Author's Note: Hey everyone, here's the next bit, it's shorter then the
last chapter, but I hope you like it none the less. Here are the thank
yous.
Anarane- I'm glad you thought so.
Bell- Thank you, I'm glad the length pleased you, and thank you for the birthday wishes. I will look into reading your stories. I might even get an idea or something. I am probably going to boost the rating soon. I forgot it was PG. eep!
Midnights shadow of insaneness- Thank you, I'm glad it was good, too bad you couldn't remember what you were going to say.
Lady Death2- Thank you. When I get to the scene with any sort of Lily and James love making *geez that sounds so cheesy* I will take your advice into consideration.
Lillian- I'm glad you like it and the details in it, I didn't notice the strong bond between L/J. uh oh. But thank you for pointing that out.
Ggal- You're welcome for the clarification. and I will probably just write any "sex scene" as it comes out of my head. at present they're no where near that so yeah. But bear with the Peter stuff in this chapter. I apologize whole heartedly for all of it. he's vile.
EbonyQuill- I was thinking of a Ministry related affair for the costume ball. so yay, some one else concurs for that. Woot! I'm 17. heh, it was a cute poem.
Black-cat-on-the-wall- I do like the song, but I can't find it anywhere! Has the CD it's on come out in America yet?
I o u a name- Heh, thank you for the birthday wishes, I did get a very lengthy review which I loved and made me feel all squishy and I will probably wind up boosting my rating because I've started using swear words more and I don't remember the rating system, I don't want people to report me because I have a different idea of what is okay for children and what isn't. And I will definitely boost the rating if there is any sort of sex scene that isn't just implied.
Elfin Child- *eats birthday cake* Thank you, Happy Birthday to you as well. *sighs*
LJKalways- I feel honored that you decided to read my story even though you do not like AU stories. I wasn't sure many people would originally either because it is AU. I am also very pleased that you've decided to give more AU stories a try because of mine. *smiles* I got you hooked on this eh? *grins* I read your review when I got home from my birthday activities and it make me all giggly. Thank you for your compliments and I hope that you enjoy the rest of the story. *feels very humble because of your review* My other stories aren't very good, and I might be taking my Marauders at Hogwarts one out because I can't write anymore. my humor one might have something new to add eventually though.
MegHarts- Yup, no sleep. I'm just mean to them in the coming chapters. which I may or may not turn into an uber long chapter. I'm not sure. I wanted Lily to know because I didn't want her to be reading and just confront Remus about it. So yeah. Thank you.
Ebony Rose1- The story just popped into my head one day and I started writing. Geez! I've been writing this story for what feels like forever. I'm glad you love it and its plot. I make up odd words as well. but I try to keep them out of my stories for the sake of the English language.
Lily 101- I try to accommodate my reviews by updating often, sometimes it doesn't work.
Cassie- I'm trying to work on my updating habits. Thank you.
Alright, that's done now. *wipes brow* I hope you like this chapter, its kinda short so forgive me. ~Frankie~
Chapter Thirty: Discussions with Dumbledore
Across the hall from Remus' room Peter lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling. His door was closed and he was thinking about what his Master had asked him to do. He wanted him to be close to Lily and James. To do this would take skill and this was something he definitely didn't have. James and Sirius had always helped him and now, now he'd betrayed them.
During Christmas break of Seventh year he'd started to despise his role in his group of friends, he wanted to be known for something other then following James Potter around like a little complacent puppy. Anything would do, he didn't really care what it was or how he got it. It was at this point that Voldemort found him and promised him power and riches beyond anything he could possibly imagine. It was so easy to say yes. So very easy and it was more interesting to be a part of He-who-must-not-be- Named's circle even if he was scared to death of his duties. None of the other Death Eaters recognized him though he recognized quite a few of them. There was at least one person from every family of wizards reputed to be involved with the Dark Arts now that Sirius' little brother Regulus was rumored to have joined ranks.
Peter sighed and remembered the last thing that Voldemort had said to him. To play along. But what was he supposed to be playing along with? That's when it struck him. His grandmother's death was the means to get Lily to trust him, to believe he was one of James' best friends, not his enemy. Peter swallowed unconsciously and didn't realize that he had started crying. It had finally struck him, painfully and right between the eyes. "It was my fault," he whispered and he sobbed uncontrollably, growing louder and louder until he heard a woman's voice sitting next to him holding him.
"Shh, Peter its okay," she whispered and rocked him like a baby. He was suddenly aware that Lily was the one speaking to him soothingly. He was also aware of his words, garbled though they might have been.
"It's my fault! If I hadn't agreed, if I hadn't left. It's my fault all my fault," Peter screeched and Lily still held him though she wasn't the only one in the room any longer. Remus was there and he looked sick to his stomach. James came through the door wearing nothing but a towel, sopping wet from jumping out of the shower upon hearing Peter. Sirius and Arabella had just appeared with Dumbledore not far behind.
