Chapter 2
Lily didn’t know where they were running to, all she knew is that they couldn’t stop. This second chance was too precious to ruin a few days into their journey, stumped by a creature of mythical origin that normally appeared so tame in the eyes of outsiders. It made no sense! Hippogriffs are loyal, respectful beings, their kindness taken only into offence if the other did something wrong. The reminder that the creature had every right to do what it pleased shot back into the witch’s mind when she heard Peter shouting that it went after Sirius and Fabian and that they could slow down, resuming their navigation through the underparts of the platform in a cautious jaunt. She wished Hagrid were here, that way they could better come to a conclusion on why the beast is so angry. Still, it wasn’t like she was alone in this endeavour. Slightly thankful that Lily had Peter beside her, the two continued to attempt in navigating the strange maze-like tunnels that prove to be the underground of the Flipside.
With the constant running and sharp turns, it was only a matter of time until Remus aggravated his already pissed off shoulder injury. He could already hear Merlene cursing at him now with Tonks beside her slapping the good shoulder as a reminder of his stupidity. Oh well, there is no other time like show time. Gideon and James were ahead of him, both with Lumos at the end of their wands to help guide them through wherever it was they found themselves in now. They stopped for a moment, allowing Remus the opportunity to relax as he leaned against the cold brick wall.
“It seems we’ve lost it,” Gideon pointed out after having leaned around the corner they just came from. James nodded, albeit sullenly.
“Yeah, but that just means it’s gone after someone else. Is it bad that I was hoping it would remain on our tail?” The Potter asked. Remus rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
“It’s that forceful parental instinct you’ve always got going on,” Lupin told him, adjusting the bandage wrapped around his collarbone. It was apparent that the Marauders were like family to one another, a tightly knit group which fell apart at the seams when one abandoned the other. It’s what made their fifth year such hell, and it’s what made the past 12 years before Sirius’ release from Azkaban so turbulent for the werewolf. Needless to say they all had it, it was in their nature. James took note of the annoyed shifting of the patch around his shoulder and scowled.
“You alright Moony?” Prongs asked, earning a small nod from him.
“I will be. Bit of irritation but other than that, right as rain,” Remus answered. Gideon returned from his spot near the edge of the intersection.
“We should probably continue moving. No doubt that the Hippogriff will become rather agitated when it loses sight of the people currently in their sight. Rather not be here when they come around,” The younger Prewitt brother commented. James hummed in agreement.
“Probably wise, although it puzzles me on how the Hippogriff got here. Fracture maybe?” Prongs asked and Gideon shook his head.
“Nah, nothing of that sort. We would have picked it up before it even became unstable enough to do something like this, at least that’s what I’ve gathered from the stupid table thing back in the Sanctuary. Dorey seems to have gotten a rather fond connection with the thing,” He told them. Remus huffed, pushing himself off the wall as he clasped Molly’s brother on the shoulder.
“It’s the only thing we allow him to do. While he’s one of the greatest wizards to cross the Wizarding World, he’s also a madman and a war criminal. The things he’s doing does not excuse the things he did,” Lupin said. Deciding that he’s waited around enough, he began to trek further into the hallway, leaving James and Gideon behind momentarily to share a concerned glance. Prongs shrugged.
“Got a point. Couldn’t stand his lectures anyways, found them boring,” was all he said before joining his friend in pushing forward. Gideon stayed there for a moment, thinking of Fabian being chased down by this beast, it’s claws around his neck, squeezing, crushing-- blinking, the ginger pushed those thoughts down. This wasn’t the same, he had to remind himself, not even close. Trotting after the other two, Gideon Prewitt couldn’t help but imagine himself back at that camp, at the mercy of the Death Eaters. Speaking of the other Prewitt. Fabian pulled Sirius out of the way of the snapping beak of the Hippogriff, shoving him ahead as the two sprinted for their lives.
“How are we meant to lose this thing?!” Sirius asked, completely out of breath from the thirty minutes he’s been running. Fabian rolled his eyes.
“You talk to me as if I’m Hagrid! Cryptoid zoology wasn’t my strong suit and neither was it Gideon’s! We were more into potions and defence against the dark arts!” The Prewitt scoffed, recalling all that time spent after classes preparing for their time in the Ministry after Hogwarts. “Lot of good that did us.”
