony. Besides, there's no harm in Harry seeing you as a wolf. He was going to find out anyway." James folded his paper and set it down next to him.
Remus snuffed to show exactly what he thought of the situation.
"I think Harry has a new pet." Lily said smiling as she stepped into the room.
Remus tried sending a questioning look to Lily, who picked up on his mood.
"No, I don't mind you being around Harry in animal form. Shame on you Remus Lupin! You should know by now that you're part of the family."
Moony ducked his head slightly and suddenly yelped as Harry tried pulling a brush through the thick fur on his tail. Lily giggled as Harry tried to catch the wagging body part, determined to give it a good brushing.
Remus leapt across the room, sitting down on the opposite side of the carpet. Harry looked as if he were about to cry before biting his lip and balling his tiny fists up. Getting to his knees, Harry stood slowly, arms spread out to help keep his balance. Lily gasped and put a hand to her mouth; James leaned forward, jaw hanging slack.
"James! He's walking!" Lily said excitedly.
Indeed Harry was walking. He was halfway across the room and to Remus when Sirius apparated behind the couch.
"James, I need your - Bloody hell! Harry's walking!" Sirius whooped.
Harry took a few more steps before wobbling unsteadily and falling onto his bottom. Getting back on his hands and knees, he crawled the rest of the way to Remus, who had a real wolfish grin on his furry face.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
An hour later found Harry still brushing down Moony. Moony had given up trying to escape the horrid torture device and now sat enduring the child's brushing.
A few pink bows were tied throughout his fur, and a bright yellow bonnet sat atop his ears. Remus felt that if Sirius didn't quit supplying bows to Harry, the child's godfather would be mysteriously missing in the morning.
Speaking of, Remus looked around for Padfoot. The man was nowhere to be seen, which was very suspicious as Remus had just watched him encourage Harry to tie another bow on his paw.
Harry was obviously thinking the same thing, and the small child looked around with a frown on his young face.
Suddenly, with a great clatter, Sirius leapt over the couch in dog form and tackled Remus.
"SIRIUS! Warn someone next time!" James glared, performing a small charm to get the tea from his shirt.
Sirius paid no attention to James as he was currently biting Remus' ear, much to Harry's amusement.
The two dogs wrastled across the living room playfully as Harry squealed for joy. When the toddler finally yawned widely, Lily called a halt to the rough housing.
"Now now boys, it's bedtime for Harry."
Sirius changed back and swept Harry up into his arms.
"Don't worry Lily, I got'em." He winked and rushed up the stairs, Remus hot on his heels.
Lily shook her head and plopped onto the couch next to her husband.
"What are we going to do with them?"
James smirked. "We could let them baby sit Harry this weekend and you and I go off to that nice little island across from the Bahamas."
Lily giggled, and kissed James. "Tempting but I don't think I want to have to hire a baby sitter for Sirius and Remus."
James snickered. "Too right you are, m'dear."
*WHEW* Finally got that done. This chapter probably doesn't sound quite right. It was rushed and I'm now in a hurry to get this fic done. Egh....
Reviews are still welcome! :D
Reviews -
Lizlego - Thank you, and...well I hope this was soon enough. ;)
elmo44449999 - Trust me, they're not going to forget that they're friends. ;) If all goes right, there will be some serious h/c later. :) And no, you don't sound too critical. Reviews like this help me keep my focus. ;)
munch - Thanks, glad you like it. Hope you like chapter 2 as well!