Dumbledore immediately took control of the situation and cast a spell upon Peter to sleep. "It's okay Lily, he'll sleep for a few hours," Dumbledore said calmly and touched her shoulder gently.
Lily nodded and in a motherly fashion tucked Peter into his bed and stood up looking toward the door where everyone was standing. Seeing James in nothing but a towel brought her blood pressure up a few notches and she could tell that her eyes were very wide. She didn't say anything and kept looking at James who was looking at her, not noticing the fact that he was nearly naked.
"That was disturbing," Sirius said quietly and squeezed Arabella's hand lightly.
"Sometimes it takes time for people to realize that they've actually lost someone they care about. In these sorts of situations people tend to blame themselves for the death," Dumbledore said quietly and looked at Lily curiously wondering what she was thinking and then noticed that James was the object of her attention. He smiled. "Perhaps it would be wise for you to get dressed James. Unless of course you would like to talk about what happened to Lily in a towel," he said amusedly and James turned red.
"Excuse me," James said embarrassedly and walked hurried down the hall blushing furiously as Sirius made catcalls at him and Arabella smacked Sirius on the back of his head.
"We'll meet you in the kitchen James," Dumbledore said and winked at Lily and she blushed as well as they made their way out of Peter's room quietly.
They walked down to the kitchen and found that Dumbledore had made them all breakfast. "Wow," Lily said as she sat down next to the place where James usually sat.
"I thought it might be good for everyone to have a meal without you having to cook," Dumbledore said and sat across from Lily.
James walked in a few moments later wearing some dark slacks and a white tee shirt. His hair was still wet and untidy as ever and his glasses were slightly askew. He was carrying some black wizards' robes and he threw them over the back of his chair and fixed his glasses as he sat down. He tried not to blush as Sirius whistled at him. "Sorry about that," James muttered and looked at Dumbledore to start the discussion.
"It's quite alright James," Dumbledore said and looked to Lily quickly before beginning his diatribe. "You had what is known in the Muggle community as a coma, or something like it," he said and sighed. "You weren't prepared to understand what is locked away in your subconscious; so you retreated within yourself to either give yourself time to think it over or to just escape from what must have been a disturbing and frustrating situation," Dumbledore said looking around the group.
"Why did I wake up?" Lily asked quietly and glanced briefly at James before returning her gaze to Dumbledore.
"There is no real explanation for why you woke. It could have been any number of reasons from being ready to deal with your knowledge or some type of stronger feeling that over powered your frustrations," Dumbledore replied rather vaguely and James sensed that Dumbledore had a better idea of why Lily had awakened and his own reasons for keeping it veiled.
Lily didn't seem to see the holes in Dumbledore had left open with this theory and if she did she chose to dismiss them for the same reasons that James had. "I think it might have been my being prepared to face my fears and the knowledge that I have locked away," Lily said and though there was some truth to the statement it wasn't the whole truth.
"Really?" Dumbledore seemed very interested in this theory as well. "May I ask what led to this conclusion?" he asked with an encouraging smile.
Lily looked over at Remus and he smiled causing James to feel an odd pang in his stomach. "Just before Peter's episode upstairs I was talking with Remus about what had happened telling him he shouldn't blame himself for it and that it would have happened anyway if I hadn't accepted what I knew to be truth rather then fiction. I told him that I have to be wary of the fact that I know things about all of you that I shouldn't; like Remus' dislike of tomatoes and his er- condition," Lily said tensely and glanced at James who looked slightly pained.
Dumbledore smiled, "Progress is a wonderful thing but you'll have to be careful not to over do it," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Everyone knows right?" Lily asked quietly and Sirius, James and Dumbledore nodded briefly.
Arabella looked confused but the reason behind it was merely tiredness. Her brain suddenly clicked back on and she said, "Oh! Yes, I know about Remus being a werewolf. Sorry, I'm just very, very tired," she was apologetic and Remus smiled lightly at her.
"It would probably be best if we were to go to sleep now or at least get some rest," Sirius said quietly and James chuckled loudly.
"I swear all you ever thing about is food and sleep Sirius," James said and tried to suppress and yawn.
"It's actually a brilliant idea," Dumbledore said quietly and Sirius and Arabella bid everyone goodnight and headed out of the kitchen for the stairs. When they'd left Dumbledore said, "I should be going. I have some business to attend to. Let me know if anything is needed or if anyone has any problems," He bowed kindly and disapparated from the room.
A/N: I'm sorry for the whole Peter thing, and for Dumbledore being the one to excuse Peter's behavior, its rather perturbing to me. You are all going to hate me next chapter, I know it. But yeah, I'm trying to write life, it's not going to be perfect. Anyways, please review. ~Frankie~
Anarane- I'm glad you thought so.
