The Haunting of Peter Pettigrew

The Department of Mysteries and Star Crossed Lovers

Lana had been tracking Peter at that point, scaring him as he crept around one of the many pureblood manors he was being shuffled in between.

Now that the Dark Lord's other followers were aware of his return, Voldemort didn't have much use of the rat anymore. Lana was unsurprised at Peter's sudden drop in popularity. But with Voldemort busy, Lana didn't fear detection anymore. So she could return to haunting Peter.

And she enjoyed it.

She'd purposefully left him alone for awhile, not wanting to be around those evil beings any more than necessary. Also, wanting to give him a false sense of security.

She caught him when he was alone in a long corridor, no one else in sight. They were temporarily staying at the old Lestrange manor, which had been abandoned after the arrest of Bellatrix, Radolphus, and Rabastan. While Lana personally hated the dingy place, it did create just the right ambiance to scare a man.

"Miss me?" She whispered in his ear, causing him to jump and scream. He was so startled that he hit his head on the stones behind him.

"L-L-Lan-na," he stuttered out looking around wildly.

Very purposefully she waited without making a sound, then, only when he'd convinced himself that he had imagined it, only when he continued down the corridor, did she blow out the lantern he was holding.

He let out a startled yelp and jump, causing him to drop the light onto his foot. This resulted in Peter attempting to hop onto one foot which was a terrible idea for one who had no balance. In the end, he crashed to the floor with a another yelp and a lot of whimpering.

This made Lana laugh riotously, and it was not a nice sound. She'd chastised James and Sirius for how they would laugh and torment Severus Snape in a similar fashion. Lana remembered the endless lectures she'd give them about letting go of grudges and the importance of reconciliation.

But Peter Pettigrew wasn't a greasy haired boy who threw childish insults on a train. He wasn't a schoolyard bully calling first years nasty names or sending them hexes to impress his pureblood friends. No. Peter had gone farther than that. He was a man who had been a trusted friend. He was responsible for not only Lana's murder, but the murder of dozens of her friends. People who had called him a friend. He was the lunatic who had resurrected Voldemort. If anyone deserved torment, it was him.

"Traitors don't get to sleep soundly Peter," Lana spoke harshly. "Remember that."

She appeared in his dreams that night. This was a new skill that she had discovered after facing off with Voldemort at the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. She'd tried to do it with Sirius, but the most she could give him were memories of them together. Memories where she wasn't really there. He had the memories and the best she could do was sit by his bed, and watch him sleep.

But she could enter Peter Pettigrew's dreams to torment him.

So she did.

She appeared to him in her Gryffindor Robes, lying down on the grass outside Hogwarts with her eyes closed, and her hair splayed out around her like a halo. She looked exactly as she had their fifth year. A glance down saw that he was also in his school robes, and a squeeze of his hands proved that he still had two normal sets of fingers that were younger and thinner, and he wondered if he too, looked like he had in their school days. They lounged together by the Black Lake, under their usual tree, the sun shining down on them, creating an almost lazy feeling. It felt like it did during those first few weeks of term, when it seemed like the world was just starting again.

Except Peter Pettigrew knew that for the girl in front of him, nothing would ever start for her again. He had seen to that.

"La-Lana?" He began tentatively.