Mystik Surreality - LOL, blame the idea on the rabid Uruk-Hoppities. (New breed of plot bunnies.) Those things are *evil* I tell you!
padfoot black - Eh heh, I wouldn't say "brilliant". Sucks IMO. *ducks from Kar* Am glad you think so though! :)
lelegurl9 - Thanks. I do rather like stories with Lily and James. It opens a whole new world of possibilities of how Harry grew up. :D
Lisande - Happy to know you like the beginning, although, all of it's rather short. Oh well. :)
Red Queen4 - A...brother and sister? Oh dear god. *throttles you* *stops suddenly* Oh crap, can't throttle a reader. *settles for glaring at you* You have released a |TON| of plot bunnies on me, I'll have you know. =P LOL. All will be answered in later chapters though. :)
o0o- Sirius -o0o - Thanks, this one's for you! :D
Jen - Hannon le mellon nîn! (Thank you my friend, in Sindarin)
Halo - LOL Halo! Love the review. :) *whacks you* I don't need that many plot bunnies!!! *throttles you with ISBOD* (Hah! I have a weapon now! ;) )
*collapses* Anyway, thanks for the reviews. :D
Please remember, this is *AU* so the characters are going to be OOC, and a lot of things are going to be changed. That's the fun of writing AU fics though. :)
As always, thanks to Kar for beta'ing. :)
Chapter Two
James paced in front of Peter, who was bound to a chair. The small, bare roomed seemed as if it was closing in on the smaller man, and he looked terrified now that he didn't have a wand. Sirius and Remus hovered in the background, sending shadowed glares toward Peter.
"Why?" The simple question broke the long, tense silence. The tone of James' voice told Peter that any chance of sympathy he might once have gotten was now gone.
"Why, Peter?" The voice called again.
'Why indeed,' Sirius thought. 'Why give up almost a lifetime of friendship? Why betray the people who cared about you? Why try to kill us?' Shifting slightly, Padfoot saw the same questions reflected on Moony's face.
The arrest earlier had been simple. Six aurors had apparated to the house and taken Peter, with strict orders from James to hold the death eater until he got there. James had comforted Lily and Harry, who had been most upset from his Godfather's screaming, while Remus helped Sirius shake off the effects of the Cruciatus Curse. Once everyone had calmed considerably, James left Lily and Harry in the care of three aurors, while he, Sirius, and Remus went to question Peter.
"What James, did you really think I'd be your tag-along forever?" Peter finally said quietly.
"Tag-along?! Peter we were friends! Brothers! Hell, we would have died for you! That obviously means nothing to you now that you take orders from your 'master'. Tell me Peter, where is he now, when you need help? Would your master die for you?" James snarled, slamming his hands down on the table in the center of the room.
Peter jumped slightly, losing any color that was left in his face. His hands shook and small tears prickled at the edge of his eyes.
James continued, oblivious to Peter's reactions.
"All of that is gone now. You not only broke the law, but you betrayed us, tried to kill my family, and threatened to kill my son. I will never forgive you, and you can rot in hell.
But as an auror, it's my job and responsibility," He said this with a grimace, "to tell you that if you supply us with the names of other death eaters, your sentence will possibly be lightened." The look in James' eyes said he'd rather not have that happen.
Remus silently agreed. Peter deserved whatever he got and more. The wolf within him wanted to burst forth and slowly kill Peter, but Remus held it at bay.
"I don't know of any other death eaters." Said Peter, his eyes downcast.
"Well then, enjoy your stay at Azkaban. Oh, and don't think of changing, the guards have been informed of your animagus abilities." James walked to the door, holding it open as Sirius and Remus exited. Turning, he said,
"Goodbye Peter."
Peter suddenly broke, trying to lunge at the door. The chains binding him to the chair glowed and heated the more he moved, but Peter paid no attention to them.
"James, wait! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Padfoot, Moony, don't let them take me to Azkaban! It'll kill me! I'm sorry! Please!"
James' eyes softened as he remembered the small boy that he had befriended on the Hogwarts Express. He caught a glimpse of the dark mark on Peter's arm, and stiffened again.
"You should have thought about that before you turned."
The door closed with a small click, leaving Peter all alone, whimpering on the arm of the chair.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The trial was short. Peter was set before the council, chained to a chair, while two dementors waited in the shadows of the doorway. James, Sirius, and Remus gave their accounts of the attack. When the Cruciatus Curse was mentioned, a murmur of anger swept through the judges. Afterwards, Peter was asked if he knew of any other death eaters. The response was the same and Peter was sentenced to life in Azkaban.
