Chapter 41: Rat Tales

Life continued on, and things were slowly returning back to normal – well as normal as they could be, considering the circumstances. Regulus had tried on two more occasions to ask Marlene to dinner, but she was either always running from class to class, or flanked by her annoying friends.

In no time at all, it was June and there was a sudden change in the atmosphere in Hogwarts, all of a sudden, nobody saw any fifth or seventh years, mucking around, hanging out, playing cards. There was a sudden stampede, when the library doors opened and a lot of houses lost points for students being caught out of bed, and wondering around the library after curfew.

Even James and Sirius had stopped strutting around, and buckled down. Sirius, was actually studying as well, (but his friends, just saw that as an excuse to spend time with them, as if he didn't study then he wouldn't see them.)

Exam schedules were rolled out, and a few seventh years were admitted to the hospital wing for stress related illness, despite the exams not even starting yet.

On the day of their first exams, the eight Gryffindors, trudged down the stairs, and sat staring at their plates. James and Sirius were unusually quiet, Lily and Remus had their noses in books, trying to swot up on last minute facts, Marlene, sat staring into space. Rebecca and Mary – unable to take the silence of their fellow Gryffindors, drifted over to the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, to find their boyfriends and Peter, ate.

"How can you eat?" Sirius asked, as he watched Peter shovel, eggs and sausages into his mouth.

"I get hungry, when I'm nervous," Peter mumbled, his mouth full.

"You're always hungry," James said, fiddling with his gold watch. His seventeen birthday present from his father.

"Peter, you don't have any exams today," Marlene pointed out, it was true that they had Transfiguration today, and Peter wasn't in that class.

Peter stopped eating and glanced at his friends. "Oh," he shrugged and continued to eat. "I'm nervous for you guys..."

His friends let out a soft little laugh before returning to what they were doing.

The truth was, that Peter Pettigrew wasn't worried about his exams at all. In fact he hadn't even started thinking about N.E., his first exam wasn't until Wednesday with Potions. His worry intensified when he was left alone after breakfast. He stayed with his friends for as long as he could, but then at half past nine, when they got called in for their exam, Peter was alone.

"Hello Pettigrew," said a voice from behind him. Peter jumped, squeaked and scurried over to a statue – well that's what he tried to do, if he hadn't of tripped on his laces.

There was a tittering of laughter as a few stragglers laughed at his misfortune. Peter got up and whirled around, standing behind him was Barty Crouch, and Maverick Mulciber. Crouch was a sixth-year and obviously skipping class, whilst Mulciber was a seventh-year, who Peter knew didn't take Transfiguration.

"We've got a bone to pick with you Pettigrew," said Mulciber under his breath, before he stepped forward and helped the shivering seventh-year up. "Are you okay, there, Peter, that was a nasty fall. Do you want to see Madam Pomfrey?" he then asked, raising his voice to get rid of the onlookers.

Crouch grinned.

Peter shook his head, "I'm fine thank you," he said, his voice betraying how worried and scared he was. He shot a fleeting look at the closed doors to the Great Hall, wondering if his friends would appear in the nick of time to save him.

But they were in an exam for the next two hours, and there was nobody around to protect him.

"Nonsense," said Mulciber with a sly grin. "Come on, lets sit you down."

Still holding Peter by the arm, he marched him down the stairs to the dungeon, and slipped into an empty room, that was devoid of any furniture.

Crouch followed behind them, shut the door and conjured up three armchairs, which he placed so two of them had their backs to the door, blocking the third chair.

Mulciber, pushed Peter into the chair facing the door, and took a seat opposite him.

"Barty, here, is quiet the student. Twelve O. apparently, but he won't tell us how he got them,"

Crouch grinned, and sat down next to Mulciber.

Peter couldn't take it, he had no idea what they wanted, he knew they had been looking for him, trying to get him on his own. But Peter had stuck to his friends for protection.

"You know, Potter and his little gang, aren't the strongest lot out there, they're not going to be able to protect you forever," Mulciber said, clasping his hands together and sitting back.

