A/N: Here's the second chapter of my fic! It looks like I'm going to be putting four chapters of this under J/L, and then switching it to h/hr after their deaths. This chapter has one major plot device in it that you may not agree with, and also a cruel torture scene, so beware.
*****
Chapter Two
A short, balding, fat gentleman was trembling visibly as he was lead down a long, darkened corridor. The stench of death was in the air, and the man wondered just how many people had died in this very hall. Probably more than he cared to think about.
As he turned a corner, flanked on either side by the married death eaters, Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, he let out a whimper of terror as he saw the solitary door at the end of the hallway, a feint light protruding from its edges.
A hard jab to the back of his neck caused him to fall to the ground. "Get up you pathetic piece of trash," Bellatrix spat at him, while her husband spit on the man's robes. "The dark lord does not reward your cowardness, it is a wonder that you are in his favor at all."
"Y-yes, the dark lord is-is most generous to allow myself life - ooh!" The man was broken off when he was hit yet again in the back of the head from Bellatrix.
"Do not speak unless you are addressed you insolent fool! Now on your feet, the dark lord awaits."
Without another word the man shakily rose to his feet and scurried the rest of the way to the door, where he was left by the Lestranges to meet with the dark lord in private.
Or so he thought.
When he entered the dimly lit room, the warmth of the fire crackling in the corner prickling his skin, he was astonished to see yet another man there, a slick, black-haired man with a long, pointed nose, a man that he had hated all of his school life, mostly by association.
"Wormtail," Hissed a voice from the corner of the room, where a green armchair sat, Severus Snape on the left, a large, menacing python curled up on the right. And in the middle sat the most feared man in the world, the one who was slowly taking control, whom no one, with the exception of Albus Dumbledore, dared to oppose.
Lord Voldemort was intimidating in every sense of the word. He was tall, but while fragile looking, one could easily tell the raw power that he possessed. From the pale, white skin to the blood red eyes, a simple glance of the man struck a stake of fear into any wizard or witch's heart.
Wormtail was no exception, he trembled in front of the man. "M-my lord," He stuttered, unable to look at the Dark Lord Voldemort.
"Are you too pathetic to even look at me, Wormtail? Or do you feel that you are to good to be disgraced by the presence of myself?"
"N-no! My lord! N-Nothing o-of the sort! I-"
"Crucio!"
"Ahh!" Wormtail, also known as Peter Pettigrew, one of the four marauders, fell to the ground, writhing and screaming in agony under the power of the dark lord's seemingly favorite curse.
While the dark lord watched the man convulse in pain with a sort of sick pleasure, Severus Snape kept an impassive look on his face, betraying nothing.
After a full ten minutes of torture, Wormtail was released, panting and clutching himself in pain, moaning of agony and distress on the hardened floor, his surroundings forgotten, only the pain mattered now.
"To your feet Wormtail, and this time, do not be afraid to look at me, or you shall fell a pain even greater than that of death, again, and again, until there is no more fun to be had."
Wormtail rose to his feet, trembling still, but this could now be accounted to his pain, rather than his fear. He eyed his lord carefully, attempting desperately to not slip up, to not make a mistake. If he did, it would be the end of him, he had no doubt about that.
"Much better, Wormtail, much better," Voldemort told him, grinning like the madman that he was. "Severus here has just come to me with some rather interesting news, some news that is in regard to your…friends."
This made Wormtail quiver worse than ever, earning him another round of the Cruciatus Curse. Wormtail was the spy, he was the traitor, he was the one who brought them their information from the Order of the Phoenix, albeit in a different fashion than did Severus, but the same, nonetheless.
Voldemort reflected on how easy it had been to break the young Pettigrew, nearly a year earlier, and bend him to his will, forcing him to betray his friends. He had offered the man power, and life, after he had broken him, of course, two things that Wormtail could not refuse, and two things that the dark lord never planned on giving him.
