A sort of epilogue
Harry watched from the shadows of the dungeon as the man paced around his small cell. He wished he could be surprised at the fact that the Malfoys really did have a dungeon with cells under their manor. When he had overheard Lucius tell Narcissa that he should have just put the Dursleys in the dungeon, he assumed the man was joking, but standing here now, he understood that he had been completely serious.
Severus had returned to Shrieking Shack the morning after the full moon and delivered Sirius to Malfoy Manor as promised. He had also assisted Lupin out of the Shack to the hospital wing. He had then spent the rest of the day in his rooms contemplating what his life had become now that he was actually helping Marauders.
Narcissa had healed Sirius’ physical injuries when he had arrived at the manor. He was in terrible physical condition and was still wearing the ill-fitting prison rags he had on in the Shrieking Shack and his unwashed shoulder-length hair hung limply around his face. He had initially refused offers of a shower and clean robes; until Remus Lupin had arrived.
Initially, Harry had been cross to find his godfather in the dungeon. However, Miss Saari and Madam Bones had explained the situation. Sirius was still an escaped prisoner, and such had to be kept in a prison; the DLME would have to return him to Azkaban if he was surrendered to their custody so Lucius was keeping him in the dungeon.
Madam Bones had presented her investigation into the botched case against Sirius Black to the Wizengamot. The reaction of the Chamber had been one of shock and horror when it was revealed that the son of an Ancient and Noble House had been sent to Azkaban without any trial at all.
Amelia’s hopes for having the matter resolved the same day quickly dissolved when the session had to be shut down before the vote due to concerns for the safety of Chief Warlock when several members became aggressive. A week later they were still arguing about whose fault it had been but were no closer to a vote on the issue.
In order to force a vote Luicus and Margarite were planning to petition the Wizengamot to have the original charges against Sirius dropped due to lack of evidence. This would negate the charges of escaping from Azkaban as he should never have been there and he would have to be released.
Once he was released Sirius would be going to St Mungo's for treatment; as she was his closest living relative, apart from another cousin, Narcissa had approached them and made the arrangements for Sirius to be committed there, and a place was being prepared for him.
However, before any of that could happen they needed Sirius' account of that night; so Harry had been enlisted to try and get him talking. So far Sirius had refused to cooperate with Madam Bones, even Lupin had been unable to get him to talk to the head of the DLME. He seemed to have completely lost his grasp on reality and was still focused on finding Pettigrew and saving Harry.
It had been two weeks since school had finished and Harry had yet to talk with his Godfather, now with time running out he had agreed to go down and try ti get him to talk. He would not be alone Severus would be there as would Miss Saari as his legal counsel and Madam Bones herself would be there to witness the conversation which they were hoping would be usable in their petition.
The man stopped pacing and stood completely still, he seemed to be listening for something then suddenly he transformed into the huge black dog Harry had seen on several occasions. The dog was as emaciated as the man and it whimpered as sniffed the air almost desperately and Harry realised the animal knew he was there.
Stepping forward he called the man’s name; the dog tilted its head listening and assessing what threat the voice posed. Suddenly the dog was gone and the man was back sitting on the stone floor “Harry?” he rasped. “Harry, what are you doing here? Did they capture you too, you should be at school,” he rambled.
“No, Sirius, school is finished for the year, don't you remember I asked Severus to bring you here when we were in the shack?” Harry said in the soft low tone Narcissa had advised him to use.
The man tilted his head in the same way the dog had. “The shack?” he repeated. Then his eyes went wide. “Lupin, Remus where is he?” Sirius demanded. “I need to apologise,” he said his eyes going wild for a moment, then he changed and the fight went out of him. “Harry,” he whispered, rising to his knees and wrapping his hands around the bars.
“I am here,” Harry told him stepping closer. “Remus is here too. He is in the kitchen getting you some food, he’ll be back soon.”
“I don't understand, what happened?” Black asked.
“You came to Hogwarts looking for Peter Pettigrew. You, and a half kneezel called Crookshanks. Peter was hiding there disguised as Ron Weaselys pet rat. You found the rat but Ron saw you and he chased you. Severus, Remus, Hermione and I followed you Peter Pettigrew, Crookshanks and Ron to the Shack. Unfortunately, Peter got away and Remus forgot to take his potion. You stayed got us out and stayed with him through the full moon and then Severus brought you here.” Harry told him.
