Every Suspicion
By Concretya
Disclaimer: Not mine. JKR's.
Summary: In 1981, the Potters switched to Peter later only after Sirius was attacked. Peter betrayed them, and Voldemort had fun playing with the trust in the group of friends. And now, with the thirteen-year-old Boy who Lived fresh from his second year at Hogwarts, Peter reappears to the Wizarding World.
Major swearing, and slashy Remus/Sirius undertones, because theirloveissocanon.
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Prologue
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Sirius Black stared dully at the newspaper in front of him. Why was it here? It was yellowing, and the fold was cracking, and it had been rubbed thin in places… but it was in his cell. Had some tourists brought it with them when they came to gape at the prisoners? Had someone intentionally left it in the barren hallways with the soulless Dementors?
Or wait… Sirius scrabbled frantically at the paper, trying to arrange the pages and get to the front… there.
Three pictures stared up at him. Three familiar pictures.
One was himself, naturally. He had a bad feeling about this… and his face always showed up on articles with bad news. He, apparently, had become a symbol of trauma and decay.
The second, right above the first, was… Peter Pettigrew? The Wizarding world thought Peter was dead! They thought he was innocent, a hero, yes, unlike Sirius, but nevertheless they thought he had passed forever. And there was an article on him?
But the third picture inevitably drew his gaze… no, he didn't want to look at it, please no… he had taken that picture, blast it! All those years ago… he snarled at the bastard glaring up at him. Remus Lupin. Yes, Peter had ultimately killed James and Lily. But Remus, Remus had hurt him, it was one thing for little Peter to turn, but Remus was so much closer to him…
Arg. The question was, why did this article talk about the three of them? One innocent Death Eater in Azkaban, one Death Eater in hiding, and one Death Eater who was thought dead and innocent. All childhood friends… what the hell?
…formerly thought dead, killed by the infamous Sirius Black, a wizard named Peter Pettigrew has shown himself to be alive… tracked Sirius Black down after the Death Eater betrayed their mutual friends, James and Lily Potter… fuck it, was this all the article was going to be about? He'd heard it over and over again, and the whole wizarding world knew it to be a legend… only he, and those two backstabbers, knew that it was false…
…Pettigrew became an unregistered Animagus at the age of fifteen. The public is warned that Black is also one, and can turn at will into a large, black, Grim-like dog…
…Pettigrew verified the charges against Black, offering more proof that Black was a trusted Death Eater… information also indirectly supported the accusations against Remus Lupin, a werewolf thought to be in league with the Dark Lord. He is thought to have worked closely with Black, and has been on the top wanted list for twelve years…
Like hell. That traitor working with him? Hah. Just because they fucking lived in the same flat, and Remus was a damn turncoat, and Sirius was wrongly accused of being a Death Eater…. Right. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin on the same side in this pathetic war.
But Peter had shown himself. And had the Ministry on his side. And here he was thinking well, at least Pettigrew has to live as the rat he is…
…and Pettigrew would have access to Harry, now that he had the Ministry's trust. Dammit.
There had been five of them. Five. And then Lily and James were… were killed, bloody betrayed… And now Sirius, who had tried so hard to protect his friends and the light, was in Azkaban, rotting away. And of the two traitors, the real Death Eaters, one was walking free and one was roaming the world.
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Woohoo. Fear not, Things Shall Be Explained. But next chappie is back to '81… It should be longer than this was.
Author's Note: Okay. I love AU fics about '81. Here's my shot at it. Trying for something slightly different than the rest.
