A/N: Wow! I can't believe how long it took me to update this story! You have my permission to berate me mercilessly.
Regardless, I've been working every night for the last two weeks on this update, which resulted in me writing WAY more than could fit into one chapter. Therefore, I've divided it in half. This first half is quite dialogue-heavy, but some interesting stuff still occurs, of course. Of course, I hope it's enjoyable dialogue, anyway. A few big fights happen in the next chapter, though, which I'll strive to get up tonight, if at all possible (It's finished – I just need to edit it a bit).
Regardless, kick back and enjoy the newest installment of Rise of the Fourth Marauder!
Disclaimer: I own nothing at ALL, especially not this story. Wait, that didn't come out exactly right…oh well, close enough! XD Also, I'm giving this story image thing a shot - this image of young Peter was created by Deviant Art User ~tina-lynn, so all props related to the picture should be directed her way.
Rise of the Fourth Marauder
Chapter Four – Breaking News…In Half
Duels continued throughout class, to a variety of results – Remus won, as usual, but James and Lily actually lost to their Slytherin opponents, much to the shock and grief of the other Gryffindors. I decided to actually watch and participate in the matches as a spectator, rather than turn back to my books immediately as I had been doing recently. I was comfortable, for the moment, with counting my victory against Snape as a mark of my progress. I still considered these people my friends, after all, and there was no reason to discount them just because I'd been cloistering myself away for a month.
My studying really seemed to be working so far, and exercising the four pillars of my magical core was definitely giving me more magic to work with. Earlier in the year, I don't know if I'd have even been able to pull off just one Incarcerous! But my newly taut body and my knowledge-hungry mind were certainly making a difference in the amount of magic I had command over. Naturally, my three meditations were helpful, too, but I'd only just started doing them.
The point was, though – I now was, at worst, keeping pace with my year, a feat I had never accomplished before. It felt GOOD. Addictively good.
As such, I was beaming with smiles by the time I walked out of the classroom, inhaling the musky Hogwarts air affectionately. It was good to be on the right track, for once!
"Good afternoon, Mr. Pettigrew!" an insincere-sounding female voice resounded from directly in front of me. I jumped in shock, narrowly avoiding a collision with the speaker.
"Er...hullo?" I managed to respond, flicking my eyes up and recognizing a pair of Hufflepuff girls from my year. Rita Skeeter was the one who greeted me. Her hair was curled quite heavily, making her look far older than other girls in our year. Her eyes glinted with something I didn't usually see on a girl that wasn't Bellatrix – ambition and greed.
Beside her, looking wholly unwilling to be there, was Rita's usual sidekick, Amelia Bones. Amelia was the last person you would normally expect to be friends with a girl as skin-curling to be around as Rita, but I suppose Amelia was the only person who'd tolerate her when they'd first met, after which Rita simply must have adopted her as her best friend. Amelia can be fairly cold for a Hufflepuff, and is known to be intelligent, logical, and perceptive. As far as I know, she's never had a boyfriend…but she wouldn't have ANY trouble trying to procure one, with her incredibly desirable looks and figure.
I blushed as I made eye contact with Amelia and quickly looked back to Rita, to better stay in control of my mental faculties.
"My sources tell me that you've just handed Severus Snape a viciously crushing defeat, rendering him unconscious! Would you like to share a firsthand account of your victory?" she batted her eyelashes at me prettily, but I wasn't stupid enough to fall for a trick as old as that.
"…Why?" I responded exasperatedly. Amelia snickered a little, though I'm not sure who it was directed at.
"Well!" Rita huffed. "It's for the school paper, of course! The Hogwarts Herald!"
"We…have a school paper?" James asked skeptically as he and the other Marauders stopped to stand beside me.
Rita gaped at James briefly, her face flushing a deep scarlet (apparently she harbors a crush on him), before collecting her wits and responding, more shakily this time, "Y-yes, I, um, feel that the school could use its own paper. There's a lot that goes on in this school, you know, especially with you…I-I mean, you all attending!" she flashed a grin.
"This is our only idea for a story, by the way," Amelia divulged with a bored look in her eye. "We brainstormed for an entire five seconds to come up with it."
"Right, and we don't need any other story as long as we have you guys!" Rita beamed, actually managing to look pretty adorable for a second before she put her mask of professionalism back on.
"And Professor Dumbledore okayed it?" Remus checked.
"Oh, absolutely. Why wouldn't he?" Rita said, looking highly offended.
"I can think of at least fifteen reasons off the top of my head," Amelia muttered while picking at her fingernails.
"Then there's no harm in answering some questions…I…suppose," I suggested, trailing off as I saw a crazed, hungry look enter Rita's eyes.
"Agreed!" Sirius declared, clapping Remus and I on the shoulder. "I think a little healthy publicity is what we've been missing in our castle-wide exploits, my brothers!"
Rita cleared her throat. "Okay, first question – what do the Marauders stand for? Do you have any grand ideals? Purposes? Desires?"
James grinned and spoke up before Sirius could say anything unflattering. "We stand for the principle that wizards and witches, being gifted with magic, should have the freedom to use it and explore it boundlessly, outside the confines of the societal and scholastic norm. As such, our typical demonstrations and pranks are all representative of our group's pursuit of limitless, unhinged magic. It is our right, as wizards."
"W-w-wow, that was amazing, James!" Rita gasped. "You got all that, didn't you, Amelia?"
"Sure did," Amelia said, rapidly scratching her quill on a pad of paper.
"Okay, next question - um, Peter – what's your secret? It's not just anyone who can topple Severus Snape in a duel."
I didn't really want to draw attention to myself when my cloistered study sessions had been going so well, but I thought I'd give this publicity thing a shot, anyway. "Strategy, really. Whenever you're going up against an opponent with more raw power than you, your only chance to win is to outthink them. I don't think Snivellus really expected me to put up much of a fight, either, which gave me a distinct advantage."
"I see, I see!" Rita said, as Amelia scribbling furiously on her pad. "Oh! How rude of me! Would you all like to sit?" Waving her wand, she conjured up four comfy chairs for us to sit on, with quite an impressive bit of transfiguration magic.
We're really doing this…it's kind of intimidating, to be honest.
She made an ottoman for herself, and sat along with us. "Now then…"
"Do I get a chair?" Amelia asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.
"No, of course not - you have to focus! Sitting down will only hurt your concentration!" Rita said sweetly.
"You're so considerate," Amelia replied.
Sirius spoke up. "You know, I happen to have a lap here, and it happens to have just enough room to support Amelia Bones's buttocks…"
Amelia beamed at him. "I'd rather get mauled by cannibals, thanks!"
"No problem!" Sirius said with a cheeky wink.
"Okay, back to business!" Rita said importantly, "I'd like to thank the other Marauders for their patience, but, if it's alright, I'd like to direct another question to Peter."
"Fair enough," James said, spreading his hands magnanimously.
"Right, okay," she eyed him nervously, her legs shaking a bit. "Er…Peter, just last week, surveys revealed that you were most known for vomiting all over one Alice Fenten…"
"Who has a fantastic arse!" Sirius pointed out.
"Indeed. As do I!" James explained.