“You think after all that running from teachers after pranks, I’d be more fit to run this long,” Sirius groaned sarcastically, however Fabian laughed at his supposed misery. The Hippogriff howled again, its beak just barely missing the backside of Fabian’s jacket. Padfoot looked behind them. “Find us a way out of this open space, I’ll distract it!” Sirius told him, pushing him the opposite way. Fabian scoffed, a large smile on his face.
“You’re either incredibly stupid or the bravest asshole I’ve ever met,” The Prewitt laughed, stumbling his way across the platform as the Hippogriff set its eyes on him. Just before the beast set its mind on eating Fabian for lunch, Sirius shouted its way.
“Featherbrain! Meat and bones, that one is! Come get me, I’m much more to your style!” The Hippogriff immediately turned his way, beak snapping aggressively as it’s head lowered-- not in a bow, but out of aggression. Sirius swallowed harshly, hopping in place before sprinting off in a random direction. The creature snarled before prancing after, it’s tail smashing into one of the pillars that supported the platform they were on. Fabian crouched down beside a table, shifting cloths and blankets out of the way as a ventilation tunnel came into view underneath it. He smiled, taking out his wand and pointing it at the thing.
“Incendio,” Fabian said, the red hot of the spell clashing with the cool vent as it burst off the wall. The Prewitt celebrated silently, looking to where Sirius was being chased around the open station. “Sirius, over here! I have a hatch open!” The dejected pure-blood snapped his way, stealing his gaze before taking a sprint around the Hippogriff, just barely missing it’s super sharp claws. Fabian crawled within the vent’s tunnel, stopping just far in enough to allow Sirius safe passage as severe anxiety crossed his mind. The hippogriff was too close behind him, he would never make it in time, unless… Fabian shouted a Bombarda spell, not directly at the beast but just near enough for it to be knocked off balance. Sirius slid under the table, crawling into the vent just as the thing regained its composure, extremely upset that it just lost it’s next meal. The two wizards crawled as far as they could go, taking a moment to catch their breath.
“Was that cool or what?” Sirius asked, a dumb smile on his face. Fabian shook his head, mimicking the smile unconsciously as he bowed his head.
“I was right, you are fucking stupid,” Fabian joked. The Black laughed, resting his head against the cold wall behind him. The passage was just big enough as to where they could fit sitting down and slightly hunched over, however it seemed a bit more uncomfortable for the taller Fabian.
“Stupidity begets entertainment, dear friend. You must enjoy yourself before it is too late to do so,” Sirius told him. Fabian raised an eyebrow, curiosity taking over.
“Is that based on experience?” The Marauder appeared almost hesitant to answer that, unsure of whether or not the Prewitt knew the full story of how he came to be as he was, though it would be in their best interest to be more open with one another. The wizard exhaled sharply.
“The Wizarding World looked upon the war with disdain, but in the eyes of Albus Dumbledore it was the key to gaining respect and power. Pettigrew suffered from a lack of balls, or I guess he was having issues feeling like he fit in with our group. That twit knew that and kept it a secret, allowing his mental state to deteriorate enough for snake-face to Imperio him,” Sirius started, less than enthused to be explaining this again. Fabian’s eyes widened.
“I’ve never heard of an Imperio lasting for any longer than a few days,” the Prewitt muttered.
“It was thanks to that lack of confidence in himself. Dumbledore knew about that, too, ‘cause of course he did. Fucker knew just about everything. He let Peter reveal James and Lily’s location and he let them die, as well as Marlene, you and Gideon. Voldemort then forced Peter to murder all witnesses, including making it seem as if whoever caught him was responsible. Lucky for him, that was me,” Padfoot finished, pushing his hair out of his face. Fabian was listening intently now, fully upset on where he knew this story was going.
“Let me guess, Azkaban?” A small nod from Sirius told the Prewitt brother everything he needed to know. They sat in silence while the ginger attempted to wrap his head around what he heard. Gideon had looked up to Albus, more than his brother did, and it’s what made their sacrifice meaningful at the time. Learning all that they did day 1 ruined his view on the wizard forever. To imagine spending that much time locked away for something he didn’t do sent violent shivers down Fabian’s spine.
“Our entire life was dedicated to his cause. We bled for it, cried for it, did everything that old fuck wanted and it still wasn’t enough. Makes me sick just thinking about it,” Sirius growled. Fabian nodded.