Bell- Thank you, I'm glad the length pleased you, and thank you for the birthday wishes. I will look into reading your stories. I might even get an idea or something. I am probably going to boost the rating soon. I forgot it was PG. eep!
Midnights shadow of insaneness- Thank you, I'm glad it was good, too bad you couldn't remember what you were going to say.
Lady Death2- Thank you. When I get to the scene with any sort of Lily and James love making *geez that sounds so cheesy* I will take your advice into consideration.
Lillian- I'm glad you like it and the details in it, I didn't notice the strong bond between L/J. uh oh. But thank you for pointing that out.
Ggal- You're welcome for the clarification. and I will probably just write any "sex scene" as it comes out of my head. at present they're no where near that so yeah. But bear with the Peter stuff in this chapter. I apologize whole heartedly for all of it. he's vile.
EbonyQuill- I was thinking of a Ministry related affair for the costume ball. so yay, some one else concurs for that. Woot! I'm 17. heh, it was a cute poem.
Black-cat-on-the-wall- I do like the song, but I can't find it anywhere! Has the CD it's on come out in America yet?
I o u a name- Heh, thank you for the birthday wishes, I did get a very lengthy review which I loved and made me feel all squishy and I will probably wind up boosting my rating because I've started using swear words more and I don't remember the rating system, I don't want people to report me because I have a different idea of what is okay for children and what isn't. And I will definitely boost the rating if there is any sort of sex scene that isn't just implied.
Elfin Child- *eats birthday cake* Thank you, Happy Birthday to you as well. *sighs*
LJKalways- I feel honored that you decided to read my story even though you do not like AU stories. I wasn't sure many people would originally either because it is AU. I am also very pleased that you've decided to give more AU stories a try because of mine. *smiles* I got you hooked on this eh? *grins* I read your review when I got home from my birthday activities and it make me all giggly. Thank you for your compliments and I hope that you enjoy the rest of the story. *feels very humble because of your review* My other stories aren't very good, and I might be taking my Marauders at Hogwarts one out because I can't write anymore. my humor one might have something new to add eventually though.
MegHarts- Yup, no sleep. I'm just mean to them in the coming chapters. which I may or may not turn into an uber long chapter. I'm not sure. I wanted Lily to know because I didn't want her to be reading and just confront Remus about it. So yeah. Thank you.
Ebony Rose1- The story just popped into my head one day and I started writing. Geez! I've been writing this story for what feels like forever. I'm glad you love it and its plot. I make up odd words as well. but I try to keep them out of my stories for the sake of the English language.
Lily 101- I try to accommodate my reviews by updating often, sometimes it doesn't work.
Cassie- I'm trying to work on my updating habits. Thank you.
Alright, that's done now. *wipes brow* I hope you like this chapter, its kinda short so forgive me. ~Frankie~
Chapter Thirty: Discussions with Dumbledore
Across the hall from Remus' room Peter lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling. His door was closed and he was thinking about what his Master had asked him to do. He wanted him to be close to Lily and James. To do this would take skill and this was something he definitely didn't have. James and Sirius had always helped him and now, now he'd betrayed them.
During Christmas break of Seventh year he'd started to despise his role in his group of friends, he wanted to be known for something other then following James Potter around like a little complacent puppy. Anything would do, he didn't really care what it was or how he got it. It was at this point that Voldemort found him and promised him power and riches beyond anything he could possibly imagine. It was so easy to say yes. So very easy and it was more interesting to be a part of He-who-must-not-be- Named's circle even if he was scared to death of his duties. None of the other Death Eaters recognized him though he recognized quite a few of them. There was at least one person from every family of wizards reputed to be involved with the Dark Arts now that Sirius' little brother Regulus was rumored to have joined ranks.
Peter sighed and remembered the last thing that Voldemort had said to him. To play along. But what was he supposed to be playing along with? That's when it struck him. His grandmother's death was the means to get Lily to trust him, to believe he was one of James' best friends, not his enemy. Peter swallowed unconsciously and didn't realize that he had started crying. It had finally struck him, painfully and right between the eyes. "It was my fault," he whispered and he sobbed uncontrollably, growing louder and louder until he heard a woman's voice sitting next to him holding him.
"Shh, Peter its okay," she whispered and rocked him like a baby. He was suddenly aware that Lily was the one speaking to him soothingly. He was also aware of his words, garbled though they might have been.
"It's my fault! If I hadn't agreed, if I hadn't left. It's my fault all my fault," Peter screeched and Lily still held him though she wasn't the only one in the room any longer. Remus was there and he looked sick to his stomach. James came through the door wearing nothing but a towel, sopping wet from jumping out of the shower upon hearing Peter. Sirius and Arabella had just appeared with Dumbledore not far behind.