Rita patently ignored them. "…as you were competing in a Potions competition. So…what changed? You don't seem to be nervous anymore, and, um…" She ran her eyes quickly over my body, which was still clothed in sweaty dueling garb, which, as I was suddenly aware, clung to my body shape more than our standard robes. "…you're known as the most undesirable Marauder…"
"Why, thank you. I appreciate that." I said. After a moment of silence, I asked, "Is that the end of the question?"
"Oh! Yes!" she said, with a flush of embarrassment.
"W-well, I've been attempting, recently, to catch up with the rest of my class in my studies, and, er…I'm taking steps to build up my magical core and also immersing myself in magic. I follow a strict schedule I made for myself, which is doing a lot to improve my spellwork thus far. As a result, I'm also feeling more confident," I said with a smile that probably didn't look confident at all.
"I see…thank you…" Amelia said, quill scratching away.
"No problem."
"Alright, I'd now like to address the group as a whole…"
"As a whole lot of sexy?" James suggested.
Amelia smirked while Rita tried and failed to smother a giggle. "So, would the four of you ever consider admitting a fifth member into your ranks?"
"No, of course not," James waved her off. "It's always been the four of us, and it will always be just the four of us. We each have other close friends not in the group, obviously, but the truth is, the Marauders represent a close bond between four guys who have experienced a great many trials and challenges together. The group is, I guess you could say, nostalgic to us, and it would numb that feeling a bit to let someone else join."
"Very well." Rita looked to Amelia. "Did you get all that?" Amelia answered by extending her middle finger. Rita groaned and continued, "How about your nicknames?"
"Codenames," Sirius corrected her.
"Alright, my mistake. Codenames. Many, in Hufflepuff, at least, have speculated about what they could have been inspired by. Care to share their origins?"
"We would love to," James said, with an apologetic shrug, "but I'm afraid we'd have to lock you in a dungeon for the REST of your LIVES if we did so! Or else just obliviate you."
"That option would save the cost of living expenses, Prongsie," Sirius said thoughtfully.
"Hmm…next, let's say a girl hypothetically wanted to get close to one of you," she said, unsubtly looking at James as she did, "What advice would you give her to better win your heart?"
Before anyone else could speak, Sirius declared, "She shouldn't be wearing a bra, period. That is all."
The girls both stared at him with hilarious expressions of incredulity.
I cleared my throat and said the only thing I could think of, which was inspired by Tessa's tendency to avoid showers at all cost. "Er, also, I'd advise her to take showers. Cleanliness is very attract…"
"No," Sirius cut me off. "No bra. That is all she needs to do to. If she does so, I will fall in love with her immediately."
Remus finally spoke up. "Do ignore him, he's just attention-starved. I like a girl with a passion for knowledge, who goes out of her way to seek out more things to learn at all times."
"I agree, actually," Sirius said. "It's better to have a girl that's smarter than you."
"That…wouldn't be hard to achieve, in your case," I enlightened him.
"Indeed." Remus grinned. "Although I also concur with the other two's responses."
"As do I," I put in.
As Amelia scribbled down the conversation with a snicker, Rita turned expectantly to James. "What about you, J-J-J…er, Potter?"
James pursed his lips. "While I do agree that all those are marvelous traits for a woman to have, especially Sirius's answer, I already have my heart set on one very special girl. As such, the girl from the question should strive to imitate, nay, surpass her. And by this I mean for her to dye her hair red and turn her eyes into an intense green." He wiggled his eyebrows.
Rita nodded dumbly, her face flushed. I don't think she actually heard anything that James said. "So, um…one last question – where do the four of you land on the blood purity debate? Three of you are Purebloods, after all."
"Well, as I may have implied when I shared the group's goal earlier," James answered, "We want all witches and wizards, regardless of descent to be able to pursue their careers and the fair use of magic. Muggleborns should be freed from the constant monitoring of the government that's causing such a stir these days. They're wizards and witches, just like you and me, so why not let them enjoy doing what it means to be wizard or witch?"
"But, if you let them just run amok like that, won't the Muggleborns eventually overrun us?" Rita argued. "What about the countless traditions of the old families? What right do Muggleborns have to fundamentally change our culture when they're practically guests here, in the first place?"
"Not a bad argument, but one could argue that it's the responsibility of the families that wish to preserve their pure lineage, culture, and traditions to do so themselves. No one is saying that they can't still wed solely other Purebloods. The traditions can easily continue if things change."
"But the culture will be so different with all those ignorant Muggleborns working all our jobs, and seducing our children, right? Keeping wizarding traditions alive is all well and good, but if the wizarding world has been, excuse the expression, muddied up in the meantime…then what's the point when such values no longer mean anything? Besides, since Muggleborns are much weaker than normal wizards and witches, shouldn't first bid for students and employees go towards those with wizarding blood?"
"I've done some research on the subject recently," I said, risking speaking up, "And, in a way, you're right – Muggleborns have less potential for power than Purebloods do, since they have no residual ancestral energy or specializations to draw from. However, most Purebloods cannot reach their full potential, anyway, due to various circumstances that prevent them from spending the time necessary to become more powerful. Moreover, inbreeding vastly weakens the ancient lines as well, though the government likes to suppress that truth. In the end, some Muggleborns must be introduced in a family line from time to time to keep it fresh. Besides, what does power have to do with being a desk clerk or a professor? Nothing. It's knowledge and aptitude that's the key, and Muggleborns have as much of an opportunity to excel in those as any wizard."
"I see! That's a very interesting opinion," Rita said, looking at Amelia's notes with a smile. "Any other comments before we wrap up?"
"I'd like to point out that not all of us agree that Pureblood traditions are worth their weight in gold," Sirius said, adopting a stern look. "I was raised in a very fundamentalist household, and if I was to succinctly describe my relationship with my family, I'd say they were unloving, abusive, corrupt, demented, and hateful. Not only to me, but to everyone. I'm not saying all Pureblood families are like that, of course, but several of the ones that I was forced to interact with as a child gave me the same cold, insane feeling. I'm not sure what can or should be done about this, but it is a serious problem. After school, I'd like to find a way to help kids get away from abusive families and to be raised in a more healthy way by other wizarding families."
"A very noble stance, to be sure," Rita said, looking briefly at Remus, who was looking lazily about the hallway. "Well then, I think that's all we need from you fine gentlemen…"
"Oh! One last thing," James announced.
"What's that?"
"I'd just like to say that one of my favorite things about Severus Snape is how thoughtful and generous a fellow he is."
"Indeed," Sirius said with a nod, "and the only reason he isn't just bombarded by female suitors at all times is because he, very strategically, covers himself every morning with a thick lather of facial grease."
"We'll be sure to get those comments in the article for you, for sure," Amelia said with a grin. "Now, then…shall we?"
"Thanks so much for your time, guys!" Rita beamed. "I'm sure you'll hear from us again."
We thanked them and went on our way, joking and nudging each other as we went. I felt like it went pretty well – I believed we would all come off looking like the true, noble delinquents we were.
How naïve I was.
The next morning, the post arrived bearing the first issue of the Hogwarts Herald. Any enthusiasm I felt was quickly replaced with dread when I saw most of the student body turn as one to stare at me.
