Chapter 12: Is Wormtail Wicked or Just Worried?
The sun shone brightly down that afternoon as Hermione and Peter walked down with the rest of the girls to watch Sirius, James and Marlene try out again for the Quidditch team. Remus was still lying about a headache which left just the five of them. Hermione and Peter were walking slightly behind and she couldn't help but comment on his stifled yawn.
"Were you up late last night planning some dastardly prank? I haven't witnessed one yet, and thanks to the tales I've been hearing, I'm feeling a little bit disappointed." At this, Peter seemed to perk up, but Hermione interjected again. "Was that what you were doing on the night we met? I can't see any reason why you'd be in the Great Hall alone in the middle of the night."
Surprised that she would bring up that night seeing as it had become an unspoken rule amongst them not to mention it, he was initially stumped. After a small pause he replied, appreciating the opening that she had granted him, "Yeah, that one went down well, but we were all a bit too preoccupied thinking about you."
She stopped walking as she took in the nervous boy, although he was shorter than the other boys, he and Hermione were the same height, so she could look him straight in the eye. "I never said thank you for going to find help," As he began to interrupt, she continued, "I know I said thanks to everyone, but I wanted to personally say thanks to you. I was in a rough shape and I may not have survived if not for your quick thinking. So thank you."
He blushed a bit darker and made some excuse, continuing a slow stroll, "All I did was run and get help, James and Sirius are always the ones to do the right thing." As he said this Hermione noticed a slight frown crease his brow.
"What are you talking about? I heard that you ran up seven flights of stairs in record timing to get Dumbledore, and then ran back down them to make sure I was okay. I would have tripped flat on my face and ended up more banged up than the person I was trying to help."
"That's me," he grumbled under his breath "Always running away, tripping up and making a fool of myself. Potter gets the Quidditch skills, and his perfect pureblood family. Black gets the girls and comes up with all the good ideas for pranks. Remus is bloody perfect, with his brilliant test scores and brooding looks that makes Mary drool all over him."
"Stop that!" She cut him off before he could continue on his self-deprecating rant, stopping walking and gripping his arm, "Don't you dare do that to yourself. I've not known you long but I see how you bring them all together and help them out. Like last week when Sirius lost his homework and blamed James; you immediately calmed them down and sorted out the situation, and gave him your homework as well."
"Well, it was obviously the only way they would stop arguing…" he mumbled out.
"Peter, did you get your homework back or did they help you write it again?" She fought back, already knowing the answer.
"No, but they were distracted because Liz Brocklehurst tipped her pumpkin juice over Sirius because he was flirting with…"
She ignored him and continued, "The way they treat you is abhorrent, either making fun of you or ignoring you completely! But they would stop in a heartbeat if you told them about it."
He tittered and continued defending his friends, "It's just mates teasing and mucking around Hermione, it's what guys do."
She scrunched up her face in frustration, "My best friends in France were both boys so I know what boys do. What they shouldn't do to a friend is pick on him specifically just because he's too afraid he will lose them if he speaks out."
When he didn't reply, she opened her eyes to look into his widened ones, knowing that her words rang true, "You let them treat you like you are nothing, because you believe you are, but you aren't."
"Okay," she acquiesced, "They all do great things, but what you do is so important because it can't be seen. You are their rock and if you weren't there they would probably fall apart."
Noticing that he still hadn't replied, she looked straight into his startled face, finishing yet another rant, "Never diminish your own importance, and don't let them make you think that way!"
She breathed out in a gasp as she realised the full extent of what she had said. Hermione hadn't meant to say that much but she had been growing tired of the way that his so-called friends had been treating him over the past couple of weeks. There weren't any outright cruel moments, but there were a few small exchanges that made Hermione realise how this man could grow to one day resent and betray his friends.
Hoping that she wouldn't get a lashing in return, Hermione was surprised when his watery eyes filled with tears and he launched himself at her, hugging her tightly. "Thank you." He whispered into her hair as he started to sob, "No one has ever stood up for me like that before." Hermione had only known the boy for a couple of weeks so this level of exuberant familiarity shocked her, leaving her to just pat his back awkwardly.