“I understand that… it’s difficult to imagine our deaths happening if we were informed of those Death Eaters being back at camp. Now that I think about it, it was Dumbledore that told us they were out exploring the surrounding area. Perhaps we were just another pawn to throw away,” the older Prewitt theorised. Sirius looked at the room they just came from, witnessing the hippogriff start to lose interest in chasing after them. The creature chuffs angrily, ruffling its wings before turning towards another hallway, obviously having heard something that caught its attention. Padfoot sighed.
“I loathed Peter after what Voldy made him do. Couldn’t even imagine having your mind taken away from you for that long. Last mission, when the Fracture was messing with our minds, I felt like I was going insane just being there for an hour or two. James fell under its power and he appears to not have recovered yet. Pettigrew died while under the Imperio, makes me wonder how he can function after that,” Sirius said, a tad bit of jealousy edging his voice. Fabian gave his fellow wizard a playful slap on the shoulder.
“Let’s not think about that, we can talk about it later if you want. We should figure out where this creature came from and how we can put it back,” the Prewitt told him, trying to positively distract him from the negative memory trip Padfoot was about to go through. Sirius only nodded, however, not waiting for Fabian to make a move before beginning to crawl down the passage they were in. The Prewitt’s brow furrowed in concern, grimacing at how beat up the poor man’s mental state appeared to be. They had very little opportunity to wrap around their own post mortem before being thrust into the action once more, straining at the seams as they tried to remember how to trust each other again. Peter’s betrayal to them was like if Gideon turned on him and the older Prewitt brother was not sure he could handle it if it happened. Deciding that he had lamented enough, Gideon followed Sirius down the passageway, taking very little time to think further about the what-ifs of the past.
Lily and Peter wasted no time in trying to figure out a solution to their hippogriff problem. They searched in silence for disturbances in the Flipside or cracks in reality that it could have slipped through, however their search has so far turned up nothing. It was awkward enough that Pettigrew knew very little of Lily before their conjoining during the First Wizarding War, and even then the witch knew very little of the true him-- as a thanks to Voldemort for that, he might give him a thank you punch in the face if the creep ever decided to turn up again. They were practically strangers, communicating very little through the years James dated her accompanied by the flashes of memories he retained during his time as the Dark Lord’s flesh puppet. Needless to say it was more than just uncomfortable.
“Y’know,” Lily piped up after what felt like years of silence. “I never blamed you for what happened,” she told him, turning to finally face him. Peter knew that, he’s known since the beginning, but it felt nicer actually hearing it come from her.
“After so long of not being myself, it was hard to get back into thinking for myself. A lot of people would say I never did that in the first place,” Pettigrew mumbled miserably, looking at the wand that embodied just how much of a coward he was. Lily’s face softened further.
“Did they ever defend you when the bullies got to you?” She asked, genuinely concerned for her friend’s health. Peter simply shrugged, not wanting to go into the topic.
“They did for the times they witnessed it. Remus defended me a lot, it was the other two who were too busy with themselves. Right pains in the arse,” he said. There was a pain in his voice that she never noticed before, a vulnerability sprouting thanks to being separated from his friends for so long. Pettigrew was very dependent on them throughout Hogwarts and seeing how his first time truly removed from their side had him mind controlled by the very person they were fighting most likely helped chisel away at his self-confidence. Lily understood that.
“I want to tell you a secret that not even James knows, to bridge trust between us,” the witch told him, catching the Animagus’ attention. She looked back ahead of them, still keeping an eye out for dangers or anything that might be useful in getting rid of the hippogriff running amok. “Before I accepted my letter to Hogwarts, I went to old friends who-- at the time-- I thought would stick with me forever. Instead of excitement and joy I received backlash and hate. Those I trusted with my life turned on me and I couldn’t understand why. They called me a freak, a mudblood who tainted everything I touched. Suddenly I was like a disease to them.”
“What did you do afterwards?” Peter asked sadly, suddenly very aware how similar their stories sounded. Lily smiled wistfully.
“It took me two weeks before I could look at that letter again and I almost didn’t go. I thought I was the problem due to my lack of being able to make friends. My mother eventually convinced me to try it out so I went, and I fell in love with the Wizarding World. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere,” she explained. Peter nodded, smiling bitterly.
