Chapter 15 - The Choice

The world stands out on either side
No wider than the heart is wide:
Above the world is stretched the sky, -
No higher than the soul is high.
The heart can push the sea and land
Farther away on either hand;
The soul can split the sky in two,
And let the face of God shine through.
But East and West will pinch the heart
That can not keep them pushed apart;
And he whose soul is flat - the sky
Will cave in on him by and by.

From Renascence - Edna St. Vincent Millay

Pettigrew kept his wand pointed at Penelope. With his silver hand he clutched the contract. He sniffed the parchment suspiciously and then broke into a malicious grin. "That's blood, alright," he said, stroking the paper against his lightly whiskered chin. "Thank you, Lady Clearwater, and thanks to your Squib friend here. He's been quite helpful."

Penelope glanced down at Norman. His skin was pale and his pupils had widened. She turned and blocked him from Pettigrew's view. "Fine, you've gotten what you want. If you'll just return my wand. Norman and I will be on our way."

Pettigrew's eyes narrowed and he inched cautiously toward her, breathing quick unsteady breaths. His wand touched Penelope's chest and she tensed but didn't move.

"What's wrong with the Squib? Why is he so quiet?"

Norman's body slumped and his curled wig slipped to the floor. Penelope tried to grab him but couldn't support his weight. He landed with a thud. The sleeve of his long black robe was heavy with blood and it smeared like black paint as it brushed against her clothes.

Penelope kneeled beside him. "He's unconscious. He needs a blood replenishing potion or he'll die. You have to let us go!"

"What?" Pettigrew's nostril's flared and he poked at Norman's body with his toe. "What has he done? Why is he?" He froze and then slowly looked down at the contract. "He didn't? You wouldn't?"

Penelope had her fingers against Norman's neck, searching for a pulse. "He's dying. Please, you've got to let me help him. He's done what you asked. Please."

"Lawyers! Nasty slick bastards! What did he do? He's tricked me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about! I only know he's dying!"

Pettigrew crunched the paper and stuffed it into the pocket of his vest. "Why did you double-cross me, Penelope? Now you've forced me to do something I really didn't want to do." His eyes narrowed and he circled her. "It was all so clean. I get the money, you get the baby. With a really good memory wiping, I could have sent you home. Dumped you some place and let them find you. You'd have been poor and a bit confused but you would have been alive. But now…" He bit his fingernail thoughtfully, tearing it from the quick and then spitting it on the ground. "Now you've put a wrench in it and they'll ask a hundred questions. I can't seem weak to Malfoy." He sighed and shook his head. "Oh I am sorry, Penelope, but you've left me no choice. I'm going to have to kill you."

Penelope eyed the leg of the little desk. She wondered if she could knock it over at exactly the right moment and deflect the curse. If she confused him for a moment perhaps she could make a run for it. The other option was to charge him. Pettigrew was not very big and she was young and strong. The problem was the silver hand. She knew she was no match for that.

"It's such a shame too," he whined. "I was hoping to return you to my favorite family. But, alas, it can not be. Now don't slink away, dear. I promise it will be completely painless." He walked around the table and lifted her hair with the tip of his wand. "Such beautiful curls." Keeping the wand level he crouched beside her. "I don't know if it helps, but you should know that you'll be the hardest one to forget. All the others, I can pretend they didn't exist. But not you."

"Don't forget this, Pettigrew." She threw her arm up and knocked his wand, then punched him hard in the face. He fell backward, his wand shooting green sparks up toward the rafters.

Apparate, she thought. Home, I want to be home. But it didn't work. She landed with a thump in exactly the same spot.

Pettigrew drew his hand from his face. Blood was dripping from his nose. "Did you really think that would work?" he sneered as he stood.

She had to think of wandless magic, something direct and simple. She reached her arms to the sky and pulled down. A rafter fell, making Pettigrew jump backward and raising a cloud of dust. Penelope turned and ran.

If she could just get outside the building she knew she could Apparate. The door to the hall loomed ahead. It was coming closer. Only a few feet more. All of a sudden she felt herself slipping backwards. She strained. No! Run harder! Reach for the door! One foot in front of the other! But it was no use. She was flying backwards as if pulled by an invisible rope and she was against Pettigrew. His silver hand clutched her throat. She couldn't breath. He was over her. Choking her. And his eyes were blazing. "Look at the power the Dark Lord bestows on me," he spat through his blood. And then from out of nowhere another voice and a blaze of fire was rushing toward them. She fell, grabbing at her own throat. She felt cold, but she was breathing. She crawled toward Norman and the world went black.