He stepped back from her when he noticed her stiffened form, "I'm sorry, I get emotional a lot and they pick on me for it. My mum says that I shouldn't be ashamed because it shows that I care deeply enough about something that it can no longer be expressed with words."
He sniffled and she smiled, "Smart lady."
"Thanks, it's just me and her at home, so I sometimes think that not having a father figure messed up my development process," he admitted, as if he had been told it multiple times.
"That is the biggest pile of horse shite that I have ever heard. You are one of the best people I have met so far, so if you have stunted development I'd like to hear the others' excuses!"
At this, he began to laugh. She frowned again, "Are you jealous of your friends, is that the problem?" When he didn't reply, she continued hesitantly, "I heard that you mentioned Mary, are you jealous that she likes Remus?"
By this point they had started walking again, but Peter chuckled, "Nah she's not really my type, but that's good to know, Remus has been panting after her for months." She chose to ignore the pun and let Peter continue.
"It's just," he groaned in frustration, "They all find everything so easy! They don't have to try that hard with school, being popular, or even with relationships. It's just bloody frustrating being compared to that the whole time!" He sighed and lowered his voice, "But I still love them and wouldn't know what I'd do without them, so what are they still doing with me? Surely they could find a better replacement?"
"I told you to stop that," she began again, "You just need to set yourself apart from them, what do you like that they don't?"
"I dunno," he began, "I like talking to Madame Pomfrey I guess," at Hermione's shrewd face he clarified, "Not in the flirty way that Sirius or James do, but when she's talking about healing Remus. I guess it's just interesting to see how the body works." Once again, Hermione ignored Peter's slip of the tongue in regards to Remus; if he were going to be loyal to the Order this time around then they would need to sort out that loose mouth of his.
"That's it!" Hermione started, "Why don't you look into that then?" At his hesitant look she continued, "Or not. No one will judge you if you look into multiple areas, and change your mind, just be confident." He smiled at her pep talk before looking nervous again, an odd look taking over his eye, as if he had just made a big decision. Peter looked around and when he saw no one was watching them, he dragged her over to walk closer to the Forbidden Forest.
Although Hermione originally thought that her chat might have gone in the wrong direction and he was dragging her away to kill her, he shook his head to calm her nerves. "Um…" he began, and began to breathe faster, "I know we don't really know each other that well but I need to tell someone…" He broke off and looked straight at the floor, muttering, "I've never told anyone before."
Suddenly Hermione's stomach dropped as she pondered that maybe Peter had already gotten the mark and she had got her timing wrong, but there was a glimmer in his eye that said something different. "You know when I said that Mary was not my type, well you're not either,"
She smiled kindly back, "Thanks, the feeling's mutual."
He grimaced out a smile, "What I mean is that no one in the Gryffindor girls dorm is really my type." He continued, that glint in his eye begging Hermione to understand what he was telling her. Out of nowhere, it clicked, and she didn't need the final statement to get what he was saying, "No one in the girls dorm in any house is my type."
When Hermione realised the enormity of what Peter was saying, something must have shown in her face because Peter began to cringe away. What he didn't expect was to be practically rugby tackled into a hug, swallowing mouthfuls of hair in the process. But the time he emerged, he was surprised to see tears in her eyes.
"You're gay?" She asked, making sure that she hadn't got the wrong end of the stick, when he nodded, her eyes somehow became wetter, "Thank you so much for telling me!" In a strange turn of events they were both crying together, falling into one another's arms, one thankful of being accepted, and the other thankful of being trusted. Thoughts of uncomfortable intimacy were forgotten while they hugged.
"Why haven't you told your friends?" She cut in, momentarily forgetting that it was 1977 and homosexually had only been legalised ten years prior in the muggle world. In the wizarding world it was still a much different story which could be seen in the exasperated face of her new friend.
"Well tell me about it then, if you feel comfortable to. By the sound of it, you're desperate to talk about it with someone!" She seemed to have guessed correctly when Peter grabbed her arm and dragged her along, regaling his thoughts, feelings, and past, the Quidditch tryouts completely forgotten.
