Path to Power: Book I: Training

Chapter 5: Consequence of Folly

07:30 P.M.
A Street in Muggle London,
1st November, 1981.

A couple of people were listening animatedly to a guitarist who was performing an age old country tune. A young couple were slowly dancing to the tune while the onlookers were cheering and smiling at young love displaying their passion for each other to their heart's content. About a yard back, a police officer was slowly taking on the scene, no emotions visible in his face, although his feet were tapping to the rythm of the music. He was keeping a keen eye on the street so that no unruly riots break open in this merrymaking. Two Queen's guards were breathing in their cigars, talking about the affairs of the State.

The people were enjoying in the tranquil merrymaking in the street of London. The guitarist was playing his tune, his eyes closed, lost in the melody, when he faintly became aware of a series of sounds matching his rythm like drums. Glad that someone was taking his performance seriously, he opened his eyes only to find no one playing drums. Instead the drumming sound came from a dark alleyway on the left flank of the street.

Unnaturally he noticed that the grounds were giving off a slight tremor with the force of the drumming sounds. The people were gradually starting to notice as the young couple were frequently losing their coordination and balance in their dance steps. The police man's hands went to his pistol, while the guards slowly advanced their hands to their bayonets. All three were advancing towards the drumming when an explosion came off from the alley and two men came out of the alley, one being thrown off balance and spirallng down to the street while the other with a crazed look on his face, almost galloping after him.

"How could you, Peter?! How could you betray James and Lily?!! Did their kidness and friendship mean nothing to you that you sold them out without sparing a second glance?!! They trusted you! They trusted you and you...you shattered that like a fragile glass pane!!", shouted Sirius.

"But you don't understand Sirius, the Dark Lord, he...he was too powerful, I would have died, he would have tortured me to no ends, I had no choice but to speak!" squeaked Peter.

"Then you should have died! Died for your friends!! And don't give me any of that shit about having no choice! Your house had no signs...not even a shred of evidence that there had been a struggle! You willingly gave away their location! I won't forgive you! I will kill you! Bombarda!" shouted Sirius.

Peter hurriedly rolled off to avoid getting blasted in the face. The police officer shouted,"Knees down! Arms behind your back! You stop whatever you are doing! You are destroying public property!". Peter looked down in the conundrum that followed that there was a huge gas pipe left open in the explosion Sirius caused and it was steadily leaking gas. Turning away from Sirius, he pointed his wand at the gas pipe and shouted "Confringo!"

Sirius' eyes widened and hastened to cast a Protego Maxima, but the street wasn't so lucky. The combustible gas came in contact with the fire from Confringo and the whole street exploded inside out. In the dust, Peter quickly turned his wand to his left ring finger and muttered "Diffindo." His finger cut off, he transformed into a rat and scarpered off into the sewers.

Sirius was knocked off his feet and landed on his back with a thud. Stiffling down a groan, he stood up and took in the scene. What he saw would haunt him for years. Litters of bodies strewn hapazardly in the destroyed rubble of the street. He noticed shards of wood sticking out of a man, a man and a woman whose neck and ankle were bent in a disturbing angle, and chunks of bodies laying here and there. And in between all of these, Peter was nowhere to be seen. He felt hopeless and useless, he started laughing, laughing helplessly as his brain tried to process the massacre.