I think ff.net is being temperamental, and not sending alerts out. Or maybe
the reviews aren't getting sent. Or MAYBE NOBODY LIKES ME! *cries her poor
little eyes out*
Well, that was odd, wasn't it?
~~
Peter waited for the blow, which never came. No yelling, no threats, no torture, no murder, no curses. Nothing. Voldemort's eyes merely deepened with fierce gravity.
His silence held more rage than a thousand screams could possibly wield.
Peter stayed rooted to the spot, fearful and unable to tear his eyes from his master's demanding gaze.
So suddenly, it made Peter flinch, he heard the Dark Lord speak, though his lips weren't moving.
"You understand what I can do to you, don't you, Wormtail?" came the cold sound in his mind.
Peter didn't defend himself. He no longer needed his Occlumency – not in front of Voldemort, at least. He no longer had anything to hide or be ashamed of. His countenance was stained with murder and torture, and it pleased his master. He was finished with defending the weak and the righteous, so he willingly surrendered his mind.
He didn't answer. Voldemort got the answer himself, plunging into his servants thoughts. Spoken words weren't enough – not anymore.
"Then don't come back to me until they are dead."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Dumbledore called us here?" Peter glanced around Sirius. There was no one behind him. He'd come as soon as he'd gotten the note. He'd been sure they'd be talking about the Potters.
"Nope," Sirius said shortly, rocking back on his heels. "Just me."
"Listen," Peter said suddenly – his voice stronger. It was different, Sirius could tell, but he only assumed it was the stress of the recent events wearing down on his friend. "D'you think I could – I dunno – see James, or something? I mean, I'm worried, you know?"
Sirius smiled. "Oh, have I got the job for you."
Peter felt a small jolt in his mind. The trusting and unwavering confidence in Sirius's eyes was beginning to prove to Peter that his plans were effective, and his acting hadn't been all that bad.
"Yeah?"
"I need you to do me a favor."
"Anything." Peter's heart jumped to a staggeringly fast pace.
"Take place for me as secret keeper, would you?"
He felt a thrill of success. He opened his mouth for his involuntary answer, but stopped himself. This wasn't done yet.
"What for?" he asked inquisitively.
"Well, you see, I'd be the obvious choice, so they'd catch me too quickly. But you... they'd never expect you."
Peter nodded his head in appeasing haste. "Of course."
Sirius sighed, feeling as if the weight of this burden had been lifted from his shoulders. James was safer than ever before.
"Okay," he breathed. "It's 97 Godric's Hollow. Remember that."
Peter glanced skywards. "97 Godric's Hollow."
"Got that?"
"Got it."
"See them tomorrow for the spell. Lily'll know what to do."
"Alright." Peter feigned a look of nervous apprehension.
"And you'll probably have to find a place to hide, yourself. Just tell your mother your moving out – she'll probably be too happy to care."
"Okay."
Sirius let his face fall. "And one more thing, Peter."
Peter scratched his head, nodding for Sirius to continue. What more could he possibly ask of him now?
"Don't tell anyone, *anyone*, about this." Sirius's eyes darkened – not threateningly, but with intense warning. He, of course, meant Remus, but to Peter it held an entirely different meaning.
He smirked inwardly. "Not a soul."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Remus? Is that you?"
As an answer, Remus stepped into the room wearily. He immediately noticed how her robes stretched over to fit her stomach, which was increasingly growing more and more round. They didn't make such a big deal as they had with Jamie, especially with all the bigger things going on around them.
But in so many ways it was a bigger thing to Remus. This was his child. Jamie was more than he could ever ask for. . . but deep inside he couldn't help but remember that he simply wasn't her father.
"I'm here," he said.
She stood when he refused to sit down. "What's the decision? Are you – "
"It's Sirius. They chose Sirius." She wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she'd heard bitterness in his voice.
"That's good – when you think about it. I don't know what Jamie would do if I told her that her father couldn't talk to us or go anywhere."
He shrugged. "Where is she?"
Rebecca smiled. "Playing. Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on her."
"Are you sure she isn't – "
"Don't try changing the subjects on me," she cut him off knowingly. "There's something bothering you, I know it."