It was not much later when a large shadow fell on their path and Hermione's heart sang when she looked up and into the face of a dear friend. Hagrid looked considerably younger and thinner around the waist, but he still had the same welcoming smile and crinkles around the eyes. This effect was somewhat lost on her when she noticed the frantic look in his eye.
"Oi is that you Pete, I need you to run for help, she's in labour!" Hermione was momentarily too shocked about the statement to stop Peter turning away to run back to the castle to get help. Yanking him back, she set about addressing the situation in hand.
"Hi Hagrid, nice to meet you, what's wrong?" She said calmly.
"It's Dorris my dog, she's having puppies!" Immediately resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the name choice, she sprang into action.
"Is she in your house? Is it connected to the internal floo connections?" She began walking briskly towards the groundskeepers cottage with Peter tailing her, "If we get there quickly then we can floo call Madame Pomfrey and get her help."
"Brilliant!" Hagrid shouted in agreement before turning to Peter and saying under his breath, "I'd keep this one around if you're ever in a mess," he looked at her again, "What was your name again?"
"Hermione Dumbledore." She replied as they reached the front step.
He gasped again, opening the door to his guests "I heard you had a go at old Professor Cribbs about a few creatures. I was meaning to hunt you down and have a conversation with you!"
She smiled, "I guess I was just overeager!" rushing over to the fireplace to call on Madame Pomfrey. In the time that it took her to do that, Peter had walked over to the mat in the corner of the room where a heavily pregnant dog was sitting. A small lifeless bundle was lying between its legs.
"Hagrid! Get some towels!" Peter commanded before Hagrid could start to blubber. He wrapped the pup into the towel and furiously began rubbing it's back whilst ordering Hagrid to boil some water. By the time Hermione had got her head out of the fireplace, Madame Pomfrey was following her through, taking in the scene that was very much in hand.
Peter had successfully resuscitated the lifeless puppy and it was now cradled in Hagrid's arms, it's cute little nose burrowing out of the mountain of towels that enveloped it as Hagrid blubbered. After he had done that, Peter had crouched next to the pregnant dog, padding the area with more towels so it could get more comfortable.
If Hermione didn't know any better she would think that the look in Madame Pomfrey's eye was pride. Not that she got much of a look at it, considering the way that she marched to action, instructing Peter on what to do. Hermione felt largely useless for once, but happily accepted the puppies that were loaded into her arms.
It was only later, when she was counting up the eight puppies that had been born, and Hagrid was telling her about the extended lifetimes of magical animals, that she realised that she had just witnessed the birth of Fang.
"...and then I dived right in front of Mathews and took the quaffle from underneath his nose, you should have seen his face!" James continued his blow by blow account of the tryouts, to the rest of the Marauders and Hermione. Remus had chosen to join them for dinner and was chuckling quietly, looking very pale and weak.
Sirius replied, "That smarmy git deserved it! Did you see how cocky he was acting, James had to remind him that he was the one who was Quidditch Captain, not Mathews."
They both continued to chortle, not noticing that their other friends didn't seem to get the joke as none of them had actually been there. Peter's attempts to cut into the conversation were being ignored and it was obviously annoying him. Hermione saw him visibly give up and quiet down, and she had decided that she had had enough.
"Actually we didn't see any of that because Pete and I didn't make it to the tryouts, it's nice to hear Marlene and Sirius got back in again though." This seemed to get their attention.
James and Sirius appeared to visibly deflate, "Why Pete? You know how important that was to me! I was hoping you'd big me up to Lily about how responsible I am as a Quidditch Captain. Now that's ruined if you couldn't even be bothered to show up."
At this, Hermione could see that Peter was beginning to bristle and so decided to intervene, "Sorry to miss it, but Peter was too busy saving 9 lives! Now you should have seen that!"
"What? Has he been directing the other rodents away from Filch's traps again?" Sirius turned to his friend and sneered, "They are pests Pete, not your friends, they're supposed to die."