Peter knew exactly what his friends, would do in this case. They would, come up with something witty to say, call Mulciber a name, like Mulberry or something, and then hex their way out. Knowing what his friends would do, and actually doing what his friends would do, however were two different things, and Peter was certainly not brave enough to do the latter. Think, all he wanted, but actually pick up his wand and risk hurting himself, was something he couldn't not do, instead he did the only thing he was good at.

"What do you want?" he simpered.

Crouch laughed, and Mulciber smiled. "Patience, we operate on a reward system, you do something for us, we do something for you,"

"What will you do for me?" Peter asked, still shaking, he wished he could just transform there and then, become a rat, and scamper out, with his tail between his legs.

"We won't hurt you," said Crouch, with a look in his eye, that told Peter he couldn't be trusted, especially when Crouch stuck his tongue out, like a lizard.

Peter whimpered, but didn't say anything.

Mulciber, seemed to take Peter's silence as acceptance, for he leaned forward, waving a wand over his shoulder, he muttered a spell, that Peter recognised as one Marlene and Lily used a lot, and wondered how a Slytherin like Mulciber got his hands on it.

"Muffliato," he smiled at Peter and told him what he was suppose to do.

Peter wasn't at lunch, which only worried his friends, slightly. Their Transfiguration theory had gone alright, James was beaming. Transfiguration had always been his best subject and with their practical on the way, they had more things to worry about, than their friend who missed lunch, despite him being a person that never misses a meal.

There was a commotion at the other end of the Gryffindor table, a lot of screams and people leaving the the table with a hurry. Something small was moving quickly towards, them scurrying on four legs. James, Sirius and Marlene shared a look – Lily and Remus, were once again, absorbed in their books, James grabbed an a jug from the table, and evaporated all the water, then with precise timing, that only a Chaser could have, slammed the jug down on the table, trapping the small creature in it.

He then turned the jug the right way up and the three of the peered inside.

"Wormtail?" James asked, using the nickname so as not to give Peter away, but the rat just scurried around the jug, scratching at the edge, trying to get out.

"Thank you for catching it, I was worried then," came a voice from behind them and a fifth-year smiled. "It's my fork," he explained, slowly taking the jug from James. "There was a question in our O.W.L paper, about transfiguring items, into animals, and I just know I failed, and then my friend said, it might be in the practical as well, so I was practicing, only my hamster, turned out to be more rat like."

Sirius and James exchanged another glance.

"If it was Wormtail, then why would he be trying to run away?" Marlene pointed out.

The fifth-year looked at the three of them. "I can assure you, this is my fork and not your lost pet. Look at it's tail." The three, seventh-years peered into the jug once more, and sure enough, instead of a normal straight rats tail, it split off into four prongs, almost as if his tail was a folk.

"You can get marked down for that you know," Sirius said straightening up and smiling at the fifth-year.

The fifth-year's face wrinkled. "I'm so going to fail! My mother with kill me!"

James straightened up too and smiled. "He's also a kind of gold colour, Marlene's rat's more light brownish. Sorry, she's been worried sick about her pet," he let go of the jug and smiled. "Good luck," he added when the fifth-year walked back to his friends, his shoulders slumped.

Marlene threw a bread roll at James. "My rat? Cheers, for that image," she shuddered, "anyway, you've seen him transform enough times, shouldn't you know what he looks like by now?"

"Er, I'm a stag, I can only see yellow and greens," James pointed out, although he wasn't sure, why he was defending himself. "I guess I'm more worried about Peter missing lunch, then originally discussed.

"He'll be fine, but it won't help your secret if you pounce on every four legged rodent that runs this way," Marlene pointed out, still trying to get the image of Peter, being her pet, out of her head.

"That was quiet a coincidence though," Remus muttered. He and Lily had watched, from behind their books, deciding to let the Head Boy deal with it on his own.

"What's he got planned for the day anyway? You think he'll be studying for Potions on Wednesday?" Lily asked, putting down her own book and helping herself to a hard boiled egg.

"I doubt it, he'll be keeping out of trouble," James said before their talk turned to their Transfiguration practical.

