Author's Note:

*** WARNING DARK AND GRAPHIC BELOW *****

Well, here is the start of it — I have had this plot point in mind for quite a while (most of it even written) but the trial aspect had to be moved around it. Also Peter's middle name was never revealed nor was Lily's so I made them up.

Reviews and Comments: To alix33: They have magic! It will stay on! Yes, Fred and George have never heard Harry call Sirius 'Padfoot' so, it was a bit of a shock for them. To Steelcode: Thank you! Will Sirius lose his temper? Well, we'll see. To Guest: Thank you! I love Harry wanting to be there for his dads more than himself, you're right, it is a sign of how much he is growing up. Thanks for saying the moment of friendship between Harry and Hermione was sweet. To Claire Fraser: Thank you for saying the moment between Harry and Hermione was lovely. Glad you're looking forward to the trial!

Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!

CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN:

The One With Peter's Trial Part I

When Harry stepped out of the fireplace and into his living room, the familiar feeling of home made him smile. Sirius and Remus came out behind him and Sirius performed a quick cleansing charm to get rid of the soot and ash from the flames before Harry hopped onto the chesterfield just in time for Marauder to jump up onto his lap, barking happily.

Sirius and Remus both sat on either side of the boy and dog. Sirius sighed, reaching out to scratch Marauder behind the ear. "Harry, do you have any questions about tomorrow?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I understand that it's a trial and that we'll finally learn the whole story about why he… sold me and my parents out to Voldemort."

Remus nodded, linking his arm with Harry's. "That's something that we'd all like to know. Why he did it, how he did it, and most importantly, what he thinks we did to warrant such a betrayal. He adored you as a baby, I don't know how he could have allowed Voldemort to hurt you."

Harry nodded, laughing when Sirius leaned in to cover his face in kisses. "Uncle Siri!" he exclaimed, rolling his eyes as he pushed his father away in amusement. "I'm not five! Stop!" he said, laughing.

Sirius grinned. "Sorry, I was remembering you as a chubby cheeked little baby. No, you most certainly aren't a baby anymore, nor five years old."

Harry smiled at him and then laughed when Remus leaned in to do the same thing. "Uncle Moony!"

Remus grinned at him. "Couldn't resist," he said, leaning in to kiss Harry's forehead tenderly. "All right, why don't you get yourself upstairs and ready for bed. It's already after ten and we have to be there first thing in the morning."

Harry stood up and snapped his fingers at Marauder who eagerly followed him up the stairs.

Sirius sighed and looked at his friend. "Tomorrow is going to change everything."

Remus shook his head. "You don't know that, Siri. Tomorrow, we're going to find out the truth; something that we've both been waiting for — for a long, long time."

"What if he reveals that you're a werewolf to the court?"

Remus shrugged. "Then he reveals it. I didn't think that I could hide forever as an unregistered wolf and… Nymphadora knows now. She knows everything."

"About fucking time," Sirius told him, shaking his head. "And did she care?"

Remus blushed. "She… already suspected, maybe even knew."

"And she didn't fucking care. I told you."

Remus nodded. "I know you did. She was the only person I was… if he tells the court, he tells the court. The DRCMC would make me register and I'd most likely have to spend time in Azkaban for keeping it a secret, but if it means Peter gets punished for what he did… I'll take whatever comes my way."

Sirius dragged his hands through his hair. "Would it make Dumbledore change his mind about hiring you?"

Remus smirked. "I rather doubt it. If I had to spend time in Azkaban it would probably only make him want to hire me more. He's an eccentric genius and a fool sometimes. It's going to be all right, Sirius. If they find out, they find out. I've always known it could be a possibility. Tomorrow is about Peter and him obtaining justice."

Sirius nodded, chewing on his bottom lip as he looked at his friend nervously. "Yeah, yeah, it will be."

~ ASC ~

The next morning, Harry, Sirius, and Remus arrived in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Harry looked around in amazement. He had never been inside of the Ministry before and the gleaming entrance hall with its large elaborate statues and its shining floors was quite the impressive sight. The golden statue by the fountain, the Fountain of Magical Brethren according to the sign, depicted a wizard standing in the circular pool pointing his wand high and surrounded by a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf. All were looking up at the witch and wizard in adoration, which Harry thought was strange as he watched the water pour from the statue.

