Insomnia | Fred Weasley |

36. My girls

"Well, hello, Peter," Lupin spoke pleasantly.  "Long time, no see."

"S-Sirius... R-Remus..." Peter stuttered.  "My friends... my old friends..."

Sirius went to raise his wand arm but both Lupin and Alliana stopped him.  Alex swallowed nervously as she watched the anger behind her father's eyes the longer he stared at Peter.

"We've been have a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died," Remus told him.  "You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed -"

"Remus," Peter squeaked, sweat starting to buildup on his forehead, "you don't believe him, do you...?  He tried to kill me, Remus..."

"So we've heard," Lupin told him.  "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so -"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Peter yelled as loudly as he could, though he was evidently very scared.  "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too... You've got to help me, Remus..."

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," Lupin said to Peter.

"Sorted things out?" Peter squealed, looking around for some kind of escape route.  Alex instinctively held her wand up, ready to immobilize him if she needed to.  "I knew he'd come after me!  I'd knew he'd be back for me!  I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" Lupin asked with a raised brow.  "When nobody has ever done it before?"

"He's got Dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Peter tried to tell him.  "How else did he get out of there?  I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

Suddenly, Sirius began to laugh like a madman that even Alliana shook her head, clearly not in the mood for her husband's dramatic nature.  Alex had to do her best to bite back the smile of her mum's annoyed look, especially being in such a tense situation. It had been one she had seen so many times growing up.

"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" He spat, though Peter flinched when he heard the name.  "What, scared to hear your old master's name?  I don't blame you, Peter.  His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"Don't know what you mean, Sirius -" Peter mumbled, looking at the ground.

"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," Sirius stated.  "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters.  I heard things in Azkaban, Peter... They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them... I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep.  Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them.  Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information... and Voldemort met his downfall there.  And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they?  There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways... If they ever got wind they you were still alive, Peter -"