He shook his head. Rebecca narrowed her eyes at him. He nodded his head in confession. "It's Sirius," he burst. "That idiot – he thinks I'm the spy."
"Are you?" she asked him calmly.
"No," he said awkwardly.
"Then why should it bother you?"
He stopped, caught off guard.
He shook his head. "I dunno," he mumbled.
"He knows you, Remus. He knows he's wrong."
"It's that damn wolf," he spat. His eyes filled with pain and hatred for himself – so much, it shocked Rebecca out of her calm assurance.
"It's not you," she began uneasily.
"Of course it isn't. But does he see that?"
"Of course he does, Remus."
"No," he corrected her. "He used to."
"He still does," she persisted. "He's just confused, that's all."
"I'd be confused too if I had to control a wild animal that tried to kill me every month, only to be apologized to the next day."
"Stop doing this to yourself," Rebecca pleaded.
"I never meant to hurt him," he continued, ignoring her. "I never meant to hurt anyone."
"Of course not," she answered soothingly. "You wouldn't do that."
"I'd never hurt anyone."
"You're right," Rebecca said firmly, turning his head to face her, tracing a deep scar on his cheek with her finger. "Only yourself."
He surrendered his bitter complaint.
"Now you stop it," she said sternly. She had to admit, she was a bit disturbed by it. She'd never seen him act anything short of calm and composed. She'd always had him to comfort her – but now it was her time to return the favor.
"You have a family now. Just calm down and we'll wait this out."
"Can you See anything?" he asked her quietly. His hope was all but gone, she could tell.
"No."
"You could before," he offered.
She took a reflective pause. He was right. Her Sight had gotten stronger and stronger, until finally it collapsed. She could still do the trivial things of the present – watch Jamie in the other room, feel other's emotions – but the future was all but lost to her.
"I could. I still can, I'm sure. . ." She stopped. How much time did she have left anyway? ". . .just not now."
"Why'd it stop?" he asked, a little troubled.
"I don't know," she said – more to herself than to him. "I could See things I couldn't See before. It got to the point where I couldn't control them. They came without my bidding."
"You told me it felt like you were counting down to something."
"Yeah," she said distantly.
"And you think it's come?"
She bit her lip – hard. Certainly she'd stopped Seeing because her life was nearing its end. But something else was coming. That's what she'd been feeling all along. But now that her gift was all but gone, she found she had no warning with which to stop it.
It was inevitable.
"Yes, it's come."
~~~~~~~~~~
CRACK.
"That's Sirius," James said in relief. He got up from the tattered couch, anxious to get this over with.
"In here, James," Lily said. She was already there.
"Let me explain."
James stopped dead. "Peter?" he said bewilderedly.
Lily smiled calmly. "Yes. He's going to be our secret keeper."
"Wh – why?" he stammered.
"Sirius was the obvious choice," Peter said.
"It was too dangerous," Lily finished.
James sighed in frustration. "Lily, there's a perfectly good reason I chose Sirius."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "And what's that?"
Harry ran into the room. "Seewus, See – " He stopped, and dropped his arms to his side when he saw Peter. He looked to his father for an explanation. "Where Seewus?"
Peter laughed nervously, and smiled at Harry warmly. He stepped forward and got to his knees so he was down on Harry's level. "Hey, you."
James glanced nervously at Peter, stepped forward, and whispered, "There's a reason I didn't choose Peter. Ever think of that?"
Lily's mouth dropped open. "He's been nothing but loyal to you, James. He's your friend, and he wants to help."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that."
"We need him," Lily said loudly. Peter turned around, and stood up, looking expectantly to James.
"Thanks, mate," he muttered, forcing a smile.
Lily nodded her head approvingly. "Let's do this," she said, bringing out her wand. "Ready?"
Peter smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~
Tired of tapping his fingers, James picked up his mirror from the table beside him.
"Sirius," he said.
Within seconds, that very face appeared. "What happened?" came the worried voice.
"Nothing catastrophic," James replied indifferently.
"James?" Sirius said. His eyes were searching. "I can't see you."
"Of course you can't," James said in bored tones. "I'm in hiding – only Peter could."