“Severus, Severus Snape,” the man said as if testing the name. “Why? Why would Snape help me?”
“Because I asked him too,” Harry said stepping closer again. “He is my Head of House at Hogwarts and he helped me get away from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon,” Harry told him. He and Severus had agreed it was best not to antagonise Sirius with the truth of their relationship, not while he was so ill.
“Petunia, Vernon. No, no why were you with them? Lily said you should never go there,” the man said looking pained.
“Professor Dumbledore thought it was the best place for me,” Harry said evenly. “It wasn’t though, they treated me badly, they hurt me and starved me; but when I finally got to Hogwarts Severus helped me to get away. He arranged for me to live here at Malfoy Manor. Lucius and Narcissa are my par…”
Sirius became agitated. “No,” he whispered. No, you should have gone to Alice and Frank Longbottom. Why? What happened, why would Dumbldore do that?” Sirius asked his eyes wild with confusion.
“I have no idea what Dumbledore's plans were apart from setting me up as the boy who lived and as the saviour of the wizarding world,” Harry could not stop his bitterness at those words.
“What?” the man whispered.
“You heard me, anyway it doesn't matter. Dumbles is an old fool with no power over me now. You, however, I don't know what to do about you. You're my godfather but you abandoned me,” Harry said, angrily.
“I am sorry Harry, I messed up. I should not have gone after Pettigrew that night I should have taken you from Hagrid. I was just so angry…and I trusted Albus. I never thought…” the man said sadly.
“Well that much is clear,” Harry told him. “Mum says you are sick and that you need help. Severus told me that Azkaban messes with people's heads. He was surprised you were not completely crazy,” Harry said.
Sirius pulled him self to his feet and moved back to sit on his bed. Which Harry noted looked quite comfortable for a cell. “Cissy, wants me to go into hospital. I don't want to leave you again.”
Harry considered the man sitting on the bed. “Better the hospital than Azkaban, I can visit you in the hospital,” he replied.
“And leave you with Snivellus the Malfoys,” Sirius suddenly hissed.
Harry was taken aback at the sudden change in the man. “I have been alone with them for two years now and I am much better for it,” he growled in reply.
Sirius looked ill. “James would be horrified you living with Sniv…” he lamented.
“Stop, Harry said loudly, cutting him off. “Just stop there. Severus doesn't like you, with good reason I think. Yet it was him who asked Dad to look into your trial. Severus is the reason he was trying to get you out. He hired a lawyer and they had almost succeeded when you escaped and ruined everything.”
Sirius looked appalled. “Snivellus…Snivillus hates me why would…”
“Use that name again and I am leaving. We were having a nice conversation why would suddenly start attacking my family?” Harry asked, he was confused and hurt and he was trying to remember that this man was ill.
“Your family, no Harry, I am your family, James and Lily…”
“...Are dead. James and Lily are dead, and you have been in prison!” Harry said coldly. “Severus has helped me, he looked after me, he got me decent clothes and made sure I got the potions I needed to…”
“Potions…that's it he’s given you potions to make you think…” the man said desperately falling to his knees and again and shuffling to the bars. He reached though them towards Harry who immediately stepped back.
“Stop, and don’t you dare touch me,” he said again. “Severus told me he didn’t get along with you or James at school; he didn’t want me to think poorly of James but I get the distinct impression he was a bully,” Harry said.
“No, Harry, he wasn’t…well Sniv…” Sirius stopped at the expression on Harry’s face. “Sorry, Snape was…” he stopped again.
“Severus was what? A Slytherin? So am I.” Harry declared.
Sirius looked as if Harry had struck him.
Harry had no idea what was going on, he didn't know why the conversation had changed so suddenly. He supposed it was the man’s illness. He glanced back in the direction of the people he knew were nearby, listening to their conversation. He figured he might as well push on since Sirius was talking.