"Er…may I see that?" I asked Sirius, who was gawking at his copy. He angrily thrust it in my face. The title headline was "Peter Pettigrew: Blood Supremacist!"
"WHAT?!" I screamed. "How is that even possible?"
"Look it quoted you, right there," James said, pointing with his wand to my quote.
There it was: "I've done some research on the subject recently, and… Muggleborns have less potential for power than Purebloods do, since they have no residual ancestral energy or specializations to draw from." The rest of the article was pitched to make it look like I was a bloodthirsty bigot of doom, and that my slip up alluded to the hidden malicious intent of the Marauders as a whole. We were, supposedly, a front for corruption; our jovial, practical joking exterior likely only existing to throw everyone off so we could pursue our twisted aims in secret.
"That stupid, callous bitch," I growled, tossing it aside.
"W-well, at least they did a nice job on the personal preferences piece." Remus said, trying to defuse the tense atmosphere. "They got most of our clever quips in there."
"Well, I like the polls section," James said, grinning at me maliciously. "Peter, in popularity polls amongst witches, you're actually losing to bloody Snivellus! That takes a lot of effort, mate."
Sirius clapped me on the back. "Have fun wallowing in your virginity till the end of time!"
"Thanks. I appreciate that," I said, stretching. "Well, it's getting late in the morning, I'd better go get back to my studies." Feeling completely humiliated and worthless, I plastered a blank look on my face and walked with my head held high out of the Great Hall. I kept going, anger slowly building, till I got to the library, hid my head in my arms and hissed with agony.
After a few moments of quivering, I detected a familiarly unclean scent approach. "Is…is there something wrong?" Tessa asked, hesitantly. "Er, well, duh. Obviously you're suffering. It's rare to see you like this, bitch!" I heard her slide slinkily into the seat across from me.
I tried to regain a semblance of control before looking up at her. "Tessa. Should've known you'd be here during breakfast."
"Pssh, why would I eat when everyone's there?" she said with a sunny smile. Her face was especially dirt-encrusted this morning, her hair looking quite tribal and disheveled. "Anyway, is there anything I can do to help you out?"
"W-well…" I hesitated, finding myself unable to make eye contact with the girl I murder every night in my dreams. "I suppose…I could use a hug? Maybe."
Tessa laughed. "YOU are a riot. You want a hug from ME?!" She blinked, seeing that I wasn't smirking. "Er…you're being serious?"
I rolled my eyes. "Sorry, forget I said anything. Anyway, what happened was…" I stopped talking, for Tessa abruptly leapt forward across the table towards me, smiling stupidly the entire time. "GYAAH?!"
"You want a hug, you've got one!" she sang, throwing her gaunt, bony arms around my shoulders. Her momentum was such that, after she arrived at my chair, we toppled straight over with a harmonized scream.
"Ow! Back!" I groaned due to the backing of the chair jutting sharply into me. When I opened my eyes, I realized that, somehow, she'd slid forward so much that her warm, cotton pyjama-clad crotch was straddling my face. "Um…Tessa?" I said, moving my hands to gently push her off by her thighs.
To my utter astonishment, she actually pressed herself down harder onto my face a couple times, like she was humping me. Then, equally surprisingly, she made a shriek of what sounded like pure horror and leapt off my face, hands tightly covering her crotch.
"Don't you DARE!" she exclaimed, looking extremely disturbed.
I got up as quickly as I could, hands raised to demonstrate my innocence. "W-w-wait, calm down, neither of us are at the fault…"
"Son of a BITCH!" she screeched, leaping forward and punching me in the chest. However, due to my chest now being composed purely of muscle, it did more damage to her than it did to me.
"Fuck," she muttered, rubbing her knuckles.
"It was a complete and total accident, I swear," I said.
Managing to pull herself together again, she smirked at me. "You look a lot more cheered up now, though."
"I…guess you're right – I do feel better now."
"Such is the power of a vaginal attack to the face!" she declared, spit flying from her lips.
"Apparently so," I said, rubbing the back of my head.
"So, er…how was it?" she asked, her mouth stretching into a Cheshire-like smile.
"Ehehe, um…well, it was my first time I've had a girl's, you know…"
"Snatch? Treasure trove of happiness? Holiest of holies?"
"Yeah. First time having one of those in my face, and I was honestly too surprised and worried you were going to castrate me to really enjoy myself," I said, quite honestly.
"Ha!" Tessa laughed, throwing her psycho-mane about. "Well, too bad for you! That's the last time you're getting lip service from MY garden of earthly delights."
"You are something else," I said nervously.
"No I'm not!" she said in mock offense. "I'm a girl. You, of all people, should know after your spelunking session."
I was blushing all kinds of red now, as was she. "How about we please don't talk about that anymore?"
"Maybe not talk, my darling, but I'll ALWAYS think back to this moment every night when I'm handling other clients at my brothel," she breathed in a mockery of an aroused voice. I really hoped, for everyone's sake, that she did not, in fact, work at a brothel. She then switched back to normal-mode Tessa (which still wasn't all that normal). "So, what were you upset about, anyway?"
"I made headlines this morning in the school paper…in a BAD way."
She raised an eyebrow. "You should enjoy your 50 seconds of fame, then."
"You're one to talk, Miss Fear-of-Being-Noticed!"
"I know, right? I would HATE that."
"I'm not exactly outgoing, myself," I said with a roll of the eyes. "At any rate, if you read or hear that I'm a closet pureblood supremacist, just know that I'm not."
"Well, we already know you're a closet carpet-muncher – you must have a pretty large closet of suppressed behaviors," she said with a thoroughly seedy grin.
Ignoring her, I said "All I want to do is keep studying. I'll just retreat into the shadows for now."
"Hey now, them there are my shadows, mate. And, uh, I don't need a pervert there who can't keep his face to himself!" she declared with a snicker.
"You know what you can do, Miss Prewitt?" I said, stepping forward with a smirk. I'll say this for her – her large, chocolate eyes are just adorable.
"Oh? This oughta be good. Do tell, Mister Pettigrew."
"If you don't like me up in your shadow," I began, Tessa snorting loudly. "You can beg Snivellus to take you into one of his. I hear he's something of a specialist when it comes to presenting his hidey-holes to his potential roommates."
Tessa beamed. "Nicely DONE."
"Thanks," I chuckled.
"Well, I think I can trust Snape to not rape me just slightly less than I can you, bitch."
"Oh, I'm pretty certain you can trust me on that front."
"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Tessa demanded with a grin and playful smack on the shoulder. Both of us in a very good mood, we lounged in the shadowy corners of the Restricted Section, studying magic together in peace.
After working for a few hours, I quickly decided that, if I was going to maximize my time preparing for taking down the Dark Lord, I'd have to plot out my time wisely to account for every necessary branch of study. I listed out the subjects that I clearly needed to master:
Curses
Upper-level hexes
Charms
Blocking spells
Nonverbal casting
Occlumency (Necessary for any encounters with enemies or those that would seek to obstruct my efforts)
Pettigrew family spells/preparation for ritual
Alright, that's not too bad. I've already gotten fairly proficient at hexes and occlumency, now that my magical core is constantly throbbing, impatient for use. Those meditations have been extremely helpful.
