The Marauders: Year Seven Part Two

As You Wish

In all of the confusion of the appearance of Lily Evans in the midst of the fray at Fallengunder, Peter managed to scramble to hide behind a bookcase that had been knocked over in Voldemort's fury. He panted as he leaned against the back of it, his hands shaking as he closed his eyes and tried to make sense of all the things he'd seen since the elf had transported him.

First of all, things had gone wrong, that much was for certain. They were at Fallengunder and they ought not to be. They'd expected Number 12 Grimmauld Place or one of the other Death Eater's manors - never in any of their discussions had they ever even thought of Fallengunder castle being where Voldemort might be when he summoned Regulus and eventually Peter. This, Peter realized, was a very big problem because the whole second part of the plan relied on Voldemort being portkeyed to the dungeons of Fallengunder. But if the castle had been taken over by Death Eaters, then Voldemort being locked up in the dungeons was not going to do any good in actually containing him. His followers would simply let him out long before the Ministry of Magic could send their aurors to collect him.

Furthermore, if Fallengunder was taken over by Death Eaters there was a good chance that the dungeons here was filled with at least some of the inhabitants of the castle - the good guys. Especially seeing as he'd seen Elphinstone Urquart and Ned Veigler - and Dorcas Meadows still hung, suspended from the ceiling. The Resistance, then, was here at Fallengunder, and though Peter didn't know how many of them were downstairs, he knew that there must be some down there.

The next thing to ponder upon was Regulus Black. Regulus had tried to take the locket away from Peter. It was only logical, Peter told himself, to question why. After all, James Potter had planned this all out very carefully, and they'd all been very, very clear about who was to do what. Peter was to give the Dark Lord the locket, and it had to be Peter, or else the curse wouldn't fall to the right place. If Regulus took the locket, if Peter allowed him to take it, then Regulus gave the locket to the Dark Lord, then the curse would fall on Peter instead of James... and although Peter rather hated the idea of James being cursed, he hated the idea of himself being cursed even more. After all, James was a good deal stronger... and that was the way that James had planned it, anyway. Averting from the plan, James had stressed, would mess up the whole thing. They had to stick to the plan.

But the plan was already messed up. And maybe Regulus knew that and was trying to abort the plan because of that? But Peter didn't know for sure and without talking to Regulus about it - which would blow Regulus's cover and probably result in them both being killed - he didn't know how to become sure. It wasn't as though he could call out, oi why are you diverting from the plan? 

And then even worse now Lily Evans was here - without James - which meant that the plan had already been diverted from. James himself had diverted from it. What did that mean? Was there more going on - even more than Peter had already found out about - that had kept James from coming? What now? What should he do? Did he give the Dark Lord the locket or --

Peter was in the middle of all this thinking when suddenly a great CRACK! sounded and Remus Lupin appeared before him. Peter stared in disbelief as Remus dusted off, drawing his wand from a pocket in his jacket. He was relieved to see Remus at first - but then even more afraid because Remus Lupin was definitely not supposed to be here and more over there was a terrible rage in Remus's eyes - a fire that he had ever seen before in all the time they'd known one another.

"M-Moony?" Peter asked, stammering.

But Remus didn't even notice him, he stared straight a head, his mouth twisted in a horrible sneer of hatred and his jaw set, and he stepped past the bookcase, headed straight into the chaos beyond. Peter hurriedly turned, kneeling behind the bookcase, staring over the side of it at what was happening, eyes wide with worry and a strange fascination to see what that fury in Remus Lupin's eyes would lead to...