Peter fought the urge to squirm. He was certain Professor McGonagall (Minerva now, he reminded himself), knew nothing, but the way her perspicacious gaze kept flicking in his direction him uncomfortable.
She’s just miffed at me for being late, he told himself firmly. Nothing to worry about.
He was too jittery. To distract himself, he looked around the room. Headquarters’ living room wasn’t much bigger than the kitchen, and every available seating space was crammed with people. In contrast to Peter’s anxiety, there was an atmosphere of almost giddy relief in the room. It was always thus when the majority of the Order was able to be together. Unanimous survival was tantamount to outright victory these days. At the moment, Marlene and Benjy were explaining to Dumbledore and the others how they had waited forty-eight hours outside Nott’s heavily protected home. Though they had determined that he was, without a shadow of a doubt, a Death Eater, they had been unable to apprehend him, learn any further names, or discover where he was going next. He had Apparated safely from his doorstep this afternoon.
Peter, of course, knew all this, so he felt comfortable letting his mind wander for a few minutes. He snuck a covert glance at his three friends, squashed together on the lumpy couch next to him. Although, he remembered with a slight jolt, he could no longer really count them as friends. Since agreeing to spy for the Death Eaters, Moony, Padfoot and Prongs had officially become his enemies. How…strange. This was the first time he had been with all of them together since betraying the Order. It was going to take some getting used to.
Remus, immediately next to him, noticed his gaze and frowned. Leaning in to Peter’s ear, he murmured, –Everything all right, Wormtail? You’re awfully quiet tonight.â€
I’m always quiet, Peter thought resentfully. But he whispered back, –Fine.â€
Remus was going to be the hardest to fool.
Despite his immediate apprehension, Peter felt more secure than he had since being inducted into the Order, really since the outbreak of the war. He had lived in constant fear, trembling at each horrific tale of the Death Eater’s victims, flinching internally whenever he heard the name his companions seemed to throw about with ease. The Dark Lord had been an ever-present force in his life. Now he had become a part of that force. Trusted by his talented, erstwhile friends, protected by an unstoppable unit of Dark wizards, Peter was probably one of the safest people in the Wizarding world.
Naturally, he hadn’t had the nerve to approach the Death Eaters himself, but the decision had been shockingly easy when the offer came. Peter had always known he didn’t belong in the Order of the Phoenix. Just as he had long since concluded he never belonged in Gryffindor House. Out of habit, he had followed his school friends into their dangerous new occupation. In a rare moment of intuition, Peter realized that his path had probably been cemented long ago, from the early days of the Marauders’ induction.
He remembered the night in stark detail. James and Sirius had been on assignment with Minerva McGonagall and Carlon Podmore, Sturgis’s elder brother. It was the first really perilous mission they had undertaken, and Peter (having returned from a less hazardous assignment) had been waiting in Headquarters’ kitchen with Hagrid, Marlene and Remus when first James, then Sirius and Minerva, had come whizzing through the fireplace. Carlon never appeared.
The battle wounds had been stomach turning, but it was their faces that had been seared into Peter’s memory. Actual tears trailed down Minerva’s cheeks as she told Hagrid how they had been ambushed, Carlon getting cut off from the rest and going down even as the other three desperately tried to duel their way over to him. James had vomited right there on the flagstone floor; Sirius had barely spoken a word to anyone for days following. Most of all, Peter remembered realizing with cutting clarity that his friends, whom he had always thought so brave and invincible, could no longer protect him. Not in this world.
Now, looking at the wizards and witches surrounding him, Peter marveled that he had made it almost two weeks as a Death Eater without giving himself away. There was a kind of thrill in knowing he was one step ahead of wizards like Dumbledore, Moody and McGonagall. Peter had never been one step ahead of anyone in his life. He drew strength from this fact as he surveyed the room, mentally searching for details that might later prove useful. It was like a game.
Edgar Bones was directly opposite him, quietly sitting in a straight-backed chair across the room. His thoughtful, introspective face lent him the look of a poet, but Peter knew his keen judgment and decisiveness in emergencies made him a dangerous adversary. Next to him, curled in a moldering armchair, Dorcas Meadows was listening to the discussion with intense focus. A practical, soft-spoken young witch, she was a surprisingly fierce dueler and valuable asset to the Order. Peter had long suspected she rather fancied Remus, though the latter showed no signs of reciprocating those feelings. Still, it was an interesting angle to keep tucked up his sleeve.
But his attention was suddenly diverted, for Dumbledore was now asking Remus and Sirius to report.
Remus took over, thoroughly detailing their experience (with helpful elaborations from Sirius). Peter focused on keeping his expression casually interested. That had been a close call. He had arrived for his rendezvous with Bellatrix, Rabastan and Crabbe tonight to find them in the thick of battle with his two old friends. Prudently, he had waited in rat form until the coast was clear to go and make his excuses to the other Death Eaters. This had taken quite a bit of maneuvering, but eventually he had pacified them with information about the Order, including the juicy tidbit that both Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom were pregnant.
–They were supposed to meet someone else? You have no idea who?†Dumbledore was asking. Peter felt a twinge of anxiety.
–I’m afraid we didn’t catch a name,†admitted Remus.
Moody snorted. –You mean Black jumped the fight before you could find out.â€
–Alastor,†warned Dumbledore.
