Chapter 6: Autumn, Spike, and Peter
They were about halfway to the hospital wing when they ran into two of their fellow Gryffindor, Autumn and her twin
brother Spike.
"Hey you two, where've you been?" Autumn asked. "It's crazy, did you hear about Remus
and-"
"Yeah we heard," James said shortly. "We're on our way to the hospital wing now. Can you do me a
humongous favor and find Peter for me? He should be there too."
"No worries," Autumn said. "We can find anyone."
"Hey, you two are the best source of news around here," Lily said. "You hear everything before anyone
else."
Spike grinned. "What can I say? It's a gift." He winked at his sister, who grinned back.
"Well, any clues as to what happened to them?" Lily asked.
The twins exchanged glances before answering. "Well,'' Autumn said slowly, "nobody is entirely sure.
We know they were Stunned-"
"We overheard Madam Pomfrey talking to Dumbledore" Spike cut in.
"- and I have a pretty good guess as to who did it."
"Yeah, since your buddies aren't the only ones in the hospital wing," Spike grinned. "Seems they
knocked out a couple of their assailants before they went down. Wished I hadn't missed the fun."
"Slytherins?" James asked.
"Need you ask? C'mon man you're supposed to be smart!"
James glared at Spike, and then shrugged it off. "Who says you missed all the fun? We're going to go
stay with them, so I can't do anything right now. If you should just happen to come across the people
responsible for this..."
Spike's normally blue eyes turned green with the promise of a good challenge. "Say no more, my man. We got
you on this." he looked to his sister, who was smiling a very mischievous grin.
"Five galleons say we find them before lunch," Autumn challenged.
"You're on." The twins whipped their wands out, nodded to James and Lily, and went to find Peter and
wreak mayhem on a couple Slytherins.
"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Lily asked James as they resumed their quick pace to the hospital
wing.
"Trust me," James said. "If I can trust anyone to handle this, it's those two. They know as much
about this castle as I do. And you don't duel with Spike and Autumn unless you fancy a month in St. Mungos.
They're practically guaranteed to be Aurors after school!"
"I want to be an Auror too!" said a squeaky voice behind them. Lily and James whirled around and came face
to face with Peter Pettigrew.
"Peter! Did the twins find you already?" Lily asked.
"No. Were they supposed to?" Peter looked fearfully at James, wringing his hands, as though he was supposed
to be found somewhere and now had to deal with the wrath of James. Lily felt a sure of impatience run through her.
Peter always seemed as though he was on the verge of tears or a nervous breakdown.
"Never mind," James cut in. He was just as impatient as Lily. "Did you hear about Moony and
Padfoot?" Lily looked to James questioningly, having never heard their nicknames before, but James shook his head
at her. Not now, the look in his eyes said.
"Yeah I did,'' Peter squeaked.
"Well, c'mon, Lil' and I are sitting with them until they wake up." James said.
"But it's almost time to eat..." Peter trailed off at the look in James' eyes.
"Mother of god, Wormtail, two of your best friends are in the hospital wing!!" James roared.
"They'd be there in a flash if it were you, why can't you do the same for them? Do you care about anything
at all except yourself?"
-----LONDON, NOV. 1--------
"Lily and James! Lily and James, Sirius, how could you?!" Peter screamed for the whole street to hear. Tears
streaming down his pudgy little face, his wand was held in his shaking hand and he aimed it at the furious face of
Sirius Black.
"I never realized what a spectacular actor you are, Wormtail," Sirius said. His voice was soft, dangerous.
"But then you must be. How long have you been pulling this off?"
''MURDERER!!" Peter shrieked. The crowd of onlookers whispered something about fetching the police, but
Sirius didn't care.
"I AM NO SUCH THING!" Sirius shouted. He advanced few steps on Peter, who shrank back from the towering
figure. "What did he offer you," Sirius hissed quickly, ''power? Fame? All the usual things he's
offered a hundred others? What do they have, Peter? Death sentences. A future of Azkaban. Nothing. This is why you
betrayed everyone?"
"No" Peter whispered. He was wringing his hands in his usual fashion. Sirius saw something silver glint from
between Peter's hands but wasted no thought on it.
"What then? I want to know the reason before I ruin your life."
"Your life is ruined Sirius," Peter uttered suddenly. "Mine is starting over again and I'll still
get almost everything I was promised."
"Almost?" Sirius was curious in spite of himself. "What was the one thing you were promised that you
won't get?"
Peter sucked in his breath in a harsh gasp and clutched his hands tightly. Blood began to seep from between his
fingers. He raised his eyes to Sirius and grinned the most un-Peter like grin Sirius had ever seen. Wormtail's face
was full of hatred and malice, not a shred of regret or anything resembling the old Peter Pettigrew he'd spent half
his life being friends with.
"You really want to know," Wormtail whispered cruelly. Wormtail stood on his feet, held his wand in his left
hand. His right hand was leaving drops of blood on the street. Wormtail tossed what he was holding in his hand to
Sirius, who caught it against his chest and looked at it.
Peter's finger.
Bile rose in Sirius' throat. With a cry of revulsion, he tossed Wormtail's severed finger from him and looked
with horror into the cold eyes of his former friend.
Wormtail smiled grimly as he smiled at Sirius, who still had his wand aimed at his face.
"Peter," Sirius whispered.
"Peter is dead," Wormtail muttered. He slowly lowered his own wand until it was pointing at the street right
in front of him. "And that thing I wanted?"
Sirius unconsciously stepped forward, for Wormtail was speaking so quietly now he could hardly be heard.
Wormtail looked straight into Sirius' eyes and said the last thing he would say to Sirius for (unknown to them
both) thirteen years.
"It was Lily."
And with that, the whole street exploded.