When Peter had managed to pull himself up again, Voldemort gave him a serious glare. "There has been a prophecy Wormtail, a prophecy that could be my downfall-"
"But that is impossible, my lord! You are far to power-"
"Crucio!"
Once again Wormtail was on the ground, screaming.
"You DARE to interrupt the dark lord! I didn't think that even a pathetic excuse for a wizard such as yourself could be that stupid! Do you think that you're better than me? Is that what YOU THINK!?"
"No!" Wormtail gasped between screams. "N-ne-ne-arrg!"
For the entire following hour, nothing was heard from the dark lord's chamber except for the screaming of the balding man on the floor.
Finally, it was over, and Peter was allowed to stand yet again. "Now Wormtail, you will listen, and you will not interrupt. Was your pathetic excuse for a brain able to contemplate that sentence, or shall I rephrase it with my wand?"
"No my lord! I mean yes! I understand! No! You don't need to torture me again my lord, no."
"TORTURE?!" Voldemort screamed in outrage. His eyes were flashing with an intense hatred. "You think this is torture? I am merely making you stronger, my humble servant! What doesn't kill you will make you stronger! Do you WANT torture? Is that your wish? I will show you torture!"
"NO!" Wormtail screeched, all sense of dignity and self respect forgotten. He was broken, and Voldemort knew it. "I do not wish torture, my lord, I embrace pain, kind sir, not torture, pain makes me stronger sir, yes, I know, my lord. Only pain, not torture. I spoke without thought, my lord."
Voldemort snorted. "Not an unusual practice for you, Wormtail, but I can let it slide. But if you show this side again, I do believe you remember your day as a rat in my owlery, do you not?"
Somehow, Peter was able to stifle his gasp of horror. He nodded furiously in agreement. "Yes my lord, I remember, I remember very well my lord, learned my lesson I have, my lord. It will never happen again, I am gracious, my lord. You are to kind to me, to show me sympathy, oh great lord of darkness."
Peter would never forget that day, the day that he lost all sense of self, the day that Voldemort broke him and earned himself a spy…
"No!" Peter Pettigrew spat defiantly, looking the dark lord dead in the face. "You will never get me to betray my friends. Never!"
"I beg to differ," Voldemort hissed, and with a wave of his wand, Wormtail was transformed into his animagus form, inheriting all of its qualities, including the fear of owls.
Suddenly Peter was flying, floating towards a darkened room, in fact, a pitch black room where he heard nothing, nothing but the flutter of wings. His instincts kicked in; his rat mind knew the sound of an owl when he heard it. He began to squirm in the air, he continued this action, as pointless as it was, until he was suddenly hurled against the wall of the room hard, let go of the curse and gravity once again took effect on him, and Peter fell to the ground in a heap.
"Welcome to my owlery Pettigrew," Voldemort said, laughing maniacally. "Home to over two hundred owls, of over fifty different breeds. Let's see how long you can live through them!"
Fear was coursing through Peter's mind, and he did the only thing he could; he ran, as fast and hard as his inch long legs would allow. He was trapped in his form, he could not revert back to his human self, and before long, he was in the talons of an owl.
Claws dug into his flesh, and he let out a squeal of pain. He was lifted up, up, this was going to be the end…
FLASH!
A brilliant jet of green light flew across the room, making contact with the bird and killing it on impact, sending Peter falling back to the ground. He must have fallen fifty feet before he hit the ground with a sickening crunch.
Suddenly he was a human again; he tried to stand, but found it impossible under the pain, his legs were broken. "Ready to join me now, Wormtail?" Voldemort asked, sneering at the broken and bloodied man.
"Never."
"Very well…crucio!"
For hours the routine continued. Voldemort would transform Wormtail into a rat, an owl would pick him up, claw at him, even begin to nibble at him, then Voldemort would kill the bird, and Peter would fall, crashing to the ground and breaking so many bones that he could no longer move. Then he would be reverted back to human form and be put under the cruciatus curse.