Now for secondary objectives:
Spell Crafting (I don't know how well I can do this, but any new spells will give me an offensive advantage against enemies due to their ignorance of how to counter them)
History (Especially pertaining to the defeats of the past Dark Lords – this could give me helpful insight)
Transfiguration (I don't have a very apt mind for coming up with creative uses for it in combat, but perhaps I'll be able to come up with something after studying it more. I do have that family artifact that boosts my abilities in this field, after all)
Exercising my four magical pillars
Regularly brewing the Draught of Dreamless Sleep (to do away with my deeply disturbing visions)
Hmmmm…I can't think of anything else, for now. Moving on to those branches that I need to drop for now, in order to make room for the above objectives:
Potions (sadly, since I'm fairly skilled at it)
Flying
Magical Runes (now that I'm functional enough with them to complete the ritual and do my meditations, I have little practical need for this)
Care for Magical Creatures
Okay! I have a hell of a lot to cover, but…if I really put my nose to the grindstone, then I should at least be able to train myself into a genuine threat to the Dark Lord and his followers!
I quickly set about making a weekly schedule for myself, with the majority of my time going towards offensive spellwork.
A few days later, I was studying at my desk (Tessa hadn't shown herself yet that day), when I caught a whiff of a strong aroma of incense from very close by. "Might I have a moment of your time, Mister Pettigrew?" an alluring female voice said.
Happy to be the subject of such a pretty voice's interest, I quickly shot my head up. "Holy shit!" I exclaimed when I saw who had spoken. I jumped in shock, banging my knee hard against the bottom of the desk.
Bellatrix seemed wholly pleased at my reaction. "It would seem that my reputation precedes me," she said in a measured, melodic voice.
Of course, it wasn't her reputation or social status that made me spasm with surprise – it was more the fact that I wasn't at all prepared to contend with the ridiculously flaming hotness that was Bellatrix Black. I quickly pushed all thoughts of runes and spellcraft from my mind as I tried to prepare my wits for an encounter with her.
"Ah, um, excuse my outburst just now," I said, wincing at the pompous insincerity that seemed to dribble from my words. "To what do I owe the, er, the honor of your presence, um…Miss Black?" I tried, hoping I wasn't pushing my luck. I truly had no idea how to refer to an esteemed foe correctly by name.
Bellatrix inclined her head, seemingly amused by my discomfort. "You're an amusing little boy. It's a pity you've thrown your lot in with my degenerate plebian of a cousin, or there'd surely be more opportunities for us to interact civilly."
Apparently, she didn't intend for this to be a regular occurrence. I wonder what she's after? I quickly ran through what I knew about Bellatrix Black.
1. She's one sexy bitch.
2. I've never actually seen her up close before.
3. She murders Sirius in the future.
4. She looks something like a sanity-challenged Inferius in the future.
5. She's clearly a Death Eater in the future.
6. She's STILL one sexy bitch.
I quickly reached the conclusion that, whatever my plans end up being regarding the murder of the Dark Lord, it could only be beneficial to do my utmost to be on good terms with Bellatrix. Like they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Using her is, quite likely, my single best chance to eventually gain an audience with the mysterious Dark Lord. I haven't fully committed to an undercover plan yet, but, for now, I'll see what I can do to get on her good side.
"So - I have stunned you speechless?" Bellatrix asked in a less amused voice, her eyebrow raised. Oh, how I wanted to pepper that eyebrow with kisses…
I shook my head to focus better. "I apologize, Miss Black, I was just thinking for a moment. Did you have something you wanted?"
She sneered, ruining the elegance of her beautiful face. "Just like a Gryffindor to rush headlong towards the point without due regard for pleasantries." She sat down and folded her hands on the desk. "Perhaps what I want weighs heavily on how the pleasantries go."
She's obviously controlling the conversation at this point. I have no choice but to try and salvage it.
"I see. Well…have you, er…heard anything interesting about the, er…rumors swirling about?"
"Shut up. I'll ask the questions, if you don't mind," Bella said with a beautiful smile.
I kind of wanted to punch her, but I gently nodded in response, gesturing for her to go on. I don't really have the brains for people stuff, even when it has to do with furthering my goals. I definitely need to correct that soon.
Bella raised an arm and twirled her midnight hair as she looked at me thoughtfully. "I have to say, Pettigrew, that I was shocked by your comments in the school paper this week."
OHHH, that's what this is about. I should've guessed.
"I can't imagine why you would be," I said, finally feeling a little more grounded in the conversation. "My family is pure, after all, and I'm currently reaping the benefits of my family magic as we speak. There's no denying that witches and wizards from pure families have more avenues of magic open to them than muggleborns."
"Wow, that was an incredibly objective answer, especially coming from a Gryffindor delinquent like yourself. A little lacking in passion, of course, but at least your head's screwed on tight," Bellatrix observed out loud, quirking her lips. "Hmm…I'm wondering, at the moment, why you are so opposed to your Slytherin yearmates. Could you help me figure that one out? After all, you seem to be more than tolerant of myself, although I suppose there could be a fear factor there!" she said this with a wink that made my heart skip with attraction. "I mean, you don't seem to disagree with our general beliefs."
The true answer is, of course, that, while I think that purebloods have the ability to BE superior to muggleborns, very few are, and even if they all were, that would still be no reason to hate, enslave, and look down on muggleborns.
I don't think Bella would see it from my point of view, though, so I put up my best occlumency shields and lied, "Well, you know – there's something to be said for ancient House rivalries. I only ever marginally took part in them, as well."
"I suppose that could be true, but your 'friends,'" she said the word with a grimace, "seem to take it beyond acceptable limits and into a realm of pure hate."
I shrugged. "There's just a lot of history there. I can't really tell you anymore about our contentions with Snape without breaking their trust, sorry. But what's your question, exactly?"
Bellatrix tapped her pouty, heart-shaped lips in thought. "I don't REALLY have a question, I'm just curious – how have you been able to retain traditional pureblood reliefs while being in close contact with people who actively urinate on such values, like Potter and that stinking shit of a cousin I have?"
I folded my arms, adopting a serious look. "I don't think I'm as involved with them as you seem to think…"
"You seem pretty involved to me, Pettigrew. You were on the front page WITH them, with their stupid group. That means you stand for what they stand for, by association."
"You're completely right, Miss Black. I suppose I don't have much of a reason besides the fact that we're Housemates, roommates, and have always been together. It's just…comfortable next to them, I guess. Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't restrict myself to only having friends who have the values as me."
"No, don't worry overmuch – I see your point. It would be difficult to get on in life without at least being civil with your roommates. And I know from personal experience how…" she made a disgusted expression "…outgoing…Sirius can be, so I don't necessarily blame you for making friends with those imbeciles, either, especially since you have been beside them all these years." She flitted her sparkling violet eyes back to me, causing my heart to lurch in raw delight once again. "I suppose my purpose here was, as I'm sure you've guessed, to determine how much of a depraved, Gryffindor barbarian you are, despite your insightful comments in the paper."
"Indeed?" I smiled. "I do hope I've proven myself to be civil and approachable."
"Not exactly," she said with a wicked sneer. "You seem like a bit of a perverted dunce, to be frank." My heart fell – did she somehow pick up on my strong physical attraction to her? "But I do think you're pathetically honest – you assuredly believe every word you've told me."