After their wands were checked and measured by security and they were each given a visitor's pass, they made their way down to the lowest level and followed a long stone passageway until they entered a wide circular hall surrounded by doors. Each door had a different Roman numeral on it. Remus opened the door marked IX and they stepped through.

The room was large and gloomy. The dark stone only seemed to make it more depressing and glum looking. Harry followed his fathers across the staging area where a chair sat, chains surrounding it, and he followed them up the steps to the stone benches that arched up the end of the room like a stadium, looking down at the chair. He took his seat between Sirius and Remus, only two rows up, and he didn't protest, when both of them linked their arms with his.

Harry watched in fascination as the room continued to fill up. He was surprised, but pleased, to see McGonagall take a seat next to Sirius, Dumbledore on her other side and then at five minutes to nine, a second door on the left opened up and a small balding man was led through by two Aurors. His hands and feet were both chained and he had tears running down his face, his watery blue eyes bloodshot and terrified. If Harry hadn't known who it was, he wasn't sure if he would have made the connection between this man and the young boy from the photos.

The Aurors connected his chains to the shackles in the chair and waved their wands over his chains, emitting a soft silver glow.

"What did they do that for?" Harry asked.

"It's a binding spell, to keep him in the chains. He's an Animagus and can turn into a rat so, they don't want him to transform and escape. The spell prevents him from doing so," Remus explained, patiently and quietly.

Harry nodded as a dark skinned wizard in dark robes declaring himself to be Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Head Auror, came in followed by seven more Aurors. He watched as they stationed themselves around Pettigrew and the Head Auror sat at the podium at the front.

"We are here today to set trial for one Peter Pernell Pettigrew," Shacklebolt declared, his voice deep and melodic as it echoed throughout the court room. "As Head Auror, I will be overseeing this trial along with our jury of seven," he said nodding at the witches and wizards who were sitting off to the side. "Transcribing this trial will be Amara Madison, scribe of the court. Let us begin."

Shacklebolt cleared his throat, his eyes on Pettigrew as he spoke. "Let the court be aware that Mr Pettigrew will be administered Veritaserum if there is any hesitation in his answers." He tapped his wand on the podium like a gavel and then he directed his focus on Pettigrew. "Mr Pettigrew, today we accuse you of the following crimes: Working as a Death Eater alongside the Dark Wizard known as He Who Must Not Be Named. Accused of accessory to He Who Must Not Be Named in the attempted murder of Harry James Potter. Accused of selling out James Fleamont Potter and Lily Mary-Brenna Evans Potter to He Who Must Not Be Named — which resulted in their deaths by murder at his hands. Accused of twelve counts of murder by your own hand against the Muggles killed by the Blasting Curse you used to hide yourself from one Sirius Orion Black — the Muggles names are as follows alphabetically: Alfred Bern, Madison Daniels, Lillian Fox, Justine Finch, Logan Matthews, Linda Morton, David Morton, Peter O'Shea, Pauline Preston, Gregory Sampson, Vincent Simpson, and Kendrick Wessex. Accused of being an unregistered Animagus of a rat — which you then used to hide from the court for almost eleven years. Accused of framing Sirius Orion Black for your crimes, and lastly — accused of being a fugitive of justice from the Ministry of Magic and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. How do you plead?"

Pettigrew swallowed slowly, his eyes downcast. "Guilty."

Chatter amongst the court erupted a bit and Kingsley held up his hand to silence them. Sirius tugged Harry's arm a bit closer to him.

"Let's start with the first crime on the list, Mr Pettigrew. You have been accused of being a Death Eater. You plead guilty to this crime?"

"Yes," Pettigrew croaked. "I was a Death Eater."

Sirius let out a small gasp and Harry shifted closer to him, wrapping an arm around his father's waist and he felt him relax a little. He watched as McGonagall grip the hand on Sirius' other side.

"How did you come to be a Death Eater?"