Sirius lowered his eyes. "So he did it, eh?"
"Yeah," came the angry reply. "Scared, were you?"
Sirius shook his head. "You know it was the better choice."
"It was my choice."
"It was Lily's, too," Sirius countered.
James rolled his eyes, though Sirius was unaware of the reaction. "Well then, we might as well include Harry's vote, and he wasn't too happy to see Peter, either."
"Have some faith in the guy, Prongs."
"I've tried," James said. "But I guess I don't have a choice now, do I?"
"No, you don't," Sirius said, grinning as he always did. "Now stop worrying. You're in hiding, you should be throwing a party or something. Remember the riots we used to make in the common room?"
James smiled, and Sirius seemed to have sensed it.
"Like that."
James shook his head – remotely grateful that he had Sirius as a friend. "Don't forget to let me know if anything important happens – like if Voldemort snuffs it, or something."
Sirius laughed. "As long as you let me know if you're dead."
"I'm not laughing, Padfoot."
"You're safe," Sirius said. "So stop complaining. Nothing will happen to you, do you hear me? Nothing."
"You sure about that?" James bore a skeptical smile.
But Sirius didn't smile. "I promise. As Harry's Godfather, Lily's friend, and your brother I won't let a thing happen to you. Not under my watch."
~~~~~~~~~~
AN: Ah, the irony. The one who's looking out for them the most is the one who's giving them away to the slimiest git that ever spoke in a British accent.
Reviews:
Prongs4: I think everything here's broken. Holy monkey buckets! 34 chapters? *looks around* Have I really written that much?
Miss Piratess: Ooh, hey suspense is good! Poor Snape, having to be all sentimental and compassionate because I said so and because he had subway for lunch. Thanks for the reviews, they make me happy. And happy's good. Oh, and I'll send Sirius a memo with everything you said. I don't think he'll take it well, though.
GollumGal: I hate Peter, too. And Snape. Though I like making fun of him, so he's good to have around.
Awkward: At least they died quickly... before they could have had the time to realize their mistake. Ha, that reminds me – in History we read about this guy named Vladmir and my teacher called him Voldemort. I think I was the only one who laughed.
Well, that was odd, wasn't it?
~~
Peter waited for the blow, which never came. No yelling, no threats, no torture, no murder, no curses. Nothing. Voldemort's eyes merely deepened with fierce gravity.
His silence held more rage than a thousand screams could possibly wield.
Peter stayed rooted to the spot, fearful and unable to tear his eyes from his master's demanding gaze.
So suddenly, it made Peter flinch, he heard the Dark Lord speak, though his lips weren't moving.
"You understand what I can do to you, don't you, Wormtail?" came the cold sound in his mind.
Peter didn't defend himself. He no longer needed his Occlumency – not in front of Voldemort, at least. He no longer had anything to hide or be ashamed of. His countenance was stained with murder and torture, and it pleased his master. He was finished with defending the weak and the righteous, so he willingly surrendered his mind.
He didn't answer. Voldemort got the answer himself, plunging into his servants thoughts. Spoken words weren't enough – not anymore.
"Then don't come back to me until they are dead."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Dumbledore called us here?" Peter glanced around Sirius. There was no one behind him. He'd come as soon as he'd gotten the note. He'd been sure they'd be talking about the Potters.
"Nope," Sirius said shortly, rocking back on his heels. "Just me."
"Listen," Peter said suddenly – his voice stronger. It was different, Sirius could tell, but he only assumed it was the stress of the recent events wearing down on his friend. "D'you think I could – I dunno – see James, or something? I mean, I'm worried, you know?"
Sirius smiled. "Oh, have I got the job for you."
Peter felt a small jolt in his mind. The trusting and unwavering confidence in Sirius's eyes was beginning to prove to Peter that his plans were effective, and his acting hadn't been all that bad.
"Yeah?"
"I need you to do me a favor."
"Anything." Peter's heart jumped to a staggeringly fast pace.
"Take place for me as secret keeper, would you?"
He felt a thrill of success. He opened his mouth for his involuntary answer, but stopped himself. This wasn't done yet.
"What for?" he asked inquisitively.
