There Is A Body And Our Hands Are Bloody
PRESENT:
WARNING: THIS STORY IS NOT FICTION
THIS IS TRANSCRIPT FROM THE RECORDED INTERVIEW BETWEEN JAMES POTTER AND DETECTIVE HENRY MUSTANG:
DETECTIVE HENRY: (looking down at his notes, clears throat on mic) “Can you hear me well, Mr. Potter?”
JAMES: (behind the glass, indifferent expression on his face, quick) “Yes.”
DETECTIVE HENRY: “Then we can start. We have begun recording. Tell us your full name, please.”
JAMES: “My name is James Fleamont Potter.”
HENRY: “And tell us why you have been arrested.”
JAMES: (pauses, then) “I have been arrested for the murder of my best friends. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.
200 DAYS BEFORE:
[Common Room]
JAMES: (looking down at the body, laughing rather deliriously) “Well, it was fun while it lasted, folks. This is my sincere goodbye to all of ya! Really! We had so much potential for nothing! We’re all going to rot in jail and, and-“ (immediately breakdown and yells) “FUCK!”
REMUS: (taking deep breath, rolling eyes at Jame’s reaction) “We’re not going to jail.”
JAMES: (mouth agape) “There’s a fucking body!”
REMUS: (a raised brow, trying to stay calm) “So?”
JAMES: (disbelief) “So? So?! Someone is going to walk in here, right now and see the fucking body of Severus fucking Snape! Do you understand that!”
REMUS: “And I get it, James. It looks suspicious. But it’s not like we did it, did we?”
JAMES: (pauses, calming down) “Uh- no?”
REMUS: “Then they have no real evidence, it’s fine.”
JAMES: (suddenly jolted, mouth open) “What about Pete!”
REMUS: (takes a sideways glance at Peter, who is still looking down at the body, blood on his white shirt) “What do you mean?”
JAMES: (furrows brows, dumbfounded) “He hugged the body. His DNA will be all over it, won't it? Wouldn’t they figure it out?”
REMUS: (quick calculation) “Not if they don’t find the body.”
JAMES: (stares silently, slowly)“…What do you mean, if they don’t find the body?”
SIRIUS: (suddenly speaking up for the first time, lifting eyes off body and straight into Remus’ stare) “Remus. Are you saying we… hide the body?”
REMUS: (gulps, suddenly feeling slight pressure in his normally calm demeanor) “That is exactly what I am saying.”
JAMES: “No! No! You’re all crazy! Sirius, tell your boyfriend that he is crazy and we shouldn’t be doing this? Like at all!”
SIRIUS: “Remus-“
REMUS: (abrupt) “It’s either this or they know we were here. And then…”
SIRIUS: “…we get sent to jail.”
JAMES: (frustrated) “FUCK!”
PETER: (in shock still, looking at shaky bloody hands, before muttering) “You guys could leave, you know? It’s my blood. I can go be blamed while you lot go and-“
JAMES/REMUS/SIRIUS: “NO!”
SIRIUS: (adding furiously) “We are not fucking doing that, Peter. We do NOT leave marauders behind.”
PETER: (suddenly crying, immense pressure) “I’m so sorry guys, I shouldn’t have touched the fucking body. Such an idiot.”
JAMES: (fierce) “Never apologise for caring, mate.”
REMUS: “We have to get rid of the body. It’s the only option.”
JAMES: (slowly losing hope, desperate) “The police?”
REMUS: “Do you honestly think they will believe that four teenagers who have been pulling pranks on the victim since primary will be innocent in all this?”
JAMES: (groans) “That does sound bad.”
REMUS: “Yeah! Really bad! This is the only way!”
JAMES: “…does everyone agree with Moony?”
SIRIUS: “Like Remus said, it’s the only way that we can get out of this without blood on our hands.”
PETER: (stopped crying, wiping his eyes, leaving blood marks underneath his eyelids, numb) “We already have it. We have to wipe it off.”
JAMES: (oddly disturbed by Peter’s numb face, and looks to see Remus’ and Sirius’ calm demeanor) “You lot all decided then?”
REMUS: (inhale, then nods) “Yeah.”
JAMES: “We’re really doing it?”
SIRIUS: “The only way.”
JAMES: (pauses, before giving off an abrupt laugh, given how uncomfortable this all is, then puts his hand over his eyes for a few seconds, all while the other marauders are silent, finally lifting his eyes to stare at each one of them) “Where are we hiding the body?”
PETER: (looking James, Remus and Sirius in the eyes before saying) “The cemetery.”
PRESENT
DETECTIVE HENRY: (sighs, flipping a page to start his notes) “Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?”