He folded his arms across his chest taking a defensive stance. “Since you seem to be unable to use Severus’ actual name and insist on calling him that other disgusting name, I think your denial is a lie. My cousin used to call me a freak, he used to lead his friends in a game he called Harry Hunting. They would chase me four-on-one until I couldn't run any more and then do you know what they did? They beat me with their hands, feet, fists, sticks or rocks anything they had until I was black and blue and bleeding. Does any of that sound familiar?” Harry asked, his tone cold and distant.
Sirius was confused by this boy who looked like James but spoke like Snape, he was too small, too skinny for a thirteen-year-old boy. He looked like he needed a good feed and he was angry with him. Angry with his parents who had only tried to protect him. “Harry, I just want you to be safe, please let me take you away from here so we can find Albus and…”
Harry’s temper boiled over at that. “I am not going anywhere and neither are you! Now answer my question, Sirius,” He demanded.
“I umm, your question what was the question?” Sirius asked looking confused.
“Did you bully Severus four-on-one like my cousin did to me?” Harry repeated.
“We were kids, Harry, and Snivillus gave as good as he got!” Sirius told him.
Harry raised an eyebrow, “...and was it just you and James?”
“No, there were four of us, but mostly it was me and James. Harry, you have to understand he was a Slytherin, a Death Eater in training and he was trying to get his hooks into Lily. He almost did.” Sirius begged.
“Hummm four on one, just like Dudley and his gang,” Harry said.
The man in the cell looked horrified he swallowed thickly. “Harry,” he whispered. “Please.”
“Mum left a will you know. In it, she said that she wanted Severus to be my Magical Guardian. She figured out she had been drugged. That's why she married Dad, someone drugged her when she realised she went to my grandfather, James’ father and asked him to help her.” Harry snapped.
Sirius looked stunned. “No, no. Harry no, James would never do that and I…I witnessed her will; she never wrote that.”
Harry folded his arms over his chest. “My grandfather advised her to make a new will and to open an account just for me and to put everything she wanted me to have in it and she did. She left her new will in the vault at Gringotts. The vault should have gone to Severus under the terms of her old will. Unfortunately, Dumbledore overrode everything. He wanted me with my Aunt,” Harry told him.
“NO, NO that's not true it can't be true,” the man cried out, shaking his head violently.
“It is true, Severus is my magical guardian now, he arranged for me to live here with the Malfoys, they are my parents and Draco is my brother. I am in Slytherin and Severus protects me. You will learn to treat him with respect or we will have nothing to do with each other - do you understand?
“Merlin Harry, listen to me,” he demanded in a hard tone. “Snape must have slipped you a potion…”
Harry knew he was making Sirius angry and he knew he should step away. Narcissa had told him not to make his godfather angry but it was working he was getting information. He pulled his magic around him and tightened his control before he continued. “Do. you. understand?” He repeated in a deathly cold tone while allowing some magic to escape; it would look as if he was losing control and hopefully it would warn the man in the cell to behave.
Sirius swallowed “Yes, yes, alright, I understand,” he said.
“Good, now why in the name of Merlin did you escape from Azkaban when Father was this close,” he held his thumb and index finger up showing a small space between them. “...this close to getting you out and exonerated?” he pressed.
The man shook his head like he was trying to clear water from his ears, he looked confused for a moment then he looked up and his eyes were bright again. “I…you have to understand what it's like in there. The dementors, mess with your head. Sometimes it's hard to know what's real and what's a dream or just wishful thinking. I discovered after a few weeks that I could still transform into padfoot. I woke up one morning in that form, he protected me so I never actually lost my mind. The dementors take everything that's good and happy and they leave you with only the worst memories but as Padfoot, my feelings and emotions were less complex. Honestly, I only half remember Lucius coming in, I thought I imagined it, I couldn’t understand why he would come after all this time. Why he would come at all.” the man said with a frown. “So I just ignored it. Then there was this man, some Ministry official. I dunno who he was, he was there with a woman and he had a paper…a newspaper. I asked if I could have it and he gave it to me. Then there on the front page was Peter bloody Pettigrew.”
Harry almost sighed in relief, he was finally getting the information they needed. “Peter Pettigrew the fourth one of your group?” Harry clarified for the benefit of the people still in the shadows.