“I get it, really I do. Truly never felt like I fit in with the Marauders but they were all I had. Sure I had the fortune of being a pureblood but I was still a runt. After I discovered my animagus was a rat it made me even more self conscious about my capabilities. I mean, the others are so strong and here I was following like a lost puppy. It was quite sad, really,” Pettigrew chuckled, looking back at all the times he let the others take care of things for him. Sure there were moments where he was just as capable in defending himself, but his mind always flashed back to that final battle against Severus.
“You had your own talents, you didn’t have to be exactly like they were,” Lily tried to cheer him up but it only dampened his mood further.
“James did what he did because he loved you. He would have gladly lost that battle against Snape if it meant he was fighting for you, he was just as upset by his insults and slander towards you. Sirius jumped in quickly once he realised Snape wasn’t going based on the premise that it was a fluke match, willing to get hurt to save his friend. Remus always was against our mischief but this time he saw just how much they needed him, so he jumped in. Me? I almost ran away, cowered because I was scared. The only reason I didn’t was because I knew James would kill me if Snape didn’t at that point in time. They were the brave ones, not me,” Peter said dejectedly, ruffling up his hair as his voice wobbled, a threat given to the man that he was getting close to breaking down again. It’s been so long since then, why couldn’t he let it go? Stupid, stupid, stupid! Suddenly he was stopped, two hands on his shoulder as tears pricked the corner of his eyes. Lily stared into his eyes, a serious yet understanding look on her face.
“Don’t do that to yourself, Peter. Your life was stolen from you, don’t forget that. You were just as much a victim as we were,” she told him, giving the shorter man a comforting hug. Shocked at first, it took the animagus a moment before he returned the sentiment. It was nice to feel the caring embrace of another person after so long of being nothing but a pawn, an act of kindness that didn’t go without it’s aftershocks. Peter gripped the back of her shirt as if his life depended on it, suddenly feeling that if he didn’t his legs would give out on him and he would crumble under pressure. Lily waited, holding her friend as the tears spilled from Pettigrew’s eyes, overwhelming sadness boiling over from the guilt crushing his chest over the years.
“I-I'm so-orry! I-I didn’t m-mean it!” Peter whimpered, most likely apologising for the role he played in her death. She shook her head.
“I don’t blame you, I never blamed you. Somehow I knew that what you did wasn’t your doing. I still believe you’re a good person, you’ve always been a good person,” Lily said in a soothing tone. It took a while but eventually Wormtail calmed down, reluctantly letting go of Lily as the warmth disappeared from his chest. While he was much colder than before, there was a semblance of it remaining even after their connection was severed. Unconsciously to him it had healed some of the damage Voldemort did from all those years ago, and all it took was a good friend and a hug.
“I’m sorry, that was unbecoming of me…” Peter apologised, rubbing the leftover tears from his eyes. Lily only smiled at him, no sign of her actually being upset at all on her face.
“It’s fine. Everyone needs to let it out every once and a while,” the witch stated, turning back to the hallway in front of them. They said nothing else about the matter, letting the event that just unfolded sit up to personal interpretation as the two Marauders continued their journey forward. After a while of silence, Peter piped up again.
“Why do you think the hippogriffs are here?” He asked, genuine curiosity lacing his voice. Lily shrugged.
“Not sure. Everything suggests they came from a Fracture but evidence so far hasn’t proven that in the slightest. I’m just as confused as you are,” she admitted sheepishly. Peter frowned at that.
“Why would they just suddenly show up? Obviously someone would have said something if they saw a large winged creature roaming the Flipside,” Pettigrew mumbled mainly to himself. Evans nodded in agreement, stopping abruptly however when something caught her ear.
“Do you hear that?” She asked in a hushed whisper, causing her friend to stop and listen for himself. Eventually he heard what she did; scratching, like nails on concrete, loud enough as to where the two of them could distinctly hear it even from down here. The next hallway wasn’t for another twenty feet so it made the event extremely unnerving. The two removed their wands, cautiously strolling down the hallway until they reached where the sound was coming from. Turning the corner, their eyes widened as their hearts came to stop for a brief moment. Strewn about the room they were faced with was the remainder of what appeared to be at least seven or eight empty hippogriff eggs, all broken from the inside out. To make matters worse the mothers were in the same room, and their intrusion on their nest did not go unnoticed. All ten of the hippogriffs were now staring at them, eyes set on defending the one thing no one should get in between; a mother and her child.