FIC: Halloween Mayhem VI [Harry Potter, Marauders]

[omnicat]

Chapter Six; We’ll Be Playing Blind Today

Peter wondered whether Remus might have some kind of sixth sense, because moments after the werewolf had left - Merlin knew where to - the voices of Sirius and James could be heard coming up the stairs.

"Are you sure it was this evening?"

"Yes. I honestly don’t know why he wasn’t there."

"At any rate, that was a waste of good equipment."

"You really think so? The look on her face... ah, priceless. But I have to admit she got a bit scary at the end there."

"D’you figure we should have asked Pomphrey first? Or, dunno, checked the Map before we used the bombs?"

"Let’s keep that between ourselves, alright Prongs?"

"That’s probably the smart thing to do."

As the door opened, Peter suddenly realised he was still sitting on Remus’s bed. No wonder Sirius and James were so surprised: it’s not every day you find a pudgy boy you’ve dubbed ‘missing from action’ sitting on the bed of a renegade werewolf, looking like he’s been petrificus totalussed in that position.

"Pete!"

"Wormtail, where were you mate?"

"N - nowhere." Peter squeaked.

"What’re you doing on Moony’s bed?"

Peter jumped up as if burned.

"Did the doxies get back into yours? Blimey, I thought we’d gotten rid of those. We need to start paying better attention to our projects once they’re finished, Padfoot. Remember last term, with those -"

But Sirius was not any paying attention to James. He looked from Peter to the stairs and back and said uneasily: "Say, Peter, you didn’t happen to run into Remus, did you? He just about disapparated when we saw him downstairs."

Peter squeaked and wrung his hands.

"Thanks, Peter. So, just pretend I was never here, or that I walked away as soon as you saw me, or that I yelled at you too, for all I care. I’d rather have them angry with me for thinking me a complete and utter arse than have them make up to me out of pity."

"H - he wasn’t in the mood to talk, it seemed." Peter managed to stutter, surprising himself with the excellence of that answer. Did Sirius buy it? He did!

"Figures." he mumbled, looking away and brushing a lock of black hair from his eyes that moments before hadn’t bothered him in the least. "Too bad."

But James said, his voice hard: "Good."

The two black-haired Marauders looked at each other sharply.

"Not again, please." Sirius finally said. "We wanted Wormtail, we found him, now let’s make use of it already."

James turned away, grumbling.

"The sooner we get this thing going, the sooner we’ll have proof that your precious Evans is completely safe and single, Prongs."

With an aggravated sigh, James threw his hands in the air in defeat. "Fine, fine. You tell Wormtail about the plan. I’m taking a shower. I think some pieces of dung got into the back of my shirt."

Sirius looked after him as he gathered his things and went into the bathroom. He shook his head. "I hate having to be the one to call him to reason. It’s supposed to be the other way around." he said with a sigh. "I honestly don’t know what he sees in her. Sure, she’s got good looks, but the girl’s a hellion! But it doesn’t matter." He turned to Peter as they heard the water start to run. "Where the blazes were you, Wormtail?" he demanded to know. "We nearly blew up the Hospital Wing trying to get you out, and you turned out not to be there at all!"

"I was here." Peter said sheepishly.

"Some sense of timing you have. The one time we expect you to stay put you up and leave and disappear without a trace! But at least we found you, little rat, and I guess we should be grateful for that." He snorted at his own joke, but he didn’t seem particularly amused. "Listen up Pete, here’s the deal. Oh, and you might want to sit down."

Sirius told Peter what had happened during his absence. He noticed that Sirius only told him the most basic facts and stayed carefully neutral, whereas Remus, who had talked and talked like he had been under a Babbling Jinx, had gone into painstaking detail and placed the blame everywhere he saw it as due, though mainly on himself.

And then Sirius told him about the latest Big Plan, and Peter was glad he had followed his advice about sitting down.

"I need to spy on Remus?" he repeated faintly.

Sirius nodded.

"In my rat form?"

Sirius nodded again, a bright smile spreading on his face.

"To find out who Remus really likes?"

"Exactly! Glad we understand each other so well."

"B - but -"

Sirius cocked an eyebrow. "What? You can do it, can’t you?"

"Well... I suppose, but..." He saw Sirius frown and swallowed thickly. "I just don’t think Remus fancies Lily Evans at all."

Sirius’s eyes narrowed. "Why?"

He was quite clear about it to me. But Peter couldn’t say that. He had promised! But then again, if he did tell Sirius what Remus had said - only a little, no more than was necessary - he wouldn’t have to spy on Remus. Knowing Sirius, though, he would have to tell everything as soon as the other Marauder realised that if Remus had told Peter about Lily Evans, he must also have told him about the rest. Sirius sometimes seemed to be able to smell such things. But he couldn’t go spying on Remus either, could he now? Remus was a friend, and no matter what kind of nonsense had been going on in the last couple of days, spying on him was unethical. But... but, but, but. Oh, dilemma. Peter didn’t like being faced with dilemmas. Since stress did such highly suspicious things to his senses, he tended to make the wrong choice. And the worst part was that afterwards, he was still unable to tell if what he’d done was the right thing or not...