Pettigrew was quiet for a moment and when he spoke, his squeaky voice was loud and almost pitiful sounding. "After I left Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I moved in with my best friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter in a small flat in Muggle London that Sirius had inherited from his uncle Alphard. It was just what we needed after finishing school, a little break from everything. We went on a summer trip, hopping from country to country and when we were in Paris, I ran into an old classmate, Evan Rosier. He was visiting his girlfriend for the summer, and he recognized me. Rosier was a Death Eater and he had tried to recruit the four of us to his cause before we left Hogwarts: It ended with James beating him bloody. He taunted me about how I had chosen the wrong side, about how one day soon I would know what it felt like to have my world altered; that I would regret turning the Dark Lord down. I ignored him, but his words bothered me. Soon after getting back to London, James and Lily were deep into finalizing their wedding plans and within a year, Sirius had sold the flat and I had my own place. My first week in my new flat, Rosier and Avery broke in and kidnapped me."

"You were kidnapped?"

Pettigrew nodded. "I was sleeping in my bed when I heard the wards break. Then before I could even grab my wand, a pillowcase was shoved over my head and then something hit me to knock me out. When I woke up, I was chained to a chair, much like this one and… the Dark Lord was standing there, twirling his wand between his fingers."

"What did you do upon seeing the Dark Wizard?"

"I… I…"

"Let the court be aware that Auror Dawlish is now administering a dose of truth potion known as Veritaserum, to the accused."

The potion was forced down Pettigrew's throat and when he looked straight ahead again, he was focused and alert.

Kingsley cleared his throat. "What did you do upon seeing He Who Must Not Be Named after you were kidnapped?"

"I pissed myself," he said honestly and some of the court chuckled.

"And?"

"The Dark Lord laughed. He asked me if I was scared of him. I told him that only stupid people weren't scared and that I wasn't stupid. He seemed pleased with my remark. And then he pointed his wand at me and used the Cruciatus Curse."

Kingsley nodded, closing his eyes. "We would now like the court to witness the memory of Peter Pettigrew's kidnapping to help form a better understanding of what Pettigrew underwent. For anyone without a strong stomach, I must warn you of the graphic nature of this memory."

Harry watched as Kingsley open a crystal phial and poured a silvery blue wispy substance into a basin before projecting the image above him to hover above the room like a film on screen.

Peter was crying and shaking.

His hands and feet were chained to the chair and he was trembling all over.

A tall wizard with dark-hair streaked in grey was standing before him. He twirled his wand between his fingers, his sunken face and dark eyes seeming to stare at Peter in wonder and delight.

"Your father tells us that you are quite the accomplished young pureblood, Peter, with ambitions to work in the Ministry. I heard that you've recently been hired in the Transportation Department, but that you are hoping to find your way to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, is that true?"

Peter nodded. "Yes."

"I can make that happen for you," the Dark Lord drawled. "I can simply snap my fingers and you can begin working at your dream job. Would you like that, Peter?"

"No."

"No?" The Dark Lord asked, turning to smirk at Rosier and Avery who stood around him. "You wouldn't like to follow your dreams?"

"I mean, yes, but not from you."

"Crucio!" A woman's voice shrieked and Peter's body began to bend and stretch in ways that it shouldn't and he screamed.

"Enough Bella," the Dark Lord said, waving her off. "Let him speak." When Peter caught his breath, he smiled. "A brave Gryffindor — aren't all of you much the same?" He leaned closer to him, touching his wand along the edges of his face. "You will join my cause."

"No, I won't!" he declared.

The spell hit him again and he screamed in pain and then it was lifted.

"You will join my cause."

"No, I won't!"

The spell hit him again and again until the Dark Lord merely smirked at him.

"Such resilience! I thought that you said he was a weakling, Rosier, not even brave enough to stand up for himself?" He leaned in closer, smiling a cruel and unforgiving smile. "You have bravery, oh, yes, but are you brave enough to defend others?" He snapped his fingers. "You are a pureblood wizard, why wouldn't you want to fight for the cause that understands you? That wants to see you succeed? I can give you everything that you have ever desired, Peter… things beyond your wildest dreams."

"I can earn them myself," he panted.

The force of the slap sent his head back and the Dark Lord only smiled.

"You are friends with two individuals that I find very interesting to me. One, a blood traitor who has escaped my grasp on two occasions, James Potter. The Potter family interests me for many reasons and the monetary value of having their estate at my disposal would be greatly valued as Somerset is quite the grand scale, but having both Potter and Sirius Black, two blood traitors, and making them turn coat, my… it would change everything."