“Yes, he was our friend. We thought he was our friend.” Sirius said mournfully.
“I see, so you made Pettigrew my parent's secret keeper. Why didn’t you do it?” Harry asked.
“It was supposed to be me. We changed the plan,” Sirius confessed in a low voice. “...me and James we thought it was so clever; no one would ever think they would use such a pathetic little rat,” Sirius said through gritted teeth.
“I am not following Sirius. What are you talking about?” Harry asked with a frown.
“There was a spy in our group. We knew there was a spy and we thought…Merlin, we thought it was Remus,” Sirius said his face contorted in pain.
“Professor Lupin?” Harry asked.
“Yes, he is a werewolf but Harry it wasn't him we were wrong, we were so wrong. We thought Pettigrew was too weak, too scared to be a spy. We thought it was the perfect plan. Anyone wanting to get to you would come for me, Peter would be safe all he had to do was stay in the damn safe house! But when I went to check on him he was gone, I am so sorry little Prongslet,” Sirius was weeping now and Harry looked down at the broken man lying on the floor his robe was dirty from sitting on the floor and his messy hair covered his face.
Harry felt his anger melt away, something stirred in his mind, a memory. The name Prongslet was familiar, he remembered having heard it before; without thinking about what he was doing he knelt down and reached through the bars and put his hand on the man's head. “It's ok Uncle Siri,” he whispered. “It’s ok.”
The wretched man lifted his head and looked into the eyes of the boy kneeling in front of him. “Harry,” he whispered. “My little Prongslet. It’s really you.”
“Yes, it’s me, it’s Harry. Siri, Father and Miss Saari can fix this. You’ll be free once they present their case, but first, you have to tell me something: Tell me, Sirius, why did you go to Hogwarts? You weren't looking for me, were you? ” Harry asked him.
“No, I went looking for Pettigrew,” Sirius told him.
“And how did you know Pettigrew was at Hogwarts?” Harry asked gently.
“There was a photo on the front page of the paper. The Weasley family. They won some competition, a trip to Egypt or something,” Harry swallowed. He remembered that paper. He had been so pleased with himself arranging that windfall for the Weaselys that he still had no idea why he did it probably because he felt guilty about Ginny.
“Ok what about the picture?” he prompted.
“On the shoulder of the youngest boy…there was a rat,” Sirius said, scrubbing at his face with his sleeve.
“Scabbers yeah, what about him?” Harry prompted again.
“It was Pettigrew Harry, his animagus form is a rat. We helped him - me and James - we helped him become an animagus. I watched him transform so many times I knew it was him and he was missing a toe,” the man replied brokenly.
“Missing a toe?” Harry asked, he knew the rat was missing a toe and why it was missing but Madam Bones needed to hear it.
“Yeah,” Sirius breathed determined to tell his story now that he had started. “That night, I went to the safe house where Peter was living, I wanted to check on him but he was gone. The place was a mess it looked like he had been attacked,” Sirius was deep in his memory now and Harry knew he just had to let the man talk.
“He had gone to his Master Lord Voldemort,” the man spat angrily. "He betrayed you. You and James and Lily; he betrayed you all! He told that evil bastard where to find you. I went straight to the cottage in Godric’s Hollow but it was too late. The place was blown apart James and Lily were…dead,” he sobbed. “Hagrid was there he was holding you. I lost it, Harry! James was dead, Lily was dead and it was my fault…I left you with Hagrid and I went after Pettigrew. I went after him as Padfoot and I sniffed him out on a street somewhere in London. When he saw me he yelled out that I had betrayed James and Lily then he cut off his finger and he blew up the street. Then he must have transformed and disappeared down the drain into the sewers like the dirty rat he is,” Sirius spat angrily.
“It was all they found of him,” Harry said softly.
“Yeah, cunning little rat shoulda been in Slytherin. It was my fault if, I hadn’t convinced James to change the plan. Merlin,” the man put his face in his hands and sobbed.
“Sev,” Harry called out. “I have been seeing a rat all year in divination,” he said for the benefit of the listeners.
