The Next Great Adventure (A Marauders Fan Fic)

Chapter Seventy Four

Chapter Seventy Four

It had been nearly two months since Peter had gone into hiding when his Dark Mark began to burn. He ignored it for as long as he could, telling himself that he had to protect Lily and James, but it hurt so much. The longer he ignored it, the stronger it got, and he began to question whether helping Lily and James would really do anything; if Voldemort could cause so much pain, even when he was miles and miles away, he must be more powerful than anyone in the history of the Wizarding world.

Then, he began to think.

He had been working for Voldemort in secret for so long, he was sure he could do it the other way round. He could pass information about the Death Eaters to Dumbledore, it wouldn't be hard and if Dumbledore asked him where he got it from... he could say that Voldemort had come to him, had tried to recruit him and he, thinking about the good of the Order, had said yes so that he could spy for them. Wormtail smiled to himself as he thought about how the Order would worship him when he delivered Voldemort to them on a plate. And, if Voldemort's end really was nearing, which Dumbledore seemed to think, and Voldemort was almost certainly worried about, considering his renewed search for Lily and James, then he could probably escape from the Death Eaters without any of them harming him.

He had told Voldemort, of course, that the Potters had told him they would make him their Secret-Keeper; he hadn't been able to resist once he was in the room with him. Order members had been told by the Aurors that Voldemort was an extremely powerful Legilimens and that it was impossible to keep secrets from him, but the knowledge didn't help Wormtail when he was there in front of him.

But then there was the scale of things.

It had been two months already, and Wormtail was starving. He hadn't had a decent meal in weeks, the only person he really saw was Sirius, and even that was rare, and he had no idea when this would end. And, to make matters worse, he knew that once he failed to turn up for a couple of meetings, and knowing what he knew about the Marauders, and that Wormtail was the Potters' Secret-Keeper, Voldemort and his followers would assume he had betrayed them. After that, of course, they would come looking for him and, if Wormtail knew anything, he knew that Voldemort would find you, no matter where you hid. So really, he would end up starving to death out here in this horrible house for absolutely nothing, because Voldemort would find him anyway, and once he had found him he would find the Potters.

Peter's already quite weak heart quailed at the thought of living here, amongst the spiders and the dust, for the next few years. It had taken years for them to begin to even look as if they were defeating Voldemort, and he didn't doubt that it would take longer still. Two months, in the grand scheme of things, was nothing, but two months in this house already seemed like an eternity.

Eventually he came up with a plan; he would attend the meeting, it was certainly still in session, but he would lurk in the corner as per usual. Voldemort wouldn't suspect him, and if he asked him where the Potters were, he would say that they had postponed the casting of the charm and that he didn't know where they were; he had only spoken to Dumbledore.

By the time Wormtail arrived at the Lestrange's manor, the grey autumn evening had blanketed the sky; the day had never been very bright, but now the clouds were darkening and night was louring.

When he arrived, Wormtail took up his customary place, trying to think only of how hungry he was. His thoughts were interrupted however, and he looked up, surprised, and met Voldemort's eyes.

"I'm sorry my Lord?" he asked, his voice barely audible. The Death Eaters, spurred on by Voldemort's chilling laugh, jeered once again.

"I said 'Come here, Wormtail'," Voldemort repeated, gesturing to a seat very near him. "Flint lost his life at the hands of one of Bartemius Crouch's Aurors last week; you may take his place."