He was killing her. Pettigrew's silver hand was squeezing the life out of her. Never had Percy known such rage and hatred. "IGNITUS!" He hurled the fire at Pettigrew's back with tremendous power. The wall of fire engulfed Pettigrew and he dropped Penelope and turned. She was alive. She was coughing and crawling away. Pettigrew walked out of the blaze toward him.

"Hello, Percy. Long time no see."

"I'm going to kill you Pettigrew."

"You can't."

"Oh believe me, I can. My hate for you would kill ten men."

Pettigrew laughed. "Alright then. Let me rephrase. You won't." He transformed. He was a fat dirty rat running across the floor and out the door.

With a whir of wings and blind fury, Percy was after him. All his senses were directed toward the rat. He could hear his metal toe against the wood and then against stone. He was sliding under the door and heading toward the brambled front yard. Percy soared through the glassless windows. In the moonlight he could see the rat scamper into the overgrown garden, darting into the weeds. He had him. He dove and stabbed his talons into the back of the rat, cutting deeply into the flesh and curling inward to lift the demon creature up.

But instead of flying, he felt himself being pulled down. Something wrapped around his bird body and he was hurled against the iron fence. He felt a horrible pain. Pettigrew had transformed and he had thrown Percy off him with his silver hand. Percy transformed and then caved toward the pain. His left wing was broken. No - his left arm was broken. He gripped his wand more tightly. Pettigrew was slowly walking toward him.

"Come on, Percy. I don't want to hurt you. We were friends once right?"

"Expelliarmus!"

Peter flew backward, landed hard and then skidded across the old pebbled drive.

Percy pulled himself to his feet. "Friends? Yes let's do be friends, Peter. You know how to treat your friends don't you? And I plan to be the same kind of friend to you. You betrayed my family, betrayed Mr. Crouch, betrayed Dumbledore and the Potters. Now you try to murder Penelope and you don't think I'll murder you? Let me tell you something rat. Some people forfeit their lives. They freely give away their right to breathe. You are such a person, Pettigrew."

A strange icy gust circled through the garden, bending the thorny bramble in waves.

Peter stood carefully and limped slightly with his first step. "Do you think you could do it Percy? It takes a tremendous amount of hate to throw the curse."

Percy laughed. The pain in his arm just seemed to feed his power. He kept his wand steady and walked forward. "It would be my distinct pleasure to watch you die, sir. I would love to see your blood spill across the ground, seeping into the dirt where it belongs. I would love to watch your body turn hard. Watch life slip out of your eyes. Perhaps I shall leave you for my friends. They would pick you apart and vomit your bones." The wind blew harder and there was a low rumble of thunder in the distance. Percy's wand was now leveled at Pettigrew's throat. "Yes, Pettigrew, I can definitely kill you."

Peter swallowed and pursed his lips. "Well, well. You have grown up, haven't you Percy? Funny how much we are alike."

Percy shook his head and stepped closer. "Oh I'm nothing like you."

"Aren't you?" Pettigrew carefully circled. "Bowing and stooping to old Crouch, to Fudge, to anyone who'll give you power. It's there for the taking, you know. All you have to do is want it. And you want it, don't you, Percy?"

"Power can be used for good."

"Who told you that? You believe that? Power is just power. Good, bad, it doesn't matter. Good power eventually becomes bad. You help one person, you hurt another. Where is the line, Percy?"

"I know where the line is."

"Oh do you? You never doubt it? Because plenty of people doubt you, Percy."

"Not those who really know me."

Pettigrew chuckled. "Wake up, my friend. They believe we are alike, Percy. They don't believe in you. They've never seen your ability or your talent. Just as those who claimed to be my friends never saw mine. Don't you see the truth, Percy? You don't belong. They don't really want you."

The words slammed into him like a hard kick to the stomach. Lightening flashed and Pettigrew's face reflected madly. "You can't kill me, Percy, because you know me. I am you."

"NO YOU ARE NOT! WE ARE NOT THE SAME!"

There was a deafening clap of thunder and then he heard it. A raw scream coming from somewhere behind him. Rain had begun to fall in cold salty drops. "Penelope!" he gasped. "Where is Penelope?"

Pettigrew dropped his wand and shook his head sadly. "Poor creature. Did you forget about the Dementor, Percy? You really should have let me kill her."

He transformed into a rat and disappeared into night.

Percy turned and ran. The rain was turning into ice. Hard balls pelting at him, making him slip across the steps. He raced into the building, through the doors and into the darkened hall. His wand was drawn and ready. "EXPECTO…EXPECTO…Expecto…"

It is unfair to question Time, to wish for mere seconds. What if he had flown faster or hadn't slipped. What if he hadn't wasted time arguing with a madman. Such questions are pointless when Time and Fate connect, exploding life with new realities. And with a glance he saw his new reality.