Severus stepped out of the shadows and stood behind Harry, “Yes, I remember. You were right, the rat was the traitor it seems,” he said stoically, looking at Black who was slumped on the floor. He held out his hand to Harry.
Harry grabbed the offered hand and allowed Severus to pull him to his feet. When he was upright he turned around and spoke to the shadows. “Is that enough? Do you have enough?” he asked, his voice cracking for just a moment.
“Yes, Harry, you have done extremely well,” Severus said putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.
“Very well indeed Mr Potter,” Amelia Bones repeated as she appeared out of the darkness of the dungeon.
“You will use your memories then Amelia?” Harry’s lawyer Margarite Saari asked as she too stepped out of the shadows.
“That would be for the best yes,” Amelia replied. “I will have an unspeakable remove them and ensure they are kept safe for your petition.”
“Excellent, well then I have a deposition to prepare,” the lawyer said curtly. Then she turned to Harry. “You did an incredible job, Mr Potter. I am very impressed.”
Harry gave her a shaky smile. “Glad I could help,” he replied.
Margarite could see the young man’s bravado was about to crack so she offered her hand to Severus in thanks and the two women left.
Remus appeared moments later with a tray of food. He looked at Sirius who was curled up on the floor of the cell and anger flashed in his eyes.
“What have you done?” he asked fury in his tone.
“Only what we had to Lupin, Amelia and Margarite needed to hear what happened from Black himself, if they are to succeed in securing his freedom,” Severus said calmly.
“Open the door,” Lupin ordered.
Severus took the key from his pocket and opened the cell door. Remus went in pulling the door closed behind him. He put the food on the small table and sat down on the floor with Sirius. He spoke to man but his words were too soft for Harry to hear.
Sirius responded to Lupin instantly and he allowed the other man to pull him into his arms and they both sat on the floor wrapped around each other.
“I am sorry,” Harry whispered, but neither of the men responded. Harry turned to Severus who wrapped an arm around him and kissed the top of the boy's head.
“You did what had to be done, Harry. You got the information we needed to ensure he gets the help he needs.” Severus whispered.
Harry and Severus watched as Lupin coaxed Sirius to eat something and then tucked him into his bed. It took almost an hour before the werewolf exited the cell; Severus locked the door again and pocketed the key.
Lupin looked at Harry. He could see that the young man had run the full gamut of emotions since he stepped into the dungeon and now had his Slytherin mask firmly in place. “He will be ok, Harry,” Lupin said with a sigh. “He needs more than I can give him but…”
“It’s alright Remus. Miss Saari will make sure he gets the help he needs. I wouldn't have done what I did if I wasn’t sure of that,” he said calmly.
Lupin looked at the young man standing in front of him, his face all but expressionless; seeing that mask on a face which looked so much like James was disconcerting. Harry was not the child he would have been if James and Lily had raised him and Remus grieved for that boy, who Harry never had the chance to be.
Severus placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Come, Harry, I think you need to get some rest before dinner,” he told him.
Harry nodded and allowed Severus to guide him down the stone passage leading away from the cells. Lupin watched him go, then he opened the door of the cell opposite the one his former lover was in and walked in leaving the door open. His wolf did not cope well when it felt confined.
Remus had arrived at the manor a few days before Harry and Draco arrived home. He left the castle the day he resigned from his job telling the Headmaster his position was untenable and he could not stay. Narcissa had offered him a guest room but he had chosen to stay in the dungeon to be near Sirius and the cell was certainly not the worst place he had ever lived. He sat on the bed and watched the man sleeping in the cell across from him.
They had been at Malfoy Manor for almost three weeks now and while it was not the way he had envisioned helping Sirius he knew that it was the best option available to them. Madam Bones was working with Lucius and Margarite Saari on the petition and Lupin was confident they would get Sirius exonerated. Lupin was painfully aware he would never have been able to manage that on his own.
Once he was a free man Sirius would be admitted to the hospital, he would receive the care he needed and maybe, if Remus was lucky, he would get another chance to be with the man he had loved since he was thirteen years old and they might both get the chance to know Harry.
Bonus extra bit - Mayamelissa - I hope this is worth a plate of cookies.
