Written for Jenny the Rogue as part of the Friendship Weekend. Prompt: "Why? Do you think I care so little for you that betraying me would make a difference?"
Writing Club - Book Club.
Character: Gideon. Prompts: (genre) friendship, (character) James Potter, (word) brave.
Peter arrived at Hogsmeade Station in a tumble, still gasping for air. He wrenched his hand away from his throat, only to discover that it was made once again of flesh and blood.
He looked at it in wonder, his mouth slacking open a little. He had never thought… what magic could this be?
Suddenly, he realised that he was no longer in the Malfoys' cellar, but in a white expanse that he somehow recognised from his youth, though he remembered it being a lot dirtier.
A figure approached, and Peter gasped when he realised it was none other than James Potter, his closest friend, the friend that he had betrayed and regretted every day of his existence since. He tried to transform back into a rat, to hide somewhere, anywhere from the expression of anguish he had dreamed of since. Had nightmares of since.
But to his surprise, his body would not transform, and so he resigned himself to facing James head on, summoning the very last of his courage with all of his might.
'J-James,' he squeaked.
Admittedly, courage was not something he had an excess of.
'Peter,' James said, his voice rumbling, his hazel eyes rising to meet Peter's own.
But Peter found no anger in his friend's features, no hatred, no sadness. Instead Peter saw peace and compassion. Suddenly, Peter felt very small, as if he were a child facing a very old and wise scholar. His guilt bubbled to the surface, bursting from his lips.
'Why aren't you angry?' he demanded. 'Shout at me, hit me, kill me. You know I deserve it.' He started sobbing. 'I deserve it tenfold.'
James remained silent, the benevolent smile etched onto his face.
'By all rights you should hate me, James! Why do you do nothing?'
'Why?' James asked finally, toying with Peter's question. 'Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference? You were my friend, my brother, Peter. And ties that bind do not fray so easily.'
'But I killed you,' Peter knelt to the floor, wiping his nose messily on his sleeve. He didn't notice the mucus disappearing from his robes as soon as they left his face. 'You should make me pay. Sirius too. And Remus. You were my dearest friends and I betrayed you only to live a pitiful half life.'
'That is all true, Peter,' James knelt down by the small man, his youthful face earnest as he helped his former friend to his feet. 'But you made up for it in the end. You were never a brave man, but today you saved my son. I have made my peace with past mistakes. Harry is everything to me, to the wizarding world in general. You did a good deed today and were rewarded with death.'
'Death?' Peter asked timidly. 'But I'm not…' His mouth formed into a small "o" as he realised the implications of speaking to his friend. 'I suppose I am, then.'
'Come on, Peter,' James said, guiding him towards a door that had suddenly opened. 'Sirius wants to see you.'