Two dementors swept in the room, and after Peter was put under the anti-animagus charm, they drug him out. His screams had died down to whimpers and sniffles, but no one in the room felt the least bit sorry for him. He did, after all, join Voldemort under his own free will.
The remaining Marauders left with solemn faces, each reminiscing of what once had been. The thought that maybe if they had been a little nicer, a little more supportive, Peter wouldn't have joined the dark side. But what had happened couldn't be changed, and each knew that their lives would be forever altered by this.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
James stopped Sirius and Remus in the hall, waiting until everyone was out of earshot. Sirius sent his friend a puzzled look, watching as James scrubbed a hand over his face.
After a few moments pause, James finally said, "Lily and I have been thinking."
Sirius and Remus waited as James collected his thoughts, trying to express what he wanted to say.
"We want you to come live with us." Seeing the incredulous looks on their faces, James hurried onwards to say, "I mean, the house is big enough. Harry loves both of you. And...we'd love to have you stay with us."
"James, think about this. I'm a werewolf. You don't want me-"
"Now that's where you're wrong." James fixed Remus with a steely gaze. "I do want you around Harry. I want you to be a part of his life. The wolfsbane potion keeps you perfectly harmless."
"But-"
"No buts. And besides...we have strength in numbers. Voldemort's supporters are growing. It would be better for us if we were close, rather than spread out across the world."
Sirius sighed slightly, before grinning and nudging Remus in the stomach. A few moments passed and Remus reluctantly nodded.
"When do we move in?"
James smiled. "Tonight, if you want. Lily is going to enlist the help of a friend, they're cooking a massive feast."
"Sounds like a plan." Sirius said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
-A Few Months Later-
Two year old Harry crawled into Remus' room, unaware that the night was a full moon. Even though the Wolfsbane Potion allowed Moony to keep his mind, he still didn't want Harry to see him in his animal form. Unfortunately, Harry wanted to see his Uncle Remus.
The child made his way across the floor, trying to spot the missing man. The man, or wolf, was currently asleep in the corner. A loud dog-like snore alerted Harry to the wolf's presence. Crawling over, Harry plopped himself down in front of the wolf's muzzle.
Slowly sticking a finger outwards, Harry poked the wolf's nose. The nose twitched slightly, and an ear flicked back. Grinning, Harry took both of his little hands and grabbed Remus' whiskers, giving them a fierce tug.
The wolf jumped up and yelped before rubbing his nose with his paw, turning to glare at Harry. Said child was too busy howling with laughter to notice.
Remus looked at the door, wondering how Harry had gotten in. Then again, he was the child of James Potter, so Remus wasn't really surprised.
Harry stopped laughing and slowly, to Remus' astonishment, stood up on shaky legs. He stepped forward before falling and Remus quickly ducked his head under the child to stop Harry from landing on the floor.
Harry situated himself so that he was lying across Moony's eyes, and tugged on the wolf's ears. Remus huffed, tilting his head forwards so that Harry slowly slid off and onto the floor.
Grabbing the back of Harry's trousers with his teeth, Remus trotted downstairs and into the living room.
James looked up from his newspaper as something was set down on his feet. He raised an eyebrow as Moony did his best to glare at him, which was next to impossible as he was also trying to extract his tail from Harry's hands.
"Need something Moony?" James grinned.
With a small growl, Remus nudged Harry towards his father. The boy was too preoccupied with tickling the soft fur on Remus' stomach though.
"Might as well get used to it Moony. Besides, there's no harm in Harry seeing you as a wolf. He was going to find out anyway." James folded his paper and set it down next to him.
Remus snuffed to show exactly what he thought of the situation.
"I think Harry has a new pet." Lily said smiling as she stepped into the room.
Remus tried sending a questioning look to Lily, who picked up on his mood.
"No, I don't mind you being around Harry in animal form. Shame on you Remus Lupin! You should know by now that you're part of the family."
Moony ducked his head slightly and suddenly yelped as Harry tried pulling a brush through the thick fur on his tail. Lily giggled as Harry tried to catch the wagging body part, determined to give it a good brushing.