"James and Sirius will never follow you!" Peter declared, spitting blood out of his mouth.

Rosier backhanded him so hard the chair fell over.

Avery used his wand to flip the chair back into place.

"You are weak, Peter! Do you think that your so called friends are even looking for you? Do you think they care that you've been taken hostage? They don't even know that you're missing."

"You're wrong," Peter said defiantly. "We'll defeat you, you'll see!"

The Dark Lord only smiled. "Bella, dear, why don't you show our young friend what happens when I'm unhappy."

Bella smiled gleefully, standing on her toes and planting a small kiss on the Dark Lord's cheek. "Happily, my lord."

Sirius placed a hand over Harry's eyes as the memory progressed to the start of a deep and disturbing torture of Peter Pettigrew. Remus placed a bubblehead charm over Harry's head so that he could no longer see nor hear what was going on as Bellatrix Lestrange was anything if not thorough. She used the Cruciatus on him. She nailed spikes through his hands and feet, and when she tugged his clothes off, leaving him naked on the chair, Sirius knew that what was coming next wasn't going to be any less pleasant.

Sirius swallowed back his bile as he watched the memory unfold before him — too disturbed to watch, but unable to tear his eyes away. Bellatrix called over Alecto Carrow, the young woman his mother had once wanted him to marry, and he watched in horror as she knelt before Peter. Carrow was fondling him and rubbing him and like any normal red-blooded man, his erection grew in her hand. Sirius watched as she raped him, denying him release as he screamed and cried to be let go.

He was unchained and tortured again with the Cruciatus. It went on for hours and with each rape and with each beating, Peter cried and screamed for help; begged for Sirius or Remus or James to save him and it tore at Sirius' heart as he watched his friend suffer violently before him. He gripped Remus' hand tightly in his own and held McGonagall's in his other hand, nodding at his friend when he saw that the tears rolling down Remus' face mimicked his own.

Kingsley sped through the memory, moving past the torture until Voldemort was standing before Peter again. A few days had passed at this point and Sirius remembered how Peter had gone missing for a week before the Order had rescued him just before Christmas of 1978.

Peter had refused to speak of what had happened to him. Sirius, Remus, and James had all slept at his flat for two weeks, not leaving him alone for a minute. Peter had been reassured by their presence and promised them that he was fine. But he had never told him what they had done to him and now Sirius understood why.

He turned his attention back to the court as Kingsley spoke and Remus lifted the charm from Harry so that he could listen once more.

"Why did you do that?" Harry hissed at him.

Remus smiled and gently brushed his fingers through Harry's hair. "No matter how grown up you are, little Prongs, there are some things that you don't need to see. If I have to do that again, I will."

Harry saw the tear stains on his father's face so he only nodded. He wasn't sure what it was he had missed, but he knew by the expressions on Remus and Sirius' faces that it must have been bad.

Kingsley was speaking again. "Mr Pettigrew, you claim that a month or so after you were kidnapped, you noticed that you were being stalked?"

Pettigrew swallowed. "Yes. I first noticed Rosier following me, then Avery, then Rookwood. I began to fear that they would try to take me hostage again. I stayed with James at Somerset and then with Sirius and Remus for a bit, but I wasn't approached again as long as I was with my friends. But the moment that I was alone, they were there once more."

"Did they approach you when you were alone?"

Pettigrew shook his head. "No, but I felt unsafe and they let me know that at any moment I could be kidnapped and tortured once more. They broke into my flat and left severed fingers on my bed, once a photo of my mother sleeping, and once a photo of my father — who I had come to learn was Imperiused — torturing Muggles. I snapped. I ran outside of my flat to where Rosier was watching me from across the way and I screamed at him to just leave me alone, to stop taunting me."

"And how did Rosier react?"

"He only smiled and Disapparated."

"Did they continue to stalk you?"

"No. I was left alone until June."

Kingsley nodded and opened a second phial. "Let the court know that I am now showing the memory from June of 1979."

The memory played before the court again.

"Peter, we've missed you," the Dark Lord said with a smile as he appeared in front of Peter's flat.

