Percy Jackson and the Hound of Hogwarts [Book 3]

55) Peter Pettigrew

There was a flash of pale blue light. Scabbers was frozen for a moment, twisting wildly -- Ron yelled -- the rat fell and his the floor. Another flash of light.

It was like watching one of the Demeter kids grow a plant using their powers. A head was shooting up; limbs were sprouting; a second later, a man was standing where the rat had been, grimacing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was hissing and spitting on the bed, the hair on his back stood straight up.

He was a short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione. His thin, bland hair was thinning, and there was a great bald patch in the center of his head. He looked like a plump man who had lost a lot of weight in little time. His skin was grubby, similar to Scabber's fur, and something similar of the rat stained his pointed nose and small, watery eyes. He stared around at us, breathing quickly and shallowly. His eyes were darted towards the door and back.

"Well, hello, Peter," Lupin said pleasantly, as if this were normal. "Long time, no see."

"S-Sirus... R-Remus..." Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. His eyes darted towards the door again. "My friends... my old friends..."

Black rose his wand arm, but Lupin snatched his wrist, giving him a pointed look, then turning back to Pettigrew, his voice casual. "We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what had happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed --"

"Remus," Pettigrew gasped, beads of sweat appearing on his face, "you don't believe him, do you...? He tried to kill me, Remus...."

"So we've heard," Lupin said coldly. "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 squeaked abruptly, pointing at Black with his middle finger. His index finger was missing. "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, ignoring the anger radiating off of Black beside him.

"Sorted things out?" Pettigrew squeaked, looking around him, eyes falling on the door a moment again. "I knew he'd come after me! I 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?" I questioned. "When nobody had ever done it before?"

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

Black laughed a terrible laugh, "Voldemort teach me tricks?" Pettigrew flinched, and Black scowled. "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 --" Pettigrew muttered, his face shiny with fear.

"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," Black said. "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 that you were still alive, Peter --"

"Don't know... what you're talking about..." Peter said shrilly. He wiped his face on his sleeve, looking up at Lupin. "You don't believe this -- this madness, Remus -- "

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," Lupin said evenly.

"Innocent, but scared!" Peter squeaked. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban -- the spy, Sirius Black!"

Black's face twisted, and he growled, "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter -- I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us... me and Remus... and James...."

Pettigrew wiped at his face again, nearly panting for breath. "Me, a spy... must be out of your mind... never... don't know how you can say such a --"

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed, and Pettigrew took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan... a bluff.... Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you.... It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."

I couldn't help but notice how his eyes kept darting towards the door and windows.

Heyyyyyyy guys. So I am a terribly forgetful human. Terribly. I forget to update a lot. I need to start doing it when I wake up. Usually I plan to do it later in the day, but the darkness of winter is throwing me off. It's just dark so early. I also have been playing Cold War with some people, so that probably didn't help. But I'm sorry. I should start setting alarms or something. Or maybe I should just have someone remind me. Idk. But, it's my fault I keep posting late, even if it's not late by too long. I pride myself over getting things done on schedule, and I really need to get it under control. I'm not gonna pretend I don't have a million good reasons why it's okay that I'm posting late. I shouldn't have to bring those up. So I'm sorry I post late. I'll do better next time.

I hope you guys had a good Monday, and I will see you on Wednesday. Love ya!