"I just think he doesn’t." Peter said with a helpless shrug of his shoulders, not looking Sirius in the eye.

Sirius grumbled. "To tell you the truth, me neither. But the idea’s got Prongs’s knickers in a mighty twist, and there’s just no living with him when he’s like that. And really, where’s the harm in it? It looks like Moony is too stubborn to help sort out this mess, so it’ll only do good."

Peter looked up just in time to notice that for a moment, Sirius looked like he had to convince himself that his words were true. He felt his heart sink. Even Sirius doesn’t know what to do anymore...

Then the door opened and a damp-haired James came in and said unceremoniously: "Will he do it?", startling Peter and Sirius. Sirius looked at Peter, who, after a final moment of hesitation, nodded. He may not be able to match his friends, but he was still a Gryffindor. He couldn’t just stand by watching the situation deteriorate and do nothing to change it!

"Great! See Prongs, I told you. We’ll know all about Remus’s romantic escapades soon enough."

"I guess." To Peter, it seemed James was trying not to sound too hopeful. "We’ll start once Remus leaves for his Prefect’s round, I take it?"

"I’m not sure yet. We’d have to know where he is and get Wormtail on his trail without him noticing, so we need a good starting position. You and me must not be seen, James, and if we want to be able to keep an eye on the progress of things we can’t give Wormtail the Map to find Remus’s current location."

Sirius and James went over the plans for at least half an hour before they finally deemed the risks and the possibility of failure acceptable, and all the while Peter could not help but think that it was like a bomb had gone off while he was in the Hospital Wing. One of the Muggle kind that sends things flying through the air in itty bitty pieces. Peter felt like he had landed on his head.



That evening, Peter Pettigrew was mysteriously - though not quite notably - absent during dinner. If anyone found it strange that Sirius Black occasionally fed his lap crusts and bits of meat and vegetables, they were either Death Eater spies doing a truly lousy job, severely lacking in the exterior senses department, or suffering from memory loss. Possibly all three at once.

James and Sirius kept a covert eye on Remus all through the meal (though James couldn’t quite keep his mind focussed on Remus too, as the other Marauder was sitting right next to Lily Evans), waiting for him to finish eating and start doing whatever else he did in his friends’ absence. For such a scrawny boy, Remus could eat a lot. Though Sirius and James knew that his lycanthropy took a toll even outside the days of the full moon, they were muttering morosely for a full ten minutes before Remus was finally finished. James was beginning to develop a hatred against slow eaters.

Wormtail had begun to feel a bit dozy because of his full stomach and the warmth of Sirius’s lap - that thought didn’t even bother him anymore - when he came into abrupt contact with the ground.

"He’s leaving, hurry! Go, go!" Sirius hissed at the vicinity of his crotch. The Gryffindors around him didn’t blink an eye.

Shaking away the stars dancing before his eyes, Wormtail looked around and spotted the pair of shoes belonging to Remus. They passed by him on their way to the entrance hall, and with an uncomfortable shock, Wormtail realised that he would have to do quite a bit of running if he wanted to keep up with Remus for any amount of time while in his rat form. Dear Merlin, why hadn’t he thought of that before - like when he was trying to convince Sirius that it was a ridiculous plan? Sneaking around unnoticed and keeping up with people who were slowed down by their attempts at being stealthy was one thing, trying to follow someone who would rather be in a hurry was another. Sirius’s foot reminded him that he had best start running as soon as possible, lest their plans would be ruined before they even commenced.

With an inward squeak, Wormtail ran, dodging between legs of students and tables alike. Three-thirds along the Gryffindor table, he was gathering a good bit of speed when suddenly the fact that he was running under a table, in the body of a rat, between dozens of pairs of feet, and that this could never end well, made itself known to him. Someone moved the foot Wormtail dived underneath, down just a bit too quickly, and stepped on his tail. The high-pitched shriek he let out caused a clatter of cutlery and dishes on the tabletop above him. Several pairs of feet moved - away from him, luckily - as the owners jumped up, and loud, startled voices could be heard.

Wormtail ducked behind one of the table’s legs, his beady eyes watering in pain. A quick glance towards the open space between the Gryffindor table and the doors to the Great Hall showed that the shoes belonging to Remus were about to disappear into the Great Hall. After a moment of paralyzing uncertainty, the rat-animagus started running again, using the chaos above and around him as his cover to slip out of the room unnoticed, and panic raced through him with every heartbeat.

One look around the Entrance Hall had his distress rising to new heights. Remus was already at the bottom of the stairs! He would never be able to keep up with him! But as always, panic, combined with the knowledge that Sirius would be very disgruntled indeed if he messed up, was like rocket fuel. One would hardly have guessed that the muddy streak shooting across the marble floor was a rat on adrenaline.

Thinking it better not to stop for second thoughts, Wormtail relayed his initial course so that he was aimed straight at the stair’s left banister. Once he reached the staircase - Remus was almost at the top - he took a leap, halting the pumping movement of his tiny legs only long enough to push off and immediately resuming his previous movement. To his own exhilarating surprise, his plan worked; once his tiny feet touched the narrow straight surface the banister rested on, dangerously close to the sharp bend down to the stair’s steps, he shot forward with almost undiminished speed.