"Er, that's…good…"
She leaned forward and murmured, eyes dancing with delight, "If you want me to think better of you, then you may well try forgoing friends for a bit, if the only ones available to you are the sorry lot that you've been keeping."
"Well, I have been spending quite a bit of time by myself researching, this past term," I said, trying to keep some of the whinging out of my voice. I most likely failed, for she laughed derisively – a beautiful, tinkling, aristocratic laugh, but one that made me feel like shit, anyway.
"Aw, Pettigrew, you're so eager to please. You may well make someone a decent servant someday," she said with a pleasant face. She probably thought she was actually giving me a compliment with that, in her twisted brain. She stood up and stretched, during which time I snuck a quick look at her perky breasts – they're still lookin' GOOD. "Perhaps we'll spend more time together one day."
"If that's something that you'd deem beneficial, then it would be my pleasure anytime, Miss Black," I said, giving her a warm smile.
Bella gave me a look with a hint of a friendly smile (how sincere it was, I have no idea), and walked away without a word. Just as I was about to get back to studying my runes, I felt the presence of yet another person rushing towards me.
"Wormy, what the HELL are you on, talking to her?" Sirius growled, palms gripping the table.
I suppressed a sigh, sliding the book away. "Look, Padfoot, just because I talked to her doesn't mean I…"
"Oh, don't give me that crap, Peter!" Sirius said, somewhat hurtfully, I thought. "I know damn well you've jerked off about my cousin loads of times!"
I couldn't believe he just said that! Others in the vicinity turned to stare at me with blatant disgust – including Tessa, who was observing us behind a bookshelf. "You bastard!" I said in a hushed voice, partly due to library rules and partly due to shock about Sirius's complete betrayal of my trust.
Sirius ignored me. "And I don't care how solid your beliefs are, mate – when you're wanting to get your pecker inside a particular woman, you're going to start seeing things less clearly where that girl is concerned. I know this from experience, see? And that hellish bitch knows it, too, and she's the most manipulative person I've ever met."
"I-I know what this looks like, but I promise you…"
"She's not going to let the opportunity slip by to corrupt you, my brother," Sirius said, a glimmer of fellowship showing up in his voice again. "We've all been noticing you're…breaking away from the group, and…James…he reckons you're, you know…delving into the dark a little…"
"I haven't touched a single piece of dark magic, Sirius. I'll swear it, if that's what you want," I growled.
"And THEN you went and pulled something like you did on Tuesday, in the interview. I was wondering where the hell all that pureblooded bullshit you were spewing came from – now I fucking know!"
"MISTER BLACK!" Madam Quelicot crowed in disgust. "How…DARE you use that language in the library! You are hereby banned from this hall for the next two days!"
Sirius groaned, mussing his hair up in his egotistical way.
"And Mister Pettigrew – I'm ashamed of you encouraging such wanton behavior, as well! I've come to expect better of you." The librarian leered at me.
I groaned heavily, gathering up what research materials I could. As I followed Sirius out the door, I turned to give a farewell wave to my mysterious redheaded friend, but she had already disappeared. I hope she wasn't TOO disgusted with me…for some reason, I vaguely care what Tessa thinks about me more than I care what Sirius thinks…must be the fact that she's not a jerk. That always helps.
Sirius started lecturing me ferociously once we left the library. He reminded me that, while he was proud to see me talking with attractive women without stumbling over my tongue as much, he believed I would do well to select any other woman than to continue practicing with Bellatrix…for that matter, he wasn't entirely sure that Bellatrix didn't have a penis…and if she did have a penis, it wasn't even a proper penis, but rather a small, bent one that looked a bit like a candy cane, except covered in mucus caused by too much dark magic usage….after all, Bellatrix is not only evil, but as evil as one can get without spontaneously turning into a dementor…and, as everyone knows, dementors have the hardest time getting it up when they're on the spot, so clearly, that same logic applies to Bellatrix's darkness-infused zigzag-penis.
"Understand?!" Sirius said exasperatedly, fanning himself after he finished explaining.
"…Yes. In every way, shape, and form." I said. "I didn't betray you or the others, Sirius. Bellatrix…"
"DON'T! Don't say her name!" Sirius said, blanching. "How am I supposed to seduce Sarah Brockleburst if I have my demonic cousin's name in my head?!"
"I don't know, unfortunately, or else I'd help."
"You still can! You can be my pudgy, comic-relief wingman!" Sirius beamed.
"…I was joking. Anyway, this was the first time I've ever even spoken to her, mate, and she approached me, not the other way around. To be honest, I was just trying to placate her to avoid making a scene."
"I…don't know what placate means." Sirius said proudly as we reached the balcony in front of the common room. "However, I believe you. Though, you have to admit, a famous Gryffindor talking to a famous Slytherin in the middle of the library is surely gonna draw some eyes."
"R-really?" I said, aghast. "You don't mean…"
"That's right! You'll assuredly be in the school paper tomorrow!" Sirius batted me playfully on the shoulder. "I've taught you so well."
"…right. Anyway, I don't think Purebloods are superior, either. I was just trying to say things from an objective point of view based on my studies."
"Hey, books can lie, you know. You've gotta be careful you aren't reading just the stuff you want to hear," Sirius said with a suspicious frown.
I rolled my eyes. "You think I'd actually want Purebloods to be the more powerful? Literally EVERY instance of strife and violence in wizarding history has derived, in some way, from the Purebloods being complete arses. If anything, I'd want the Muggleborns to be more powerful, in a perfect world, because they're FAR less corrupt, or, seemingly, corruptible."
"Hmm…okay, you've convinced me. I didn't ever doubt you in the first place, my man," he grinned.
"It sure sounded like it," I frowned, looking away.
"Hey, listen, we've vowed to stick by each other in times tough and in times sexy both, right? I'll always have your back, and I trust you to always have mine."
"You can count on me," I said earnestly, pounding my fist together with his.
"Damn straight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go get my rocks off on some poor, unsuspecting female student. Care to join me?" Sirius beamed. "It doesn't matter what you look like – if you're newsworthy, you're fuckworthy! Or at least that's what my mum always said. One of the few enjoyable conversations we've ever had, actually…" he looked out across the staircase chamber wistfully.
"Sorry mate, I'm going to keep studying – I still don't feel like I'm strong enough to be able to hold my own against these Death Eaters, should we run into one of them."
"Wormtail, my son," Sirius said, putting a hand on my shoulder in a tragic air, "…that's because you are a homosexual. I-I'm sorry to have to break it to you this way, but…" Tears bubbling from his eyes, Sirius padded away from the Common Room forlornly. "I wish you luck on your quest for sexual identity, my brother!" he said over his shoulder.
I stared after him, hoping he didn't actually believe I liked blokes.
Wait a minute…maybe I am gay? Maybe that's why my luck is so AWFUL with girls!
I considered that thought for all of five seconds before realizing that I've always had an intense sexual attraction to women, and only women. Therefore, I was relieved to conclude that it seemed very unlikely that I liked penis.
That crisis resolved, I settled in at a desk hidden away in the Common Room and continued my quest to understand the great enigma that is Charms.