Before Hermione could protest again, James butt in to tell her about the last time when Peter had gone about dismantling all of the traps in the castle. He tried to continue, in a very demeaning tone, but Peter had finally decided that he had had enough.
"Oh would you shut up!" He shouted, causing them all to quieten, as well as one or two other heads to turn to see where the exclamation had come from.
Taking the only time his friends had allowed him to speak, he continued, "Sorry if me caring about something other than your Quidditch practice offends you, but some of us have more interesting things to talk about!"
Appreciating the still shocked silence, he breathed out a sigh of pent up frustration, "If you had actually allowed me to talk for once, then you wouldn't have had to guess and rudely pick apart all my past decisions."
By this point, Remus had begun to look down at the table in shame, but the other boys were still looking confused. "I get it. Lily doesn't talk to you, Sirius's latest fling is out for his blood, or you got marked down on your last assessment. But would it hurt to take your head out of your arses for once in a while and at least listen to someone other than yourselves?"
In a huff, Peter slammed his hands down on the table and left the Hall, not before turning to Hermione to tell her that he would see her later. The boys all sat in stoney silence for a few seconds.
"Wonder what's got his wand in a knot?" Sirius chuckled, causing Remus and Hermione to glare at him, "What?"
"Maybe he's got a point about us not listening to him then…" Remus commented.
James looked uncertain, but Sirius continued to dismiss it, "Nah, he's just stressed because he has to sit a detention tonight with McGonagall."
"And do you remember what that detention was for?" Hermione bit out, but when Sirius just shrugged, she reminded him. "Peter gave you his homework when you lost yours, and then you let him take the fall for you."
At his still vacant look, James helped, "Remember mate, you left it in that broom cupboard with Brocklehurst but then you blamed it on me." He turned back to Hermione, "I swear we sorted it in the end though, why is Pete still doing the detention?"
She huffed a breath out with a sigh, "You sorted it for yourselves, but Peter only had the introduction copied by the time it was due. No thanks to either of you." They turned to Remus to see if she was telling the truth and it appeared like he finally remembered the occasion.
Hermione focussed on James as she continued, "Lily took pity on him, so maybe consider helping your friends as a way to impress her, instead of just prancing around like you own the place."
James finally looked a bit guilty, "Oops, that shouldn't have happened, but that was only one time right?"
Hermione just sighed and turned to Remus who was grimacing, "You've got to admit that we do pick on him a bit. Maybe it gets to him a bit more than he lets on?"
Appearing to actually be concentrating on the conversation at last, Sirius contributed, "But we do that all the time with each other, it's just friendly banter. Isn't it guys?" He directed that last part at his other friends who both nodded.
"But they fight back." Hermione expanded, "Which Peter doesn't do much because he is too kind, so you keep prodding to try and get a reaction out of him." She faced each one of them in turn, "Don't tell me you haven't noticed that your comments to him are much more harsh and close to home? I haven't been here long, but even I can see that it gets to him."
Sirius spluttered out the same excuse, "But he's a close mate, we've been doing it for years…"
"That's no excuse! If you actually used your eyes or listened to your close mate for once then you wouldn't be in this mess." Hermione reminded them, looking into Sirius's dark eyes, "Just because you see yourself as the king of the bloody castle, doesn't mean that you shouldn't listen to him just because he is quieter than you."
Noticing the familiar looks of friends during one of her famous chastisement lectures, she sighed at the certainty that this would happen in any timeline. "All he does is boost you all up and make you feel better, and you all lap it up. When is the last time you asked him if he wants help with class or what he wants to do after school?"
At this scathing reproach, she gathered her bag and left the table with a final remark, "By the way, he delivered 8 puppies from Hagrid's dog, largely without help or instruction from Pomfrey. He also managed to bring one back to life when at first it appeared dead, so sorry if we weren't too concerned that you saved yet another quaffle from Mathews."
With that, she stomped off to find the library before bed, leaving behind the stunned and impressed faces of the remaining 3 Marauders.
Up next is Chapter 13: Some Surprising Slytherins