He was too late.

A horrific rushing sound filled his ears and he saw her as if she was at the end of a long tunnel. He couldn't reach her. He couldn't even move. He wanted to clutch her to his chest, to kiss her hair, to run his fingers against her ocean eyes. But they were white now. Empty. Vacant.

His knees buckled and he could taste his own blood. The Dementor hovered next to her, still glowing from the radiance of her soul. It moved closer and slowly opened its arms.

There was no other sound, no screaming blackness. His path was clear and simple. He stood tall and took a step, then reached for the infinite sucking hole. Gently, he lowered its hood and parted his lips. And as the Monster's kiss ripped away his flesh, his only thought was that he would see her soon.

He was falling. He was spinning uncontrollably into blackness. No light. No warmth. No freedom. No love. He was no longer aware of any pain, but of a deep suffocating loneliness.

But, he reminded himself - he wasn't alone. She was here. Somewhere in this endless void, she was falling too. She would be so afraid.

He wondered if he could find her. Was there some way to reach to her? Perhaps if he could just find her, then they could fall together. It was such a little thing, but the idea gave him hope.

And then he saw it, a tiny pin-prick of light ahead of him. He fell faster and the light grew brighter. Was it a star? It was growing larger and he was going to fall into it and burn inside its flames. He didn't care. He only knew it drew him and with deep joy he was one with the light. He was burning and she was with him. He could feel her silky white feathers and hear a music that wrapped around him and caressed him.

Joy spread through him and it seemed to grow. It grew with certainty, like the way a laugh started in her eyes and spread across her face. And it kept growing. One powerful crescendo that enveloped all the darkness and thundered with a deafening power. Exploding. And all the planets and stars and heavens circled.

And he felt pain, and cold and darkness…

"Perce? Come on, Perce. Oh shit. Percy, listen to me twerp, you better damn well wake up."

He opened his eyes. Bill was looking down at him breathing hard and shaking his shoulders.

"Penelope…where? There was a Dementor…"

Bill sat back on his heels and sighed. "He's okay, Mum. He's all here." His mother's face swam into view. She looked pinched and shaken.

"Percy Ignatius Weasley, I have never been so frightened in all my life. What in the world happened?"

Percy sat up. Light was blazing all around the room. There seemed to be people everywhere. He desperately grabbed Bill's arm. "You shouldn't have brought me back. Penelope…it took her and…"

Bill smiled. "She's okay, mate. She's fine. Look over there, Sturgis has her." He looked to his right and saw Sturgis Podmore, looking grey and thin, holding Penelope up and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders.

"Pen?" he called out.

She turned soft aqua eyes to him and smiled. "I'm here."

"Damndest thing I've ever seen." Mad Eye Moody's giant eye loomed over him and he poked Percy with his walking stick. "Anyone here ever seen a Dementor explode?" he bellowed.

There was a consensus of silence, which was broken by a hoot from a screech owl. The bird circled round and landed next to Percy, folding his wings and standing like a proud sentry.

"Iris and Phillip found Hermes," Bill grinned. "Or maybe Hermes found them, I'm not sure. But we got your message." He helped Percy stand and then stepped back and looked at him appraisingly. "When we got here, you were all on the floor and that Dementor was twisting around like it was sick. I've never seen one act like that. Before we could cast a Patronus, the thing exploded in this blinding light."

"Yep. There are a few bits of it over here," Sturgis said."

"Well, for goodness sake, don't get near it," Molly called. "Mad Eye, make yourself useful and get a broom."

"It was Pettigrew, Bill. He wanted Penelope's fortune and he kidnapped Daniel for ransom. I didn't get him, Bill…I couldn't…"

"It's okay, Perce. We'll get him when the time is right. You did what you had to do."

"He may not have gotten what he thought he was getting, thanks to Norman." Penelope was now standing and her eyes widened with the sudden memory." "Norman! Oh no! Where's Norman?"

Molly took her hand. "We've sent him to St. Mungo's, dear. He was in bad shape, but he still had a pulse. The Healers are doing the best they can."

Penelope's lip quivered and she nodded. She turned and crossed to Percy and her eyes filled with tears. "You're holding your arm like it's broken."

He looked down awkwardly. "Oh yeah. It's hurting a bit."

"Give me your wand."

She straightened out his left arm and touched the tip of the wand several inches below his elbow. "Better?"

He flexed his arm and nodded, "You make me better."

"I wasn't sure you could find me," she whispered.

He leaned over and touched his forehead to hers. "Where ever you are, I'll always, always find you."

He pulled her close and let her salty tears fall on him. They were the miracle that made him wise.