The first thing that happened the next morning, after I showered and stumbled down the stairs to the Gryffindor Common Room in my casual clothes, was Lily Evans erupting from the towards me from the portrait. She looked pissed. And SO gorgeous in her crackling anger and sinfully form-fitting Muggle wear that I actually stopped breathing for a full minute. Holy MERLIN, she's perfect!
"Peter Pettigrew!" she declared, stopping in front of me and thrusting the new edition of the Hogwarts Herald in my face.
I felt the world stop when I saw the headline: Pettigrew's scandalous, secret lust for Bellatrix Black revealed!
Reading quickly, I realized with horror and disgust that Rita actually went so far as to put into print that I "regularly masturbated about Bellatrix"…which wasn't even true anymore!
"What is the meaning of this?!" she shouted, giving me a look that said I was a vile, complete disappointment.
"Well…it seems as though we need to work on getting the school paper shut down," I said with a quirk of my lips.
"That is SO not the issue here," Lily huffed, her face flushed red from…from I have no idea what. "So it's true? You…mastur…er…um…th-thought dirty thoughts about BELLATRIX BLACK?!"
"You say it like it's abnormal," I said, cocking an eyebrow in an effort to keep looking vaguely like a cultured gentleman. I could feel my face flare up with shame and embarrassment, though.
"I don't care if every other dirty boy gets off on her prejudiced, murdering, carrion-feasting snout! YOU are above that, Peter! You and Remus are different! Or, at least, I thought you were." Ouch! That hurt. If there's someone's opinion I at all care about, it's Lily's.
"Yeah," Sirius said, spontaneously appearing at her side, "C'mon, Wormy! Everyone knows that to get in Lily's good graces you've got to live the life of a eunuch! How dare you throw away all your hard-earned progress?"
"And YOU!" Lily roared, whirling on Sirius. "How could you betray Peter like that? You just completely outed his very personal secrets in a public place! The LIBRARY! How…what…what kind of a horrible person does that to their friend?"
"Lily, Lily," he said, placing a placating hand on her shoulder, which she immediately smacked away. "People will think it's funny! Don't worry about it! I doubt most girls will take it seriously, and most guys will probably know where he's coming from and, you know, give him props! I've beaten off to her a few times, myself."
Lily rapidly shook her head in disgust, causing her breasts to jiggle tantalizingly. "Not only do I never again want to hear about your…private…activities, it's your bloody cousin, Sirius! What's WRONG with you? And most women will react like me to the article, I guarantee it! You've obviously tarnished his reputation and eligibility!"
"Hey, nothing's wrong with me – she's a very beautiful woman! It's only incest if it goes in…" he said, winking at me. Lily and both looked like we were about to puke. "And the public is fickle – Peter can always redeem his good name by doing something freakishly awesome!"
"To be honest," I spoke up, "I don't really care what the people think of me…besides my friends, of course," I said, smiling at Lily. "I just want to make sure I stay out of the way of Bellatrix and her fiancée." I shuddered at the thought. Cruciatus Curses were guaranteed, and worse dark spells were also probable, if they found me.
Lily winced. "Oh, I forgot she's engaged. That poor guy."
"No, Lily, no. What he is, you see, is a lucky son of a bitch. He gets to cuddle with Bellatrix naked…EVERY night! Damn, I miss those innocent days of my childhood," Sirius said, looking wistfully across the room.
"You have some issues, Sirius. Seek professional help," Lily instructed, before turning back to me. "If you want, I'll make an excuse in classes for you for a couple days so you can lay low for a bit. I'll take notes for you and deliver your homework to the professors."
"Would you really?" I almost screamed in delight. "That would be the most amazing thing ever! Thank you SO much, Lily," I said, stopping myself from hugging her voluptuous body. "And, er, just so you know, I haven't, um…been, er…" I must have been blushing a deep crimson by this point, "pleasuring myself for quite a while…I actually haven't done so once since the brewing competition, you remember that? I'm turning over a new leaf!"
Lily smiled warmly, patting my shoulder. "Very good, Peter, I'm proud of you." I blushed from feeling the heat of her breath on my face, she was so close. "Studies show that m-m-m…you-know-what makes men regard women purely as sex objects, as a matter of fact. So hopefully this will open your mind quite a bit to girls, in general! Or else you'll end up like Sirius, whose brain rotted long ago." she beamed, while Sirius nodded proudly and ran a hand through his silky hair. I have no idea just what Lily wanted me to say to that, but at least I'd managed to get back into her good graces.
Thus, I said farewell to them and proceeded to get back into my study cycle.
The weeks pressed on, and I must have seemed to the rest of Gryffindor to have turned into a miserly recluse, as I forced myself to repeatedly ignore the Marauders' jovial invitations to party, prank, and gallivant around, to avoid all Quidditch and Hogsmeade visits, to skip class whenever possible, and to generally avoid conversation with anyone.
Though my tongue grew leaden and heavy from lack of use, my mind grew exponentially sharper and sharper as I fed my blistering addiction of devouring whatever tidbits of magical knowledge I could get my hands on. I began to have a second-sight while reading, somehow, in that I was actually able to absorb knowledge from latter parts of a book while reading a separate section. The books and I slowly became one, which was a thrilling, intoxicating feeling.
Sure, I was lonely, scared, bitter, and freakishly desperate for a woman's touch…but I took those strong, negative urges and directed them all towards my singular goal: becoming the most powerful wizard Hogwarts had seen since Voldemort. All I could do was keep going, keep learning, keep destroying the back of Hagrid's hut (Dumbledore regularly had to come out and restructure it, with stronger wards each time. The Headmaster and I would always exchange knowing looks – I was aware that he was keeping tabs on my magical strength. Hagrid just found the whole thing was hilarious.)…I only let myself ruminate on other topics if I could then channel those desires to feed my insatiable hunger.
That was all. My life had become an unquenchable carousel of deranged magical exploration. I never seemed to have enough time in a day to conquer all the texts that I wanted.
In time, I'd become quite competent with a multitude of spells, my favorite being the Glacius Charm, an unbelievably destructive spell rending waves of sharp, pointed ice over a large area. I'd experimented with Verdimillious, a green lightning hex I'd seen myself use in my vision of the future, and found that I enjoyed employing it, as well. The Arrow-Shooting Charm was nice, as well, to my arsenal up with some solid projectiles.
I hadn't had much of a chance to master the Ear-Shriveling Curse (although it worked on Snape and his goons when they seeked me out after DADA one week), but I found that it was good for shaking the enemy's concentration. Even better at slipping a foe up was the Finger-Removing jinx, if you could land a hit, which was a good way to "permanently disarm" a foe, as well as the Jelly-Brain Jinx, which makes a target too stupid to process what's going on at all, which is always rewarding in a firefight. I'm just happy Snape keeps coming back for more; he makes a great guinea pig. The resulting detentions and loss of hundreds of House points aren't…the best…but I don't mind them too much!
Other offensive spells that I've successfully cast, but have some trouble using, are the Duro (which turns enemies into stone), Expulso (which causes a detonating pulse of enormous power) Confringo (which creates a fiery explosion), the Shield-Penetrating Hex, and the combo of Aqua Eructo with Ebublio, which makes the foe explode into bubbles when both spells land.