When Peter met Tom
Augustus Rookwood tucked his treasure under his arm pulled his cloak close around him and made his way down the dark uneven street which led to his Lord's house. He disillusioned himself to avoid being seen by the woman walking her dog and by the old man who still came to do the garden.
Why His Lord still paid the wretched muggle was more than Augustus could fathom. Truthfully, there were many things his Lord had done since his return which, Augustus found unfathomable; things he would never have done before, but his was not his to reason why.
The gardener only ever used the kitchen door, so Augustus entered through the front door and made his way silently across what had once been a grand Entrance Hall. A large staircase rose up from the hall and split in half at the first landing; the right-hand staircase led to the study and private sitting room of the Lord of the Manor, while the left staircase led to the Lady’s suite and family rooms.
Augustus turned to the right and ascended the stairs; making his way quickly to the study where Lord Voldemort awaited him. His Lord was sitting in a large armchair by the fire; without the special glamour cast by Augustus, the man looked frail and completely inhuman.
The body his Lord had fashioned for himself in a blood and bone ritual assisted by some feckless outer circle member was far from perfect; it was somewhat improved since the ritual to restore the part of his soul which had been in the diary. It was currently being sustained by the elixir of life mixed with venom from the Nagini but a better solution needed to be found.
“My Lord,” Rookwood said kneeling in front of the sitting man. “I have found Peter Pettigrew.”
The Dark Lord looked up meeting his servant's eyes with a terrifying smile. “Peter Pettigrew, found you say. This is most pleasing news, Augustus, most pleasing. Tell me is there any word of Barty?”
“Yes my Lord, his father has him hidden in a muggle neighbourhood in London, he keeps Barty under the imperious curse. There is a house elf who guards him while his father is at work and there are Goblin wards on the house. I cannot break them without alerting the Goblins and Barty cannot break them at all in his current condition. However there might be an opportunity for me to help him soon; at the Quidditch World Cup My Lord,” Rookwood reported.
The Dark Lord nodded his approval. “Very good Augustus, Now, I would like to have a little word with our guest. Meanwhile, I would like you to go and sort out a room for him, ensure it is a room which not even a rat could possibly escape from then you may return for whatever is left of him.”
Rookwood looked uncertain. “My Lord are you sure…”
“You have your orders, do not displease me now Augustus. Not when you have done so very well,” he hissed.
“Yes my Lord,” he said meekly and left the room.
Voldemort turned his attention to the cage which Rookwood had left on the floor in front of him, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the cage levitating it up to the table beside his chair.
“Well, well, Peter,” he said to the terrified rat shivering in the corner of the cage. “I see you still prefer to live life as a rat,” he observed.
The rat made no noise it just trembled in its cage. “I ought to cruico Augustus for insinuating such a weak, pathetic creature as you could be any kind of threat to Lord Voldemort. Let's see what you have to say for yourself.”
A wordless spell hit the cage and the door flew open, the cage rose up in the air and tipped the rat onto the table. He landed with a loud thump which seemed quite out of proportion considering the size of the rat.
The wand moved again and the rat flew into the air squealing and writhing as he was forced to transform back into his human form. The man fell awkwardly on the carpet and immediately scrambled up onto his knees.
“My Lord,” he gasped. “How wonderful to see you I have been waiting…”
“Silence, rat. You dare to address me after you sent me to my downfall?”
The wraith in the chair was an awful spectre of a man, his red eyes flashed dangerously but he looked like he might be blown away by a decent breeze. However, while Voldemort looked weak he was not; his magic was almost completely restored thanks to Severus’ potions and the ritual he had conducted allowing him to absorb the soul piece from his diary. There were still large chunks missing from his memory, he had not considered that splitting his soul would affect his memory. Still, he knew enough to be certain this creature had double-crossed him.
The shaking man fell face down on the carpet and whimpered. Prostrating himself to his Lord.
“Shall I tell you what I think happened?” Voldemort asked conversationally.
Peter only squeaked in reply. The wand slashed through the air again and Peter found himself hanging in mid-air, his arms stretched above his head held up by invisible ropes which bit cruelly into his wrists and forearms lifting him off the ground, forcing his arms to bear his weight.
