Chapter Twenty:
"You said they were 'quite playful creatures,' and that 'they wouldn't hurt a nargle.' Then tell me, what is this!?" Harry furiously examined the green welt that had appeared on his arm. Luna looked hurt, but quickly composed herself before Harry could notice how she felt.
"It was a male that bit you, Harry. I'm sure of it. You will be fine."
"Oh, and how do you tell they're male? They look exactly the same to me! Or did you go flipping every bloody Snorkack over onto their backs and check?" The green welt gave a slight throb, and Harry clutched his right arm. It was his wand arm..
"The horn did not curve at the end."
"What?"
"The female's horns, they curve at the ends. The Snorkack that stung you did not have a curved horn. It was straight with a dull point."
Harry laughed sarcastically. "Dull....dull point? And how do you know so much about Snorkacks if no one's even ever seen one?"
"Imagination is the light by which we see." (Flannery O'Connor)
"What?"
"Look, Harry. I am not going to argue with the narrow-minded. Honestly, sometimes you are just as bad as Hermione."
"Hey, you leave Hermione out of this!" Harry stopped walking along Luna's side.
"Do you want to save Remus or not?"
Harry frowned, his eyebrows closing in together. "Well, obviously...."
"Then follow me."
"The sun's coming up. We can't use the spell anymore." Indeed, tiny sunbeams filtered into the wood where tree coverage was sparse. "If we didn't stop for those bloody Snorkacks-" Luna quickly clapped a hand over Harry's mouth.
"Do not offend them!" She whispered in his ear.
He looked around in confusion. "They're gone, Luna. They've been gone."
"How can you be so sure? Just because you cannot see them with your own eyes does not mean they are not lurking about."
Harry did not bother to argue. His patience was thinning.
Arthur Weasley gripped his wand tightly.
"Oh, come on!" Tonks pulled him off of the forest's edge and into a bush. Arthur had been standing at the borders, trying to brave the wood. He shuddered a little, took Tonk's hand and stepped out of the bush. His robes were covered in stains of berries, and leaves. Tonks gave him an encouraging smile.
"Why couldn't we go search the field and Hogsmeade with the other search party?" He asked.
"Because Luna and Harry are in here." Tonks lead the way into the Forgotten Forest, Mr. Weasley followed in her wake.
The smirk on his face suddenly turned to an expression of pain. His teeth grinded against each other, and beads of sweat formed at his temples. He clutched his arm, and then let go to roll up the sleeve of his robes. The Dark Mark went from coal to black. It was clearer than ever now. The Dark Lord was calling.
In moments like this Peter Pettigrew wanted no more than to saw his arm off. His small, watery eyes squinted at the man sitting in the cell. The man stood up from his seat, and walked over to the bars that surrounded him. He stuck his head through, and said "You know, things would be much more simpler if only you had gone to your master and taken me with you. I'm sure he would find ways to extract information on the prophecy from me. Oh, wait, but no, you had to let greed consume you. You wanted the power all for yourself."
"Shut up!" the rat said between gasps of pain. Tears were now streaming out of his eyes.
"You know you'd never stand a chance. He is supposed to be the most powerful wizard of all time...No, wait, I'm sorry, that's Dumbledore."
"Shut it!"
"No, in fact...." the man thought to himself, "I think Harry might outweigh him actually...."
"Shut it, Lupin, or you'll get it!" Pettigrew let go of his arm, and flashed his silver hand in a threatening manner.
Remus gave a small smile. "And you think that matters to me now, Peter?"
As the pain of the Dark Mark slowly began to subside, Pettigrew stood up straight and walked to the cell. "Losing faith, are we?" He stared at his prisoner. Dull, green eyes surrounded by black and yellow skin stared back. The man looked very ill through Pettigrew's lame attempt at keeping him alive. But behind those eyes he could still see a defiant streak of strength, though just barely.
"What do you live for, Lupin?"
Lupin pulled his head out of the space between two bars. He stepped back to look at Pettigrew.
"To see good will overcome all evil."
"You have a long way to go," Pettigrew replied. And just at that moment, his arm gave a painful jolt. The Dark Lord was feeling happy.
A/N:
"Imagination is the light by which we see."- by Flannery O'Connor
I know it's a short one, and I haven't updated in a while. With school starting and such my priorities have shifted around a little. But I'm still writing when I can. Thanks for being patient.