I know plenty more, of course, but, overall, I'd say I'm about as capable as a NEWT student, which is a pretty fulfilling statement. I'm completely exhausted in mind, emotion, and body, but I'm not finished yet. I still have the ritual to perform in order to access the two Pettigrew family spells. Plus, I could hardly rest easy for long with those freakish visions flashing in my eyes all the time.
It was thusly that I decided to fully direct my attention to gathering the necessary ingredients for the ritual. I had sent my personal House Elf, Marlee, on an international mission to gather various exotic materials, but progress was slow. I decided to pen a letter to my father, detailing my purposes, all the information I'd gathered, and the various items I still needed to collect.
I realized one day, with a groan, that I would actually need an assistant to complete the family ritual. After I'd gathered everything I needed to make the ritual success, I decided to go and find someone whom I could persuade to help me out.
My main possibilities were Tessa and Remus (the rather dark nature of the ritual would have scared off any of my other acquaintences) – however, I felt I could trust Remus just a bit more than her, so I started with him, first.
I was soon able to corner him a private hallway in Gryffindor Tower. I nonverbally cast a Muffliato and began explaining everything to him.
"I have to make up for so much time, Remus…this is the only way I'll even have a chance to protect myself and others in these dark times," I said as I finished my lead-in.
"So, this ritual isn't, er, Dark, is it?" Remus asked, acting a little uncomfortable.
"No, it's not Dark, but that doesn't mean it'll be, er…pleasant," I said. "It's basically a ritual to connect myself with the line of magical energy set aside for myself as a member of the Pettigrew family. Only then can I use our family curses."
"Which will help you…save people, in the future?"
"That's right."
Remus was silent for a moment, before asking, "What do you mean, it won't be pleasant?"
"Well, the worst of it will be the whipping."
"Whipping?!" Remus asked, incredulous.
"Yeah, you'll have to flay my back with a bladed flogging whip at a precise meter while I…"
Remus lost it. "NO way! I completely refuse! There's no way I can do that to a friend!"
"Remus, calm down," I said, fixing him with an iron stare. "I absolutely need this for my goals. I have no choice but to go through with this."
"There's ALWAYS a choice, mate! You're plenty powerful already! Look at how well you've done in Defense this month!"
"It's not enough. Sure, I can take down almost anyone in our year, but I'm still green compared to the Death Eaters. And, yes, I DO have a choice…but the outcome of the alternative isn't something I want to face," I said, suppressing a shudder. The hauntingly gory visions of my dreams burst forth in my mind.
"B-b-but you can just learn other spells! Keep on studying! There are plenty of spells out there at your disposal."
"I plan to, Remus, but these family spells would give me an advantage I can't pass up. The enemy will be wholly unfamiliar with them, which will give me a distinct edge in battle."
"That makes sense, but…Peter, how can you expect me to flay you alive?"
"Don't see me as Peter. See me as an enemy – as Snivellus, as a blood supremacist…whatever it takes."
"Peter…what's happened to you?" Remus said, looking at me with an expression of serious concern.
"What do you mean?"
"You seem so…er…cold and clinical now. You used to be really, you know, friendly and, er, one of the most compassionate people I've met, and now you've just kind of…collapsed into yourself! I'm worried about you…" he said, shifting his eyes around. He looked a little scared.
"I don't remember being like that," I said, my brow furrowing. All I can remember ever being was bitter and pathetic. "But I am honored that you were able to detect any good from the way I was before."
"You were FINE the way you were before, mate. And now you're basically throwing away all your friendships, now, and for what? Power?"
"Remus, I don't have any time to waste on keeping those relationships going anymore…"
"How can you even SAY that?" he said, stepping back in shock. "Has your heart disappeared completely?"
"I say it because it's the truth," I said coldly, "And we're ALL going to die if someone doesn't face the stark reality that we are in no way ready to defend ourselves from an army of professional Dark wizards. Dumbledore can't protect all of us. We can't take any chances."
Remus sighed, shaking his head. "You're like a completely different person…no, you ARE a completely different person."
I looked at him with a sad smile. "Be that as it may…I still consider you my most trusted friend, Remus. I know I haven't been a good friend myself, but…I'm not asking you to do this for me because you're useful to me; I'm asking you because I trust you implicitly. You're the only person I can go to for this."
Remus looked to the heavens, murmuring, "Merlin." He ruffled his hair and looked back to me. "If you're…absolutely sure you want this…"
"Without a shadow of a doubt."
He groaned. "You're bloody scary, you know that?"
I smirked. "Says the werewolf."
Remus gave a hollow laugh. "Touché. Okay, I'll…I can't believe I'm saying this, but…I'll do it. But you owe me! You owe me more than words can possibly express."
"Thanks, mate," I said, relieved that I was able to convince him. "And I know. I'll do any favor you deem appropriate in return. But, for now, I've copied down the instructions for the ritual here, so please review them tonight." I handed the parchment to him. "Be ready to go tomorrow evening."
"Where are we going to do it?" he said, wincing as he glanced at the instructions.
"I'm going to prepare one of those unused classrooms on the seventh floor, warding it appropriately. And, Remus…you can't tell ANYONE about this, alright?"
He nodded with a grimace. "Fair enough. Merlin…I'm going to need a stiff drink after we're through."
"I just might join you for one," I said, and we smiled at each other for a bit. "Well, I'll see you then."
"Yeah, bye," he said awkwardly, walking towards the dorms.
Now that this course of action is decided, I can feel the magic in the air charging itself in anticipation.
Soon, very soon, I'll be able to tap into my rightful magic.
Things are getting more and more promising!
"Holy hell! You're built like a beater now!" was the first thing Remus said when he arrived at the site of the ritual the next day and saw me standing there shirtless. Naturally, being a ridiculously caring human being, his first thoughts were concern about me, not about the excessive preparation of the pagan atmosphere I'd been working on creating all day.
"Too kind of you to notice," I said dryly, walking up to the closed door and layering it with wards and glyphs to prevent visual or audial detection from outside. I was truthfully a little nervous – what if my ancestors didn't accept me, for whatever reason? This ritual's intent was to beseech them for their aid, after all. What if I'm evaluated and found wanting?
Regardless, I have to at least try. And being filled with doubt won't convince my ancestors, either, so I better chase such thoughts from my mind.
"So, you've prepared everything?" Remus asked, casting his eyes around at my handiwork.
"Er, it's as close to accurate as I can manage. I wasn't able to procure any Sicilian centaur pelts on such short notice, but I was able to use my father's connections to obtain a Ragasean centaur pelt instead, which is supposed to be an extremely similar strain of the species."
Remus stared at me. "I'm sorry? You've funded the poaching of sentient, non-human magical beings?" Clearly, he took great offense to the idea, not that I could blame him, seeing as how he's a sentient non-human magical being himself.
I shifted my eyes guiltily. "What else was I supposed to do? It's necessary to have a centaur pelt to conduct the residual energies needed to harmonize with the deceased."
"Peter…those people are pure evil," he snarled.
"The centaur was already dead! It's not like me not taking it was going to bring her back to life!"
Remus flinched. "Money will just drive them to poach more. You actually know it was a she? How can you even stomach doing something like that?"