Peter was scared, he was so scared. He had been so close to death, so close. He had not been afraid to die, not for his friends, but after the repeated brushes with death, believing every second to be his last, he began to fear it. Then he was horrified of it.
Finally, nearly a day into the torture, he cried, "Okay! I'll do it! I'll be a spy! Just please, please don't kill me!"
Voldemort smiled. "Excellent."
And that was how it had happened, that was how Wormtail had broken. He was not afraid to die for his friends, but Voldemort implemented the fear into him, obtaining himself a willing spy, who was afraid of death more than anything else.
"Now Wormtail, pathetic as you are, you will spy on your friends, you will discover how they will hide themselves from me, and then, you will deliver me James Potter."
Peter Pettigrew, the broken man, had no choice but to agree.
*****
"James! Sirius! It's great to see you! Where's Peter?" A man asked, smiling at the two men on his front step. The man was paling, but not do to natural causes, rather due to the fact that this man was a werewolf, and the full moon was nigh.
James and Sirius smiled back at Remus Lupin, but he noticed that their smiles did not quite reach their eyes. This had been happening a lot lately, though Remus did not know why.
"He couldn't make it, Order business." Sirius replied shortly, leaving no room for interpretation. "Let's get to this then, shall we?"
Remus nodded, somewhat taken aback at his friend's words. Why would Sirius be so cold to him?
"Well, do come in. I've got some tea ready, for it'll be about an hour or so before I…transform." Remus grinned at Sirius' disgusted face at the mention of the word 'tea.' He grinned at him. "Of course, I've got some fire whiskey in the basement for you, Sirius."
Despite the fact that he believed the man to be a traitor, Sirius couldn't help but give him a genuine grin. Remus smiled back. "I believe you know where it is." Sirius' grin broadened and he nodded, walking past Remus and into the house, down the stairs and to the left, where Remus kept his whiskey.
James laughed and shook his head, walking through the open door and finding a seat in Remus' living room, all thoughts of him being a traitor long gone as they sat and reminisced just like old times when they were still carefree kids at Hogwarts.
*****
Sirius snorted his fire whiskey out his nose in laughter. "Yeah, and then there was the time when James 'accidently' set a filibuster off in Snivellus' cauldron of shrinking solution, but he saw it coming and dodged it, and exploded all over Lily!" He howled in laughter again with James and Remus. "Her nose was the size of a pebble for like a week!"
Remus was laughing heartily with them, until he felt an itch behind his right ear, and he knew that it was time. He stood up, scratching his ear, and looked to the others. "Come on guys, it's time."
They nodded and left the house with him, into the woods in the back. Remus lived in an isolated forest, far, far away from any muggles or any other prying eyes. The house was surrounded by wood on all sides, and it was here that for over a year now, James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius met on every full moon, to transform and frolic the forest as animals.
Peter took on the animagus form of a rat, while Sirius was a large, black dog. James was a beautiful stag, and Remus, of course, was a werewolf.
Tonight they started by heading west, towards a large pond that they liked to frequent on the nights of a full moon. Remus' animal carnage was reduced by the hysterical figures of James and Sirius, who constantly chased each other in circles, snapping at one another's tails, occasionally wrestling one another to the ground.
Remus was the quiet one, as he was in life. He simply watched and enjoyed the others antics, content knowing that he had friends as loyal and wonderful as James, Sirius, and Peter.
But one of them wasn't loyal, the thought that had plagued Remus for the longest time. And there was only one possibility - Sirius. It couldn't have been James, the information leaked usually lead to threats on his life, including the one on his honeymoon.
Peter meant well, he really did, but frankly, he was a moron. He graduated at the bottom of their class at Hogwarts, and though he tried, he really did, he was just not smart enough and not a strong enough wizard to pull it off.
