A/N: Yes, the chapter title is from Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring, but
it fit so perfectly that I couldn't resist using it.
Chapter 7 **************************************************************************** **********
I saw him stiffen, and he sat still as an icicle for many moments. When he
eventually spoke, his voice was deeper and hoarser with suppressed emotion.
"I couldn't tell you. He hasn't died yet." I just lay there, trying to
comprehend what I'd just heard.
"But he did die, they found his finger." Sirius gave a bitter, bark- like
laugh.
"You can live without a finger. He cut it off himself, to fake his own
death." As I lay and listened, Sirius told me everything, all about how he had
been the Potter's secret keeper, but had persuaded them to switch to Peter at the
last minute. About how Peter had betrayed them, how he had arrived at the
Potter's house to find it in ruins. When he told about how he had been forced to
give Harry to Hagrid, his voice broke.
"He was the only part left of my best friend," he choked, steadfastly
staring into the fire. "Harry was the only thing that mattered to me any more,
and they took him from me and gave him to strangers. Now he doesn't even
know me, he thinks I'm a murderer, a traitor." he bit off the last two words like
a man swallowing poison. My eyes were riveted to his face, so full of torment,
and though I felt it would be polite to look away I couldn't. Sirius took a deep,
shuddering breath, then continued with obvious effort.
"After they took Harry, there was only one thing for me to do: get revenge
on the bastard that caused it all." His lips twisted in fury and disgust. "Peter
knew that's what I'd do, of course, so he was ready for me. And I, like an idiot,
ran headlong into his trap. I thought I had him cornered, but he pulled a stunt I
never would have believed him capable of dreaming up." In a monotone voice
Sirius told me how Peter, a rat animagus, had done three things simultaneously:
blew up a street full of muggles, cut off his right index finger, and transformed
into a rat to escape through the sewers.
"When the smoke and dust cleared and Peter was nowhere in sight, I
realized what he had done." He spoke quietly, almost detachedly. "After
betraying me, killing my best friends, and taking from me the only human I still
cared for, Peter pinned it all on me and disappeared in a way that would ensure
no one would ever look for him again. I think something must've snapped. I
remember standing there, knee-deep in muddy water, rubble, and blood,
laughing hysterically at the perverse humor of the universe. I, who had suffered
the most, was going to pay for the crimes of the rat who was currently scuttling
through sewers with only a lost finger to show for his transgressions." Sirius
sighed and shut his eyes in pain.
"I didn't even care when the dementors came for me. I was so miserable
already that they didn't affect me at all. As you know, I spent the next 13 years in
Azkaban. There isn't much to tell there, just weeks upon weeks of endless
boredom and despair. Then one day I saw the picture in the Daily Prophet, with
Peter sitting on the shoulder of a Hogwarts student. I knew immediately that
Harry was in danger. I bent all my strength on escaping, and eventually one
night I slipped past the guards in dog form and ran down to the ocean. I plunged
into the water and began swimming to the mainland. The water was so cold."
he shivered and clasped his hands together, as if trying to protect himself from
the remembered chill.
"I was so exhausted when I finally reached the shore that I collapsed on
the wet stones and lay there for hours. Honestly, I don't know why I didn't die of
hypothermia; by all rights I probably should have. But by some miracle I did
wake up the next morning, a man again. I knew I had to keep going, to reach
Harry before Peter could act, so I hauled myself up and staggered off towards
Hogwarts. The dementors were close on my tail, and several times I barely
managed to evade them with my soul intact. After weeks on the run, sleeping in
ditches and eating from rubbish bins, I finally got here on Halloween night. I
made straight for the castle in dog form, determined to get rid of Peter once and
for all. While all the students were in the Great Hall for the feast I snuck up to the
Gryffindor common room. But the Fat Lady wouldn't let me in without the
password and I lost my temper. To come so far only to be thwarted by a stupid
painting-" He growled, clenching his fists.
"So I couldn't get Peter after all. I was getting desperate, and I probably
would have done something stupid and drastic if I hadn't met the cat. One of the
Gryffindor girls had bought him that year and brought him to school with her. I
managed to communicate to the cat that he needed to catch the rat the lived in
the boys' dormitory. It was actually quite easy, since Crookshanks already had
taken a dislike to Peter. So that's where I am now," he concluded, sitting back
from the fire. " I can't do anything until I can get into that dorm, and the
dementors are still shadowing my every move. I'm still very worried about
Harry, but there's nothing more I can do at the moment. I can only wait."
A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews! *hugs everyone* And thanks for the feedback on the summary. I don't think I'm going to change it again, at least for now. But my plot bunnies have deserted me! I'm having major writer's block, and I don't know what to do with my story after this chapter. If you have any suggestions that will get my creative juices flowing, I'd be very grateful. ^_^
Chapter 7 **************************************************************************** **********
I saw him stiffen, and he sat still as an icicle for many moments. When he
eventually spoke, his voice was deeper and hoarser with suppressed emotion.