Peter swallowed slowly. "I won't join you. You can't make me. I'd rather be dead."

"Well, that can most certainly be arranged," he said coyly.

Rosier disarmed Peter and they forced him to walk with them, Apparating him to Malfoy Manor where a grey-blond haired wizard was waiting for them.

"Brax, let's get our guest settled in, shall we?"

"You know Abraxas Malfoy, of course," the Dark Lord said pleasantly as if introducing him at a party. "He has graciously given us his home to talk to you in."

"I don't want to talk," Peter said.

The Dark Lord grimaced. "Now, no need to be rude." He waved his wand and chains shackled Peter. "And I know all about your little rat problem so no, you won't be able to transform while in those. But you can keep on trying."

He paced in front of him, twirling his wand between his fingers for a moment.

"James Potter is marrying a Mudblood in three months time. Are you as disgusted by his traitorous ways as I am? Hmm, no answer," he said mockingly. "I plan on changing this world, Peter. I want society to understand why we must protect our magic; why we must stop these Mudbloods from sneaking in and stealing it from us. They take our jobs and they muddy our blood which makes us lose our magic, Peter. All purebloods must learn to breed only with each other to create perfect pureblood children. Do you understand, Peter?"

He ran his finger down the side of Peter's face with a cruel smile.

"Alecto rather liked riding your little prick, maybe you'd like to let her do it again? Maybe you'd like to get her with your child and start helping to rebuild this society the way that it should be. Would you like me to summon her out here, Peter? Do you want to fuck her?"

"N-no," Peter whimpered.

The Dark Lord smiled cruelly. "I thought that you might choose that option, which is why I've helped make the choice for you."

The doors opened behind him and two Death Eaters in masks held their wands in front of them as they floated a body towards them. The body was lowered to the ground before Peter and he let out a desperate gasp.

"Dad!"

"He's not dead yet," the Dark Lord said mockingly. "But I'd be happy to make him so. We had him help us with a little trouble in the East Village. Your father is quite good at raping little girls, the younger the better, I'll say. He tried quite valiantly to fight against my Imperius Curse, but he failed. But I won't have to use the curse on you, Peter, because you, you are going to be my most trusted servant."

Peter's lip trembled. "I w-w-won't j-join you."

"Ah, so you say now. But here's the thing, Peter, I need to know what Dumbledore is up too. Dumbledore… that man has never trusted me and now I hear you and your friends are working with him to try to overthrow me in his little rebellion? How completely pointless," he said with a cruel smile. "I need a spy on the inside. I need someone to tell me when and where and what and who and you, Peter, the weak underling, will do this for me."

"No!"

The Dark Lord simply smirked. "Ah, but I didn't get to the best part. Enervate!"

Mr Pettigrew's eyes fluttered open and he locked his gaze on his son. "Peter!"

"Dad," Peter cried, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, I didn't know!"

"No, Pete, no, it's not your fault, son. You be strong now!"

"Silencio!"

"No! Let him talk!" Peter cried out as he watched his father try to speak through the silencing charm to no avail.

The Dark Lord smiled. "Peter, you will accept my mark and join my cause and turn spy against Dumbledore for me. If you do not agree, I will once more Imperius your father and have him rape and torture and ultimately kill your mother." Mr Pettigrew's eyes widened in horror. "But before I do that, I will find a pretty little Muggle girl, a young child maybe eight or nine, and make him do it to her first while your mother watches and sees what a terrible man her husband has become. And after your mother has suffered, I will kill both of them and make you dispose of their bodies."

Peter was so white he was almost translucent. "No!"

"No? You don't think I'll do it? Oh, I assure you, that is the least of the horrors that I will inflict upon you. Accept my mark, join my cause or your parents' deaths will be on your conscience and their blood will be on your hands."

Peter swallowed. "If — if I do what you ask, you'll let them go?"

"Of course," the Dark Lord said with a smile. "I will not kill your parents if you do what I ask."

Peter was silent for a moment and with tears rolling down his face he nodded. "I will join you."

The Dark Lord smiled widely and nodded at Rosier. Rosier rolled up the sleeve on Peter's left arm and Voldemort touched the tip of his wand to the inner forearm.