And that left Sirius, as Remus knew that obviously it wasn't himself. Sirius, the man whom the whole world knew to be James Potter's closest and greatest friend. The man whom everyone knew to be loyal to a fault. As hard as it was to believe, as much as he didn't want to believe it, Remus knew that it was the only possible explanation.
What he didn't know was how to solve this problem. He couldn't tell James, it would crush him. It would make Remus look guilty, as if he were trying to force the blame off of himself.
But he had to do something, and he had to do it quick. In their short chat before they left for the woods, James and Sirius had told Remus all about the prophecy (but only the part that Snape knew, not the entire thing. Of course, Remus did not know this, he thought he had been told the entire prophecy.) and the need for James to go into hiding.
They also told him how James had chosen Sirius as his secret keeper. This forced Remus to put tongue in cheek, and do nothing but nod and apply in the affirmative for the rest of the conversation. It also made him realize that he had to do something, and it needed to be quick.
They were out in the woods until sun-up, when Remus finally reverted back to his human self. When this happened, they were miles from the cottage that Remus lived in, but as they always did, Remus jumped on James back and got a ride all the back to his place of residence.
*****
"…I still can't believe it,"
Remus heard the whisper before he opened the door to the living room, a tray of morning tea in his hands. He pressed his ear to the door, feeling guilty for eavesdropping, but his curiosity won out.
"I know James…but it's the only possibility,"
Remus scrunched his eyebrows together. What could they be talking about?
"Yes, but Remus…the spy…after all we've done for him…and he seems so sincere…"
Remus didn't hear the end of the sentence, for he had dropped his tray of tea in shock, creating a loud clanging and crashing sound as the glasses and metal tray fell from his grasp and to the ground.
Remus fell back against the wall. James…he thought that he…Remus…was the spy…Sirius must have gotten to him first.
Tears welled up in his eyes and spilled over, knowing full well that he could now never convince James of the truth, that he would think Remus a spy until the day he died; a day that would come much sooner under this pretense.
James and Sirius crashed through the door to find Remus sobbing on the floor, holding his head in his hands. James was at his side in a heartbeat.
"Remus! What's wrong?" He gasped. "Or did you…did you hear what we just said?"
Remus couldn't respond, his voice lost to him, his throat tightened with tears. He did the only thing that he could, and nodded.
James rose to his feet and stood, running a hand through his untidy hair and contemplating the situation. Remus finally found his voice to speak.
"H-how c-could you think me a spy James? I've never betrayed you! Never!" He screamed, not caring about the tears that were streaming from his eyes. "I'm not the spy! Look around you! There's only one possibility!"
He cast a furtive glance at Sirius, who's face immediately reddened with rage. "How dare you accuse me of betraying James! Trying to divert the blame from yourself and putting it on me!"
"WHO ELSE COULD IT BE?" Remus screamed, glaring at Sirius, who in his mind, had betrayed them all. "It's not me! I know that for myself! It's obviously not James! And Peter's not intelligent enough to pull this off! I don't want to believe it, but it's the only solution!"
All three men were crying freely now, Sirius and Remus from rage, James in sadness. He stepped in front of Sirius to prevent him from physically attacking Remus, and Remus looked him in the eye.
And then he knew. James would never change his mind. He was stubborn like that, he would believe Remus a spy until there was solid proof otherwise, proof that Remus did not have.
No more words were spoken, James and Sirius left, James casting one last, long, sad look over his shoulder at Remus before closing the door. After this, Remus let out an anguished sob.
He never saw James Potter alive again.
*****
"James? James! What's wrong!" Lily exclaimed as her husband walked in the door to their home, shoulders shaking with tears, the same tears that had stained his face. His untidy hair was sticking up all over from where he had grabbed it in frustration.
She dropped the book she had been reading to Harry, Hogwarts, A History, and ran to her husband, throwing her arms around him. She nearly had the wind knocked out of her after James returned the embrace, hugging her with all the strength that he could muster, crying freely into her hair, which felt like silk on his rugged face.