Peter was doing the complete opposite of what James said he was doing, although he had taken to the dungeons, in his Animagus form. He was currently scurrying around Professor Slughorn's private store room, looking for a few potion ingredients, Mulciber had asked him to collect. As he hid behind a bottle of pickled Rat's Tails. He stopped and considered his options.

He could stay here, at least until his friends were out of their exam, but he was hungry and he knew Mulciber would find him and kill him, and Peter quiet liked being alive. He was a rat, obviously and could blend in quiet well, but he'd have to stay a rat for a very long time, and people would notice his disappearance, which would cause an uproar, unless he faked his death... no, extreme circumstances only was that one and beside, so far, all Mulciber wanted was a couple of potion ingredients, it wasn't that bad, and if it could guarantee, Peter's safety in the upcoming war his friends were dragging him into, then he'd do it.

Realising he couldn't do much more, in his rat form. Peter, scurried to the floor and transformed back to human form, before grabbing the things he needed. Hiding them in his robes, he opened the store room door, slowly and peaked out. Slughorn's office was empty, Slughorn obviously teaching a class. Tiptoeing rather heavily to the door, Peter slipped out and pelted down through the corridors, to the room, where Crouch and Mulciber were waiting.

"If Peter doesn't turn up for Dinner, then we'll send out a search party," James said, once they had all met up under the tree in the grounds, after their Transfiguration practical. James, being a Potter and at the other end of the alphabet compared to his friends, was last out.

"Uhuh," said Marlene, staring off into the distance. Everyone else nodded in agreement, worrying about their missing friend.

Marlene was staring at a figure that was slowly walking towards them. It had come in the direction of the Greenhouses, and was with a bunch of other students.

As some of them came closer, Marlene recognised them as Slytherins, and Marlene guessed the one that was heading towards them was Regulus.

She stood up, and without saying anything to her friends, walked over to intercept the figure.

She was right, it was Regulus and she barely had time to utter a greeting, when he beat her to it.

"Mother wants to meet you," he said stunning both himself and Marlene at his bluntness.

"Okay," Marlene said, surprising him again. Marlene reasoned that if she met Regulus' mother, then she would be fulfilling Dumbledore's wish to get closer to Regulus and her brother. If she could get inside, then she could help bring Voldemort's operation down, by supplying information. It was dangerous, but with her contacts it wasn't impossible.

"You will?" Regulus asked, his eyebrows raised, he was unable to keep the surprise from his voice.

"Yep, I'm meeting Martyn, straight after graduation, so sometime after that?" Marlene didn't want to stray away from her friends for too long, the longer she was away, the more questions they would ask. Despite them knowing she was on Order business, it didn't stop Sirius and James being nosy.

Regulus nodded. "We'll probably get a message to you via, Martyn then."

Marlene raised an eyebrow at the usage of we'll but didn't say anything.

"How did Transfiguration go?" Regulus asked trying to be polite as they made their way back to where Marlene's friends we're still sitting.

"It was okay, I think I passed, but I'm not sure." Marlene sighed and said the thing that had been niggling the back of her mind. "Look I'm sorry, I keep ditching the... you know. It probably looks like I've been avoiding you, but I've been busy studying. Whole future rests in the next two weeks you know?"

Regulus nodded. "Well see you around then," he said and left quickly with out an explanation. Marlene turned and saw Sirius glaring at the retreating back of his brother, and the reason became apparent.

A/N: Ploughing on here, hopefully it will make sense, this chapter was Peter orientated, because , although it is a story of Marlene and Sirius it also explores what i think happens in the war. And now for my apology...

I know I've become the very thing I hate, not updating in ages and the major excuse is that I had a huge writers block and in order to write through that block, I wrote chapters that come in the future, in order to help me. I wrote the final chapter, (well the start) and things started clicking into place, and then I was playing with my hamsters and this chapter was born, written in the space of an hour. Proof read before me going out and performing in a show I'm in, and will be posted when I get home.

So, sorry about that and please don't kill me if updates aren't as regular, also please R&R ideas are welcome I know what happens in the story don't worry, it's getting there that's the problem :D