"Remus."
"WHAT?!"
"I never said I bought the pelt."
"Y-you stole it, then?" Remus said, looking a little relieved.
"Not personally, no. But yes, using my family's connections, we obtained the pelt without funding them in any way," I lied. I'd actually had the group murdered discretely after I bought from them, but Remus didn't need to know about that. "Now, can we PLEASE get on with this?"
Remus sighed and nodded woodenly.
I handed him the Goutic ritual whip he'd be using on me, which I'd manufactured myself in the Shrieking Shack. The ceremonial torture tool consisted of a pole carved from a magically resonant savannah holly tree, attached with several thick leather cords, each fastened with dangling curved hooks and blades made from wendigo blood glass. I had shivered upon seeing the finished product for the first time, both from sensing its magical potency and from its menacing appearance. It was a weapon that, by its very existence, promised complete agony.
"The two parts I'll need your assistance with are the snakeskin-wrapping and the whipping. I've got everything else well in hand," I assured him.
"Fair enough," he said, stowing the Goutic whip under his arm as he stooped to pick up the carnal viper skin I'd harvested. "But I'm sending for the nurse immediately after we're done, no matter what. Got it?"
I considered a moment whether Pomfrey or St. Mungo's would be better, but I concluded that Hogwarts would be safer due to Dumbledore's impenetrable protective barriers around the school. I wasn't afraid to go abroad ordinarily, but I didn't fancy being vulnerable and injured in a hospital, wide open to enemy attack.
"I agree. That would be much appreciated," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder in thanks.
"Before we start…are you …absolutely sure that you want to go through with this?" Remus tried one last time to dissuade me.
I nodded as I looked around, scanning to make sure all 47 amber candles were lit and arranged properly around the massive floor rune. "My resolve is unshakeable, Remus. You had best muster yourself up for this – if you don't conduct your part in the ceremony properly, it'll all be for naught."
"I wouldn't be here if you couldn't count on me," Remus assured me.
"Thanks once again, Remus," I said sincerely. "Okay…" I turned away from him and got on my knees in the sixth dietrich of the circular rune. "Let's begin."
"Dolor midimi, obsecro surgere." I incanted, and the warm red glow of the classroom transfigured into an unearthly dark green, most light having been chased from the room. I was pleased – we had made contact.
"Lini mea mundum corpus cum fenestras." I spoke that incantation three times. I took the wooden tub of Gotoan Elixir, an ancient potion that was to be applied to the body to remove incumberances between the soul and the energies of the dead, and carefully drenched my face and chest with its slimy consistency.
"Pendent in putrescet Tentatoris," I said, and the green light began steadily pulsing in anticipation as I walked to the fourth dietrich of the rune and spread my arms out, away from me. I sensed Remus's anxiety as he approached, fumbling in the dark to tie the snakeskin around my forearms. As he did so, I directed all my intent towards direct communion with the energies I'd summoned.
As he stepped away, I suddenly felt something invisible grasp both my arms – like, an actual, physical hold. If it wasn't for the strong presence I'd sensed from the action, I would ordinarily have imagined James had grabbed them as a prank while under the invisibility cloak. This was a surprise, but I pushed away my doubt and waited patiently for something else to happen.
After about twenty seconds, I felt the invisible grip slip away, so I let my arms dangle back to the ground, pausing before approaching the final dietrich – the one covered by the centaur's pelt. Very soon, I'd be experiencing more excruciating pain than any of my father's Cruciatas curses ever were. I was on the cusp, now – here is where I'd be most likely to screw everything up.
First, here was the most difficult incantation to memorize: "Ubi amittere ibi est salus mea familia ad honorem et gloriam et imperium." My correct delivery was affirmed by the green lighting in the room immediately shifting into a murky brown. I could sense an incredible amount of condensed, living magical particles in the air now.
I grabbed the goblet of the Warlock's Draught of Wrath off the wicker altar and downed the vile drink before I could think about just how much raw eyeball fluid I was consuming. This potion was used in nearly all rituals involving the sacrifice of health for imbuement with energies.
The skin on my back prickled with dread as I felt Remus approach, the whip's shards of dangling blood glass clinking together.
I placed a hand on each side of the wicker altar, relaxing my coiled muscles and standing as straight as possible.
After five seconds, I beseeched the energies: "Accipere."
I'd barely pulled my tongue back to safety behind my teeth when Remus struck.
FUCK. I could feel the skin and inner tissue peel right off with each of those fucking hooks! The severing of my nerves and flesh pumped through my body.
"Accipere." I said again, however, keeping track of the metered beat the ritual called for. Once again, the whip lashed across the full length of my back, ripping my new muscles clean open. I felt the juices of my blood gush out with rapidly alternating flashes of cold and heat.
"Accipere." Remus struck again, like clockwork. I could tell he was aiming to hit as much unscathed skin as he could, to avoid digging deeper into the existing gashes. My mind started getting fuzzy from the pain, which scared me – I couldn't lose track of the rhythm! Not when I'd gotten this far! I'd die first!
I chomped down on my cheek, drawing blood, to keep me alert.
"Accipere." When the ripping hooks gashed through my raw muscle tendons this time, I couldn't help but make an extremely pathetic-sounding whimper. I was aware that tears and snot were streaming from my face. The magics were present – I could feel them taut, ready to pounce on me – but what the fuck were they waiting for? Are they cruel enough to want me to sacrifice yet more for them?
"ACCIPERE!" I roared at them in sudden, searing fury. The lash almost made lose my hold on the altar, and I felt the squirting squelch of severed organs this time. My bladder abruptly gave out from the pain, piss flooding my pants. I couldn't last much longer – my mind was starting to flash off and on.
"Accipere!" I moaned. Suddenly, the room flooded with brilliant violet light, in time with Remus's latest lash. The light this time came from a nebulous cloud of visible energy filling the room, not from the shifting colors of the ritual candles.
The ritual's instructions offered no instructions past that point, so I just stood still, my shaking, sweaty hands splattered against the altar. When I again risked looking into the cloud of energy, I felt a grotesque rush of impact in my soul and spirit pillars (I'd grown sensitive to them through my meditations). My adrenalin hit an all-time high as I felt a veritable assault of energy rape my face and chest with its potency.
My hearing completely stopped working and I couldn't see anything but the blinding violet light, but I felt myself lift off the ground and begin being thrust about. Was I perhaps getting pulled into the cloud?
Suddenly, in my head, I heard a voice that sounded like the murderous crush of a tsunami. "We will risk bequeathing our gifts to you, for we have sensed the strength of your convictions. Do not disgrace the family." Was this voice the cumulative collective of all deceased Pettigrews?
The blast I now felt was nothing compared to the previous assault. I could feel my body contort and twist in midair, my shed blood and urine drenching itself all over me.
Then I lost consciousness entirely.
A/N: And that's what I call a fourth chapter!
Please. For the love of Merlin and all his jolly, bearded apprentices, each of which has a different steed taken from the zodiac, though one has a crocodile instead of a dragon…review! Or else I'll sic them all on you and they'll force you, at wandtip, to sing the entirety of the song "Modern Major General." Or the Pokemon theme song. Whichever you know better.
Fifth one on its way! Check back soon! :)