There was just enough space for him to run along. If he kept moving, he might make it all the way to the top in one go. One, two, three four five steps, ten steps - his limbs were pumping like mad, his chest felt like it was too small for the rest of his already minute body - fifteen steps, seventeen, twenty - faster faster faster faster! his mind screamed. He was almost there, hold on now, just a few more steps - and he had made it!

And... he shot up, right into the domed sky, because gravity hadn’t noticed he’d run out of ground yet. Wormtail made a nice arc through the air and landed flat on his stomach.

For a moment all he could do was lay there, pant, and hope he wouldn’t have a heart attack. He didn’t know how real rats did it. Maybe it was the fact that he had only recently been able to gain an Animagus form - Sirius and James had succeeded much earlier than him - or the fact that his human body was less than slim and fit, but Wormtail didn’t think he would be able to survive for more than a week as a rat.

Where was Remus? Wormtail looked around blearily. If his rodent vocal cords had been able to produce an appropriate sound, he would have moaned. Time to go again...

This went on for at least another six stairs and a dozen corridors and hallways (he soon lost count of them due to lack of oxygen to his brain), until they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady. Wormtail was too late to sneak inside, but couldn’t bring him self to mind. He was too tired. Luckily, Remus reappeared shortly with his book bag slung over his shoulder. Not so luckily, this meant that Wormtail had to start running again.

The stairs were easier this time, though; after the first accidental slip on - or rather, off - the stairs between the sixth and fifth floors, he simply waited until Remus had descended to the floor below before dropping himself off the steps. The bruises wouldn’t show up until tomorrow, so no worries there!

When Remus settled in the library to study, Wormtail found himself a spot between two books on a low shelf from which he could keep an eye on the werewolf without being seen himself, and was able to recover a bit. Soon Wormtail had to fight to keep awake, his small black eyes drooping and his whiskers sagging.

He was absentmindedly considering the pros and cons of nibbling on a piece of book when Lily Evans appeared. Wormtail shot as upright as he could in the body of a rat and perked his ears while Lily approached Remus and put a hand on his shoulder.

He was unable to hear what she whispered in his ear that made his face fall, but her response of "And don’t even think about trying to get out of it, Remus Lupin." was loud and clear. Remus, he could see, did so anyway. "It’s no use Remus. The puppy eyes don’t work on me. I’m sorry to break it to you, but they’re not very effective at all. It makes you look strange, more like a wolf cub than a puppy."

Remus wasn’t the only person who stiffened at that off-handed comment. Luckily, Lily seemed to interpret the nervous chuckle Remus manage to wring from his throat as merely a confirmation of his failure to look cute and adorable as those traits were normally defined.

Upon Lily’s prompting, Remus began to pack is bag. Dreading the prospect of having to run after him again, Peter shot out of his hiding place when Remus walked away to put a few books back on Madame Pince’s shelves, and clambered into the book bag. Even while he tried to make himself invisible between the rolls of parchment and quills, a book hit Wormtail on the head - Remus’s copy of Advanced Potion-Making, judging by the weight.

A bit dizzy and squashed, but otherwise conveniently stored away, Wormtail was carried away on Remus’s shoulder as Remus was figuratively dragged off by Lily. The small spy kept his ears strained, but the other two only made small talk. Almost forcibly so, he added to his mental notes.

After a while the book bag was put down. Wormtail almost got squashed again. He worked his way to the flap so he could see what was going on, as well as hear better.

They had arrived in an abandoned classroom. Remus stood awkwardly near the teacher’s desk while Lily walked around out of Wormtail’s line of sight and, by the sound of it, cast various spells. Curtains appeared before the windows and candles were lit. It looked almost romantic.

Hold on, romantic?

Lily reappeared and stood before Remus, her hands on her hips and her head cocked to the side. Remus stiffened under her gaze.

"We have a lot of work to do." Lily said, raising her wand. "So let’s get started."

With a flick of her wrist, Remus’s school robes were charmed to look like dressing robes. Another, and her own robes were transformed into an elegant ball gown. She nodded, pleased with the results.

"Brilliant. Now, my dear Remus, it is time for you to seduce me."

What in the Heck? Wormtail thought. 

Halloween Mayhem
Chapter One; Take Your Positions!
Chapter Two; And Lose Them Again...
Chapter Three; Regroup ASAP
Chapter Four; This Is Called A Collision
Chapter Five; I Did Warn You Guys - That Hurts
Chapter Six; We'll Be Playing Blind Today
Chapter Seven; Bet You Didn't See That Coming
Chapter Eight; Somebody Tell Me I'm Dreaming
Chapter Nine; Please Play Nicely
Chapter Ten; Surprise, Surprise
[Written for the 2006 Halloween Fanfic Exchange.] Remus goes for the girl and involuntarily causes wide-spread chaos. He’s not pleased. Neither are his friends. Tempers flare, and flare... Will there be a last one to laugh?