Dumbledore immediately took control of the situation and cast a spell upon Peter to sleep. "It's okay Lily, he'll sleep for a few hours," Dumbledore said calmly and touched her shoulder gently.
Lily nodded and in a motherly fashion tucked Peter into his bed and stood up looking toward the door where everyone was standing. Seeing James in nothing but a towel brought her blood pressure up a few notches and she could tell that her eyes were very wide. She didn't say anything and kept looking at James who was looking at her, not noticing the fact that he was nearly naked.
"That was disturbing," Sirius said quietly and squeezed Arabella's hand lightly.
"Sometimes it takes time for people to realize that they've actually lost someone they care about. In these sorts of situations people tend to blame themselves for the death," Dumbledore said quietly and looked at Lily curiously wondering what she was thinking and then noticed that James was the object of her attention. He smiled. "Perhaps it would be wise for you to get dressed James. Unless of course you would like to talk about what happened to Lily in a towel," he said amusedly and James turned red.
"Excuse me," James said embarrassedly and walked hurried down the hall blushing furiously as Sirius made catcalls at him and Arabella smacked Sirius on the back of his head.
"We'll meet you in the kitchen James," Dumbledore said and winked at Lily and she blushed as well as they made their way out of Peter's room quietly.
They walked down to the kitchen and found that Dumbledore had made them all breakfast. "Wow," Lily said as she sat down next to the place where James usually sat.
"I thought it might be good for everyone to have a meal without you having to cook," Dumbledore said and sat across from Lily.
James walked in a few moments later wearing some dark slacks and a white tee shirt. His hair was still wet and untidy as ever and his glasses were slightly askew. He was carrying some black wizards' robes and he threw them over the back of his chair and fixed his glasses as he sat down. He tried not to blush as Sirius whistled at him. "Sorry about that," James muttered and looked at Dumbledore to start the discussion.
"It's quite alright James," Dumbledore said and looked to Lily quickly before beginning his diatribe. "You had what is known in the Muggle community as a coma, or something like it," he said and sighed. "You weren't prepared to understand what is locked away in your subconscious; so you retreated within yourself to either give yourself time to think it over or to just escape from what must have been a disturbing and frustrating situation," Dumbledore said looking around the group.
"Why did I wake up?" Lily asked quietly and glanced briefly at James before returning her gaze to Dumbledore.
"There is no real explanation for why you woke. It could have been any number of reasons from being ready to deal with your knowledge or some type of stronger feeling that over powered your frustrations," Dumbledore replied rather vaguely and James sensed that Dumbledore had a better idea of why Lily had awakened and his own reasons for keeping it veiled.
Lily didn't seem to see the holes in Dumbledore had left open with this theory and if she did she chose to dismiss them for the same reasons that James had. "I think it might have been my being prepared to face my fears and the knowledge that I have locked away," Lily said and though there was some truth to the statement it wasn't the whole truth.
"Really?" Dumbledore seemed very interested in this theory as well. "May I ask what led to this conclusion?" he asked with an encouraging smile.
Lily looked over at Remus and he smiled causing James to feel an odd pang in his stomach. "Just before Peter's episode upstairs I was talking with Remus about what had happened telling him he shouldn't blame himself for it and that it would have happened anyway if I hadn't accepted what I knew to be truth rather then fiction. I told him that I have to be wary of the fact that I know things about all of you that I shouldn't; like Remus' dislike of tomatoes and his er- condition," Lily said tensely and glanced at James who looked slightly pained.
Dumbledore smiled, "Progress is a wonderful thing but you'll have to be careful not to over do it," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Everyone knows right?" Lily asked quietly and Sirius, James and Dumbledore nodded briefly.
Arabella looked confused but the reason behind it was merely tiredness. Her brain suddenly clicked back on and she said, "Oh! Yes, I know about Remus being a werewolf. Sorry, I'm just very, very tired," she was apologetic and Remus smiled lightly at her.
"It would probably be best if we were to go to sleep now or at least get some rest," Sirius said quietly and James chuckled loudly.
"I swear all you ever thing about is food and sleep Sirius," James said and tried to suppress and yawn.
"It's actually a brilliant idea," Dumbledore said quietly and Sirius and Arabella bid everyone goodnight and headed out of the kitchen for the stairs. When they'd left Dumbledore said, "I should be going. I have some business to attend to. Let me know if anything is needed or if anyone has any problems," He bowed kindly and disapparated from the room.
A/N: I'm sorry for the whole Peter thing, and for Dumbledore being the one to excuse Peter's behavior, its rather perturbing to me. You are all going to hate me next chapter, I know it. But yeah, I'm trying to write life, it's not going to be perfect. Anyways, please review. ~Frankie~