Peter screamed in pain as the dark magic inked itself into his skin in the shape of a skull with a serpent wrapped around the head and coming from the mouth. It oozed blood before turning black as coal.

Voldemort smiled. "Welcome to the Death Eaters, Peter."

The memory ended and Kingsley put the memory back into the phial.

"The court would like to take a short fifteen minute recess, Dawlish, bring the prisoner back to the dungeon."

Sirius turned to Remus, tears in his eyes. "He… he tried to fight them."

"Did you really think so little of him?" Remus asked, tears in his own eyes. He wrapped an arm around Harry, hugging him close to him. "How are you doing, little Prongs?"

Harry shrugged, feeling immensely relieved when Sirius hugged him from his other side. "I didn't expect… if those were the memories that were okay for me to see, I'm glad you used that Charm for the first one."

Sirius kissed the top of his son's head. "Me too. I feel a bit better knowing that Peter fought them, that it took something that extreme to get him to go over to their side."

"What is that tattoo, Uncle Padfoot?"

"It's the Dark Mark, Harry. I didn't realize that Death Eaters are branded with it and from the looks around the court room, no one else knew that either. Voldemort used to put that mark up high into the sky after he had killed someone, leaving his mark there so that the world knew he was behind the crime. He or his Death Eaters."

Remus nodded, his eyes on Sirius. "He still killed Peter's father, Sirius. If that was three months before James and Lily got married, remember, they were on their honeymoon when Peter's father was found murdered."

Sirius nodded. "I remember. But he saved his mother so that's something anyway."

"June of '79," Remus said. "James and Lily weren't killed until October of '81… all those years and we never… he must hate us."

Sirius crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Just because I sympathize with what happened to him, Remus, doesn't mean that I don't wish him dead for what he did to Prongs and Evans."

"He didn't want to be a Death Eater," Harry said, his eyes on his godfather. "He tried to fight."

"Yeah, little Prongs, he did," Remus said quietly.

The three of them let out a long sigh as Pettigrew was brought back into the room and once more shackled and spelled to the chair. A lawyer bent down to whisper something to him, but Peter shook his head.

Kingsley held his wand up to gain the attention of the court as the lawyer took his seat again. "Mr Pettigrew, you have now admitted to joining the Death Eaters in June of 1979, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Why did he brand you with the Dark Mark?"

"It was a symbol for all of the Death Eaters to bear. If you have the mark, you were one of his followers, only his most loyal and his oldest acquaintances were forfeited the mark. By touching the mark on the arm of any Death Eater, he had the power to summon us to him, to send us messages. The mark would burn and you could feel your blood sizzle when he touched it," Pettigrew explained. "It gave him even more power over us."

Kingsley nodded. "Let us hear about your work as a Death Eater. You Know Who claimed that he wanted you to be a spy against Dumbledore. What did that entail?"

Pettigrew swallowed. "I gave him information on Dumbledore, anything he wanted to know about where he was going or what he was doing. He knew that Dumbledore had organized a resistance group against him called the Order of the Phoenix, he knew that I was part of it. I gave him the names of the Order members. I helped coerce them into joining his cause. Two more turned coat against Dumbledore because of my information."

"Name them."

"Elaine Ryan and Nigel Winters."

"Both of them were killed in missions fighting against He Who Must Not Be Named."

Pettigrew nodded. "The Dark Lord killed them himself when they tried to change their minds about turning. Ryan was… she was sexually tortured and violated by eight other Death Eaters before the Dark Lord finally killed her. Winters was killed on the spot."

Kingsley looked down at his notes, tapping his wand lightly against the podium. "All right, you turned spy. Let's get down to the third and fourth charges against you, the attempted murder of Harry James Potter and the murders of James Fleamont Potter and Lily Mary-Brenna Evans Potter. Why did you betray them?"

Pettigrew lifted his head to look around the courtroom for the first time, his eyes stopping when they found Sirius and Remus. He licked his lips before he spoke, locking eyes with his old friends before he spoke.

"Because they deserved it."

Remus wasn't fast enough to grab Sirius before he jumped down from his seat and landed in front of Peter. He grabbed him by the front of his shirt and plowed his fist into his face.