Remus leapt across the room, sitting down on the opposite side of the carpet. Harry looked as if he were about to cry before biting his lip and balling his tiny fists up. Getting to his knees, Harry stood slowly, arms spread out to help keep his balance. Lily gasped and put a hand to her mouth; James leaned forward, jaw hanging slack.
"James! He's walking!" Lily said excitedly.
Indeed Harry was walking. He was halfway across the room and to Remus when Sirius apparated behind the couch.
"James, I need your - Bloody hell! Harry's walking!" Sirius whooped.
Harry took a few more steps before wobbling unsteadily and falling onto his bottom. Getting back on his hands and knees, he crawled the rest of the way to Remus, who had a real wolfish grin on his furry face.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
An hour later found Harry still brushing down Moony. Moony had given up trying to escape the horrid torture device and now sat enduring the child's brushing.
A few pink bows were tied throughout his fur, and a bright yellow bonnet sat atop his ears. Remus felt that if Sirius didn't quit supplying bows to Harry, the child's godfather would be mysteriously missing in the morning.
Speaking of, Remus looked around for Padfoot. The man was nowhere to be seen, which was very suspicious as Remus had just watched him encourage Harry to tie another bow on his paw.
Harry was obviously thinking the same thing, and the small child looked around with a frown on his young face.
Suddenly, with a great clatter, Sirius leapt over the couch in dog form and tackled Remus.
"SIRIUS! Warn someone next time!" James glared, performing a small charm to get the tea from his shirt.
Sirius paid no attention to James as he was currently biting Remus' ear, much to Harry's amusement.
The two dogs wrastled across the living room playfully as Harry squealed for joy. When the toddler finally yawned widely, Lily called a halt to the rough housing.
"Now now boys, it's bedtime for Harry."
Sirius changed back and swept Harry up into his arms.
"Don't worry Lily, I got'em." He winked and rushed up the stairs, Remus hot on his heels.
Lily shook her head and plopped onto the couch next to her husband.
"What are we going to do with them?"
James smirked. "We could let them baby sit Harry this weekend and you and I go off to that nice little island across from the Bahamas."
Lily giggled, and kissed James. "Tempting but I don't think I want to have to hire a baby sitter for Sirius and Remus."
James snickered. "Too right you are, m'dear."
*WHEW* Finally got that done. This chapter probably doesn't sound quite right. It was rushed and I'm now in a hurry to get this fic done. Egh....
Reviews are still welcome! :D
Reviews -
Lizlego - Thank you, and...well I hope this was soon enough. ;)
elmo44449999 - Trust me, they're not going to forget that they're friends. ;) If all goes right, there will be some serious h/c later. :) And no, you don't sound too critical. Reviews like this help me keep my focus. ;)
munch - Thanks, glad you like it. Hope you like chapter 2 as well!
Mystik Surreality - LOL, blame the idea on the rabid Uruk-Hoppities. (New breed of plot bunnies.) Those things are *evil* I tell you!
padfoot black - Eh heh, I wouldn't say "brilliant". Sucks IMO. *ducks from Kar* Am glad you think so though! :)
lelegurl9 - Thanks. I do rather like stories with Lily and James. It opens a whole new world of possibilities of how Harry grew up. :D
Lisande - Happy to know you like the beginning, although, all of it's rather short. Oh well. :)
Red Queen4 - A...brother and sister? Oh dear god. *throttles you* *stops suddenly* Oh crap, can't throttle a reader. *settles for glaring at you* You have released a |TON| of plot bunnies on me, I'll have you know. =P LOL. All will be answered in later chapters though. :)
o0o- Sirius -o0o - Thanks, this one's for you! :D
Jen - Hannon le mellon nîn! (Thank you my friend, in Sindarin)
Halo - LOL Halo! Love the review. :) *whacks you* I don't need that many plot bunnies!!! *throttles you with ISBOD* (Hah! I have a weapon now! ;) )
*collapses* Anyway, thanks for the reviews. :D