"Well, you see, I'd be the obvious choice, so they'd catch me too quickly. But you... they'd never expect you."
Peter nodded his head in appeasing haste. "Of course."
Sirius sighed, feeling as if the weight of this burden had been lifted from his shoulders. James was safer than ever before.
"Okay," he breathed. "It's 97 Godric's Hollow. Remember that."
Peter glanced skywards. "97 Godric's Hollow."
"Got that?"
"Got it."
"See them tomorrow for the spell. Lily'll know what to do."
"Alright." Peter feigned a look of nervous apprehension.
"And you'll probably have to find a place to hide, yourself. Just tell your mother your moving out – she'll probably be too happy to care."
"Okay."
Sirius let his face fall. "And one more thing, Peter."
Peter scratched his head, nodding for Sirius to continue. What more could he possibly ask of him now?
"Don't tell anyone, *anyone*, about this." Sirius's eyes darkened – not threateningly, but with intense warning. He, of course, meant Remus, but to Peter it held an entirely different meaning.
He smirked inwardly. "Not a soul."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Remus? Is that you?"
As an answer, Remus stepped into the room wearily. He immediately noticed how her robes stretched over to fit her stomach, which was increasingly growing more and more round. They didn't make such a big deal as they had with Jamie, especially with all the bigger things going on around them.
But in so many ways it was a bigger thing to Remus. This was his child. Jamie was more than he could ever ask for. . . but deep inside he couldn't help but remember that he simply wasn't her father.
"I'm here," he said.
She stood when he refused to sit down. "What's the decision? Are you – "
"It's Sirius. They chose Sirius." She wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she'd heard bitterness in his voice.
"That's good – when you think about it. I don't know what Jamie would do if I told her that her father couldn't talk to us or go anywhere."
He shrugged. "Where is she?"
Rebecca smiled. "Playing. Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on her."
"Are you sure she isn't – "
"Don't try changing the subjects on me," she cut him off knowingly. "There's something bothering you, I know it."
He shook his head. Rebecca narrowed her eyes at him. He nodded his head in confession. "It's Sirius," he burst. "That idiot – he thinks I'm the spy."
"Are you?" she asked him calmly.
"No," he said awkwardly.
"Then why should it bother you?"
He stopped, caught off guard.
He shook his head. "I dunno," he mumbled.
"He knows you, Remus. He knows he's wrong."
"It's that damn wolf," he spat. His eyes filled with pain and hatred for himself – so much, it shocked Rebecca out of her calm assurance.
"It's not you," she began uneasily.
"Of course it isn't. But does he see that?"
"Of course he does, Remus."
"No," he corrected her. "He used to."
"He still does," she persisted. "He's just confused, that's all."
"I'd be confused too if I had to control a wild animal that tried to kill me every month, only to be apologized to the next day."
"Stop doing this to yourself," Rebecca pleaded.
"I never meant to hurt him," he continued, ignoring her. "I never meant to hurt anyone."
"Of course not," she answered soothingly. "You wouldn't do that."
"I'd never hurt anyone."
"You're right," Rebecca said firmly, turning his head to face her, tracing a deep scar on his cheek with her finger. "Only yourself."
He surrendered his bitter complaint.
"Now you stop it," she said sternly. She had to admit, she was a bit disturbed by it. She'd never seen him act anything short of calm and composed. She'd always had him to comfort her – but now it was her time to return the favor.
"You have a family now. Just calm down and we'll wait this out."
"Can you See anything?" he asked her quietly. His hope was all but gone, she could tell.
"No."
"You could before," he offered.
She took a reflective pause. He was right. Her Sight had gotten stronger and stronger, until finally it collapsed. She could still do the trivial things of the present – watch Jamie in the other room, feel other's emotions – but the future was all but lost to her.
"I could. I still can, I'm sure. . ." She stopped. How much time did she have left anyway? ". . .just not now."
"Why'd it stop?" he asked, a little troubled.
"I don't know," she said – more to herself than to him. "I could See things I couldn't See before. It got to the point where I couldn't control them. They came without my bidding."
"You told me it felt like you were counting down to something."
"Yeah," she said distantly.