"I-I just came from Remus'. He accused Sirius of being the spy! He-he was crying when he overheard us talking about it. He - MERLIN! He seemed so sincere, he was so sad, I don't think anyone could act like that, not without sincerity. But he's the only possibility, it can't be him. And he accused Sirius! How could he! I just - oh Merlin, Lily, just hold me, please, hold me and make it all go away."
Lily had joined him in tears now, hugging him as if it was the last time they would ever see each other. "I love you James," She whispered into his ear, sending chills down his spine. "I love you, and I promise, after we do this charm, after we're put under it, everything will be okay."
She stood on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his forehead, and taking his hand, lead him out of the room and past the nursery, where she had been reading to Harry, and to the end of the house, to their bedroom.
Slowly she got him out of his day clothes and into his sleepwear, then followed suit and got ready for sleep herself. Although it was mid-morning, she knew her husbands needs, and now he needed to be comforted more than anything.
She pulled the covers up slowly and snaked under them with James, intertwining her body with his at once, with him resting his head on her chest. She bit her lip nervously, wondering if this was the right time. After a moment of contemplating, she decided that it was, and kissed her husband on the head, ready to give him some good news.
"James dear, even though this has been a rough day so far, I have some wonderful news for you."
He sniffed and rubbed his head up against her, snuggling closely, attempting to get comfortable. "P-please, tell me, t-tell me anything that will make this go away,"
She smiled at him, raising his chin from her chest and forcing his tear-stained eyes to look into her own. The look on his face broke her heart; it was filled with pain, sorrow, remorse, but she knew that she was the only one that could make all that go away.
"I had a visit with Healer Prewitt today," She instantly realized that she had started her sentence in the absolute wrong way, as James face turned to one of horror.
"Lily! What's wrong? Please tell me you're okay! Please tell me you're not sick! You can't die, you just can't. I've already lost Remus, I can't lose you as well." New tears started to form, but Lily hurriedly brushed them away.
"No James, not bad news, great news."
His face brightened, compared to what it had been before, his face could now be likened to the rising sun. Lily smiled warmly at him, loving the fact that she could melt his sadness away to reveal the happiness and love that rested deep in his heart.
"I'm pregnant, James," Her face broke out into a full grin. "We're going to have another baby!"
James' lips instantly curved up in a smile and he pulled his wife in for a loving, tender kiss. "That's the greatest news I've heard since Harry was born!" He said, grinning ear to ear. "We're gonna have another baby!"
James threw his arms around his wife, his thoughts of Remus not forgotten, but no longer held in the importance that they once had been. He was going to have another child, and he would spend his entire life making sure that Harry and his new sibling never had to face the same cruelties as he had.
*****
A/N: Now I feel that I have to explain myself on the Pettigrew situation. I do believe that something similar to this could have happened to turn Wormtail into the man he is today. i know from my AP psychology class that you can imprint a fear into a person when that fear did not exist before. that is what Voldemort did to Peter. Peter was willing to die for his friends, but riddle knew that and wouldn't let it happen. instead, he brought him to the brink of death over and over, in the rat form, where he could not control his fears as well, until the very thought of death scared him deeper than anything in the world, and then, voldemort had complete control over him. Peter will do anything for him b/c if he doesn't it means death, and Wormtail is afraid of that above all things, which is also shown in PoA, when he begs for azkaban rather than death.
I do find this a plausible explanation for Wormtail's betrayal, so please do not flame it, though comment on it as you wish. I realize that this fic is becoming rather sad, but so was the time period, so it fits. I almost put myself to tears writing the 'And he never saw James Potter alive again.' line, but it was necessary.
So there'll be two more chapters, and then this fic will be done, and the rest will be continued under the same name as a h/hr. Oh - and yes, I do have something planned for the baby, it helps to explain another plot pointing JKR's story that we haven't been told of yet.
Cheers!