"I couldn't tell you. He hasn't died yet." I just lay there, trying to
comprehend what I'd just heard.
"But he did die, they found his finger." Sirius gave a bitter, bark- like
laugh.
"You can live without a finger. He cut it off himself, to fake his own
death." As I lay and listened, Sirius told me everything, all about how he had
been the Potter's secret keeper, but had persuaded them to switch to Peter at the
last minute. About how Peter had betrayed them, how he had arrived at the
Potter's house to find it in ruins. When he told about how he had been forced to
give Harry to Hagrid, his voice broke.
"He was the only part left of my best friend," he choked, steadfastly
staring into the fire. "Harry was the only thing that mattered to me any more,
and they took him from me and gave him to strangers. Now he doesn't even
know me, he thinks I'm a murderer, a traitor." he bit off the last two words like
a man swallowing poison. My eyes were riveted to his face, so full of torment,
and though I felt it would be polite to look away I couldn't. Sirius took a deep,
shuddering breath, then continued with obvious effort.
"After they took Harry, there was only one thing for me to do: get revenge
on the bastard that caused it all." His lips twisted in fury and disgust. "Peter
knew that's what I'd do, of course, so he was ready for me. And I, like an idiot,
ran headlong into his trap. I thought I had him cornered, but he pulled a stunt I
never would have believed him capable of dreaming up." In a monotone voice
Sirius told me how Peter, a rat animagus, had done three things simultaneously:
blew up a street full of muggles, cut off his right index finger, and transformed
into a rat to escape through the sewers.
"When the smoke and dust cleared and Peter was nowhere in sight, I
realized what he had done." He spoke quietly, almost detachedly. "After
betraying me, killing my best friends, and taking from me the only human I still
cared for, Peter pinned it all on me and disappeared in a way that would ensure
no one would ever look for him again. I think something must've snapped. I
remember standing there, knee-deep in muddy water, rubble, and blood,
laughing hysterically at the perverse humor of the universe. I, who had suffered
the most, was going to pay for the crimes of the rat who was currently scuttling
through sewers with only a lost finger to show for his transgressions." Sirius
sighed and shut his eyes in pain.
"I didn't even care when the dementors came for me. I was so miserable
already that they didn't affect me at all. As you know, I spent the next 13 years in
Azkaban. There isn't much to tell there, just weeks upon weeks of endless
boredom and despair. Then one day I saw the picture in the Daily Prophet, with
Peter sitting on the shoulder of a Hogwarts student. I knew immediately that
Harry was in danger. I bent all my strength on escaping, and eventually one
night I slipped past the guards in dog form and ran down to the ocean. I plunged
into the water and began swimming to the mainland. The water was so cold."
he shivered and clasped his hands together, as if trying to protect himself from
the remembered chill.
"I was so exhausted when I finally reached the shore that I collapsed on
the wet stones and lay there for hours. Honestly, I don't know why I didn't die of
hypothermia; by all rights I probably should have. But by some miracle I did
wake up the next morning, a man again. I knew I had to keep going, to reach
Harry before Peter could act, so I hauled myself up and staggered off towards
Hogwarts. The dementors were close on my tail, and several times I barely
managed to evade them with my soul intact. After weeks on the run, sleeping in
ditches and eating from rubbish bins, I finally got here on Halloween night. I
made straight for the castle in dog form, determined to get rid of Peter once and
for all. While all the students were in the Great Hall for the feast I snuck up to the
Gryffindor common room. But the Fat Lady wouldn't let me in without the
password and I lost my temper. To come so far only to be thwarted by a stupid
painting-" He growled, clenching his fists.
"So I couldn't get Peter after all. I was getting desperate, and I probably
would have done something stupid and drastic if I hadn't met the cat. One of the
Gryffindor girls had bought him that year and brought him to school with her. I
managed to communicate to the cat that he needed to catch the rat the lived in
the boys' dormitory. It was actually quite easy, since Crookshanks already had
taken a dislike to Peter. So that's where I am now," he concluded, sitting back
from the fire. " I can't do anything until I can get into that dorm, and the
dementors are still shadowing my every move. I'm still very worried about
Harry, but there's nothing more I can do at the moment. I can only wait."
A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews! *hugs everyone* And thanks for the feedback on the summary. I don't think I'm going to change it again, at least for now. But my plot bunnies have deserted me! I'm having major writer's block, and I don't know what to do with my story after this chapter. If you have any suggestions that will get my creative juices flowing, I'd be very grateful. ^_^