–They were about to cast hominum revelio!†Sirius protested indignantly. –Have a little faith.â€
–That’s true,†Remus affirmed placidly. –We waited until the last possible second. And if Sirius hadn’t been there to fight alongside me, I probably wouldn’t be here now.â€
Moody huffed quietly, but his gaze softened. –Fine. So you dueled them. Did they see your faces?â€
–I was disguised,†said Remus.
–And it didn’t matter for me,†Sirius added.
–Beg pardon?†growled Moody, bristling again.
Sirius smiled tightly. –Bellatrix would have recognized my dueling style.â€
There was a brief moment of uncomfortable silence. Peter knew how much Sirius hated alluding, even obliquely, to the fact that he was technically related to more than one Death Eater. Almost as much as Bellatrix and Regulus hated any mention that they shared blood ties with the Order. Another interesting dynamic of the strange situation he in which he found himself.
–Indeed,†said Dumbledore. –Well, since there were no captures and everyone has emerged relatively unscathed, I believe it is time to hear the rest of the reports. Emmeline, if you would be so kind?â€
Peter listened closely to the rest of the reports, mentally noting who knew or suspected what, weeding through old news and useful information, all the while keeping careful control of his reactions. He paid especially close attention when Dumbledore began delegating tasks. Usually discreet, almost secretive, when it came to handing out assignments, Dumbledore was at times compelled to coordinate groups. Peter thought he looked rather tired.
–…so Dorcas, Marlene, Sturgis and Frank will be responsible for tracking the LeStrange brothers. We believe that will take them east?†He glanced over his half-moon glasses at Remus and Sirius.
–It’s only a guess,†Remus shrugged apologetically. –One of the men mentioned a brother, and as Bellatrix was present we assumed it was either Rodolphus or Rabastan.â€
All eyes turned to Sirius, whose mouth tightened almost imperceptibly. Peter suppressed the familiar twinge of irritation. What an utter waste. If he’d had a family of such renown, he wouldn’t be whinging about it.
–I’m fairly sure it wasn’t Rodolphus, but I couldn’t tell much else,†Sirius replied reluctantly. –They had those bloody hoods on, we never saw their faces.â€
–You didn’t recognize his voice?†The query came from Sturgis.
–Well, one would think I would, considering those lovely long chats we always have, but then his dulcet tones may have been distorted by screaming curses at me.â€
James fell prey to a sudden fit of coughing that Peter knew disguised laughter. Remus elbowed Sirius discreetly. Sirius sent a conciliatory smile Sturgis’s way, softening the sarcasm.
–Er, that is, no, I wouldn’t recognize his voice.â€
McGonagall’s mouth thinned. –Perhaps we can move on.â€
Dumbledore smiled into his beard. –An excellent idea, Minerva. Now, I believe an immediate priority should be to concentrate our efforts within the Ministry. As you all know, there is circumstantial evidence that one or more Death Eaters have infiltrated the Ministry and are spying from the inside.â€
Hagrid snorted. –Bet it’s that Department of Mysteries bloke that was actin’ shifty when I went to apply for a doxy breeding license. What’s his name. Rookwood.â€
–However as we have no incriminating evidence,†Dumbledore continued, –we will have to send in some spies of our own. I believe our best chance may be next week, when the Official Gobstones Club is due to lobby the Ministry. There will be plenty of...er, colorful characters; blending in should not be too difficult.â€
Peter felt a flicker of unease. The Dark Lord valued his Ministry spies greatly, and if Peter had inferred correctly from Death Eater gossip, Hagrid’s guess was right on the mark.
Dumbledore was still speaking. –James, I believe you have an uncle who works in the Ludicrous Patents Office? Perhaps you and Remus?â€
–Lupin can’t†Moody interrupted suddenly.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. –Has he another assignment?â€
–No, but it’ll be that time of the month, won’t it?â€
Dumbledore’s expression cleared at once at the reference to Remus’s lycanthropy. –Ah. Of course, how inconsiderate of me. You’ll have to pardon me Remus, I’m afraid my age is showing.â€
Remus’s mouth twitched. –Moody makes the matter sound more menstrual, less monster.â€
There was general chuckling, and the uncomfortable mood was eased. Peter saw James lean in to mutter in Remus’s ear.
–Worst PMS ever.â€
Sirius snickered. Remus just smiled. More of the same, Peter thought, out of habit. He had never been able to manage the easy teasing that seemed to come as second nature to the other three.
–If you can delay it a week, I’m due to check in with the Werewolf Registry. But I’ll need at least one more besides James. Two obligatory witnesses.’
–I’ll go,†Sirius volunteered at once.
–I will too,†Peter said quickly, internally cursing Sirius for beating him to the punch. –That way, while you two are tied up being witnesses, I can have a look around,†he justified.
–That’s a very good idea, Peter,†Dumbledore approved. –Very well then, we’ll wait. Perhaps we shall make it a monthly appointment. I doubt very much we will be lucky enough to gather all the information we need the first time around. You four can be in charge of that.â€
From the corner of his eye, Peter saw McGonagall suppress a wince. She still seemed to feel that the four of them were a dangerous combination. Little did she know where the real danger lay.
–Sounds like a plan,†Peter smiled.