"And you think it's come?"
She bit her lip – hard. Certainly she'd stopped Seeing because her life was nearing its end. But something else was coming. That's what she'd been feeling all along. But now that her gift was all but gone, she found she had no warning with which to stop it.
It was inevitable.
"Yes, it's come."
~~~~~~~~~~
CRACK.
"That's Sirius," James said in relief. He got up from the tattered couch, anxious to get this over with.
"In here, James," Lily said. She was already there.
"Let me explain."
James stopped dead. "Peter?" he said bewilderedly.
Lily smiled calmly. "Yes. He's going to be our secret keeper."
"Wh – why?" he stammered.
"Sirius was the obvious choice," Peter said.
"It was too dangerous," Lily finished.
James sighed in frustration. "Lily, there's a perfectly good reason I chose Sirius."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "And what's that?"
Harry ran into the room. "Seewus, See – " He stopped, and dropped his arms to his side when he saw Peter. He looked to his father for an explanation. "Where Seewus?"
Peter laughed nervously, and smiled at Harry warmly. He stepped forward and got to his knees so he was down on Harry's level. "Hey, you."
James glanced nervously at Peter, stepped forward, and whispered, "There's a reason I didn't choose Peter. Ever think of that?"
Lily's mouth dropped open. "He's been nothing but loyal to you, James. He's your friend, and he wants to help."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that."
"We need him," Lily said loudly. Peter turned around, and stood up, looking expectantly to James.
"Thanks, mate," he muttered, forcing a smile.
Lily nodded her head approvingly. "Let's do this," she said, bringing out her wand. "Ready?"
Peter smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~
Tired of tapping his fingers, James picked up his mirror from the table beside him.
"Sirius," he said.
Within seconds, that very face appeared. "What happened?" came the worried voice.
"Nothing catastrophic," James replied indifferently.
"James?" Sirius said. His eyes were searching. "I can't see you."
"Of course you can't," James said in bored tones. "I'm in hiding – only Peter could."
Sirius lowered his eyes. "So he did it, eh?"
"Yeah," came the angry reply. "Scared, were you?"
Sirius shook his head. "You know it was the better choice."
"It was my choice."
"It was Lily's, too," Sirius countered.
James rolled his eyes, though Sirius was unaware of the reaction. "Well then, we might as well include Harry's vote, and he wasn't too happy to see Peter, either."
"Have some faith in the guy, Prongs."
"I've tried," James said. "But I guess I don't have a choice now, do I?"
"No, you don't," Sirius said, grinning as he always did. "Now stop worrying. You're in hiding, you should be throwing a party or something. Remember the riots we used to make in the common room?"
James smiled, and Sirius seemed to have sensed it.
"Like that."
James shook his head – remotely grateful that he had Sirius as a friend. "Don't forget to let me know if anything important happens – like if Voldemort snuffs it, or something."
Sirius laughed. "As long as you let me know if you're dead."
"I'm not laughing, Padfoot."
"You're safe," Sirius said. "So stop complaining. Nothing will happen to you, do you hear me? Nothing."
"You sure about that?" James bore a skeptical smile.
But Sirius didn't smile. "I promise. As Harry's Godfather, Lily's friend, and your brother I won't let a thing happen to you. Not under my watch."
~~~~~~~~~~
AN: Ah, the irony. The one who's looking out for them the most is the one who's giving them away to the slimiest git that ever spoke in a British accent.
Reviews:
Prongs4: I think everything here's broken. Holy monkey buckets! 34 chapters? *looks around* Have I really written that much?
Miss Piratess: Ooh, hey suspense is good! Poor Snape, having to be all sentimental and compassionate because I said so and because he had subway for lunch. Thanks for the reviews, they make me happy. And happy's good. Oh, and I'll send Sirius a memo with everything you said. I don't think he'll take it well, though.
GollumGal: I hate Peter, too. And Snape. Though I like making fun of him, so he's good to have around.
Awkward: At least they died quickly... before they could have had the time to realize their mistake. Ha, that reminds me – in History we read about this guy named Vladmir and my teacher called him Voldemort. I think I was the only one who laughed.