“I believe, Peter, that you double-crossed me. I think Dumbledore convinced you that you could be the hero. I think he sent you to me to trick me with your story of righteous anger at your friends for not seeing your worth. You gained my trust and joined my Death Eater so you could feed me false information and lead me to what would have been my death had I not taken steps to ensure I could not die,” the man hissed.
Peter paled. “No…no…no, My Lord please, I never… I never worked for Dumbledore. He never even knew I was the secret keeper. Please, I am only loyal to you…My Lord,” he begged.
Tom paused and considered. “This is the story you wish to stick with rat?” he asked dangerously.
“Y…yes Milord,” he stammered.
“I should have asked Severus for a vial of veritaserum,” he mused. “Still, there is one way I can be sure you are telling me the truth,” he said casually. Then raising his wand he whispered “Legilimens,”
Pain exploded in Peter’s head and he screamed desperately writhing in his bonds. The Dark Lord did not go gently, there was no subtlety to his spell; he simply tore into the man’s mind. Held fast by the invisible ropes, Peter could do nothing as his mind was mercilessly invaded.
The screaming quickly became annoying but Voldemort was too busy to silence the man. He had never been in such a disorganised, chaotic mind and it was difficult to find anything useful. It probably didn't help that he was deliberately causing as much pain as possible which in turn made the man lose further control of his mind and his bodily functions it seemed. Voldemort wrinkled his nose and ignored the smell as he dug deeper into the jumbled mind.
During his life as a rat, Peter did not have much to think about apart from food or where he would sleep. There were however some snatches of useful information; an overheard conversation between Dumbledore and Molly Weasley which revealed something of the old fool’s plans for Harry Potter. Then he saw Harry himself in the arms of Severus Snape and felt the rats delight at seeing that. He saw Harry talking to a portrait of Salazar Slytherin and he saw an ancient papyrus book written in old English. The rat clearly thought this memory was important given the way his emotions surged as that one flew past.
Peter was nearing the the limit of his endurance, he had stopped screaming at some point and was now hanging limply in his bonds. Voldemort withdrew from his mind after almost ten minutes of searching; he had not found any evidence that the rat had double-crossed him.
Voldemort waved his wand releasing the bonds holding Peter up and he fell to the floor landing in the puddle of vomit and excrement he had made. The Dark Lord peered down at the man and cast a spell to check that he was not dead; he wasn’t dead.
Sinking back into his chair the Dark Lord considered the barely conscious man, who had not been Dumbledore's pawn after all. Remorse was not an emotion Lord Voldemort generally bothered to feel. There were things he regretted and remorse had a role to play in the reabsorption of his Horcruxes but that was remorse for splitting his soul; which truthfully he did regret now.
Needlessly torturing the rat, however, did not even register on his scale of regrettable actions. It was unlikely he had done any damage which Rookwood would be unable to heal and once he was recovered he would consider further what to do with the man.
Summoning a glass and bottle of whiskey he settled into his chair to wait for Augustus to come and fetch the rat. He had just closed his eyes when the study door burst open and Frank Bryce hobbled in waving a kitchen knife and yelling about ‘intruders and saving milord from a vicious attack.’
Voldemort was not in the mood; he reacted without thinking, green light burst from his wand and the old man died instantly. Damn it, now he would need a new gardener. Frank had been useful because he was a gossip and Voldemort needed to know what people were saying about him in the village; if anything out of the ordinary happened or if strange people arrived asking questions, Frank would know about it and report it to him.
Tom sighed and threw back the double shot in his glass then poured himself another. It was fortunate he had such a loyal steadfast servant in Rookwood, the man was going to be busy tonight; now he had two messes to clean up.
No doubt Augustus would be annoyed with him but the man knew his place and he would not argue. Although had been hinting recently that sometimes Tom’s reactions to small annoyances were a tad over the top and if he intended to take up his seats in the Wizengamot and push his ideas politically he should perhaps learn to temper his temper.
It was not a bad thought and maybe Augustus had a point, he reflected, maybe he ought to try controlling some of his more extreme impulses.
But then - where was the fun in that?