Priori Incantatem [HARRY POTTER FANFICTION]

Chapter 46: Things Unseen

Chapter 46: Things Unseen

February 1979

"What's he doing now?" Alice asked in a whisper, craning her neck to see.

"Dunno," Dorcas whispered back. "But it doesn't look as though it's going well."

"It won't take much longer," Lily said with conviction. "It can't. He's been at it for half an hour already."

"Don't be so sure," James snorted. "He's checking it for jinxes, I expect; he's really nervous of any object that flashes light."

"That and putting his wand in his back pocket," Sirius drawled.

All around Sirius, his fellow Order of the Phoenix members burst into giggles, everyone as aware as Sirius was of that particular quirk of Mad Eye Moody's.

"Black! Potter!" Moody growled, whirling round to shoot James and Sirius a fulminating glare. "Stop causing a ruckus! This is serious!" Reluctantly, the laughter died down and all of the Order members stared fixedly at their feet, trying their best to look shamefaced while actually hiding their laughter from Moody's attention.

"Now then," Moody went on, satisfied that he had at least temporarily put a stop to any dissention in the ranks, "we're ready, so let's take this picture."

Immediately the Order members sprang to action, trying to arrange the grouping to everyone's satisfaction.

"Frank? Where are you?" Alice called.

"Here, next to Marlene!" Frank shouted back, and Alice scurried over to join her spouse.

"You MUST be in front, Albus," Emmeline Vance said firmly, drawing Dumbledore to the fore of the crowd.

"Ouch! You stood on my foot!" Dedalus Diggle exclaimed.

The Order of the Phoenix had gathered in the Hog's Head's secret room once again for an all-members meeting to update each other on individual progress and to celebrate their most recent victory: preventing several Death Eaters from attacking Muggle borns and their families. Consequently, the Order members were in high spirits, laughing and talking and congratulating everyone who'd been involved in the encounter.

Peter Pettigrew stood a short distance away, watching the cheerful huddle of Order members arrange themselves for a team photo, studying their faces with uncharacteristic solemnity.

"Peter!" noticing his absence, Lily called out Peter's name, breaking him out of his reverie. "Come on! We're about to take the picture!" She stretched out an arm and beckoned to him, her green eyes warm as she smiled. Slowly, Peter made his way over to her and let himself be drawn in between Lily and James at the back of the group, smiling and responding automatically to the jokes and tittering all around him.

Peter had long ago learned to hide what he felt and saw behind outward good humour, but today he felt more than a bit nauseous underneath it all. How would Lily or James or any of his mates react if they knew what he was going to do after the meeting? It was a rhetorical question; he knew very well what they'd do: recoil in horror, take their arms from round his shoulders, and hurl hexes and insults at him instead of jokes.

Unable to stop himself, Peter shivered slightly. James and Sirius were laughing over something, but Lily glanced at him curiously. Peter gave her a bright smile, which she returned, then he turned toward James and Sirius again, pretending to pay attention to them.

It was easier than he'd imagined it would be, to pretend and to hide things. But then, Peter had always been good at hiding; he was used to being overlooked. When he'd used to play Hide and Seek as a child, none of the others had ever been able to find him. And later, at Hogwarts, Peter had roamed the corridors and common rooms freely in his rat form, able to see and hear things the others didn't. His prowess at spying and secrets had always come in very handy in playing practical jokes.