015: The Wrath of the Rat The first thing Remus realised when he woke up was that he was numb, almost completely numb. It took him a moment to remember what had happened, and when he blinked his eyes open he was grateful for the numbness. He could tell without looking in a mirror or touching his face at all that it was swollen just by the way it felt to lift his eyelids. He blinked blearily around the hospital ward, wondering foolishly if whoever brought him here got his wand and his badge, too.
Peter had been dozing in the chair next to Remus' bed, but when Remus stirred, he woke and sat forward. "Remus?" He reached out to touch Remus' shoulder lightly, but he was afraid he would hurt him. "Remus?" He'd been furious since he found out Remus was in hospital, but since getting here and seeing Remus like this, he'd been more scared than angry. Now he just wanted to be reassured Remus was really all right.
Remus drew in a breath at the touch and rolled his head to face Peter. "Peter," he mumbled. His mouth felt funny, but he managed a small smile to reassure Peter. He had a feeling he probably shouldn't feel so good right now, but potions did wonders, and it was better than being on the floor with two people standing over him. "How was class?" he asked mildly.
"God!" Peter choked, his throat tightening. He traced a finger down an uninjured spot of Remus' cheek, staring at him. "Who cares about class? How do you feel? What happened?"
Remus looked into Peter's face, then reached up and took Peter's hand, resting their joined hands on the bed. Maybe it was the drugs, but he really didn't care if anyone saw right now. Or maybe that was because his entire life had flashed before his eyes just earlier that day. That had been today, hadn't it? "I'm numb. I'm numb and a pervert, but I love you," he said, grinning. "I tried to dock points, I promise."
Peter let out a choked laugh and pulled Remus' hand up to kiss it. "Idiot," he whispered, brushing Remus' fringe out of his eyes. "God, you look awful. I'm guessing they didn't appreciate the docking of points." He was going to kill someone for this. He was going to bloody kill someone.
"Didn't get the chance, happened so fast. Never would have expected..." Remus shrugged, wishing his voice didn't sound so weak. "Do I look that bad? Where's my wand... 'n my badge?" His free hand went to the hole in his robes automatically.
"Who was it?" Peter asked, reaching over to the bedside table and holding up Remus' wand. He hadn't been up to see where they'd found Remus; he didn't know where the prefect badge was. "They took your badge?" The anger was stirring and boiling in his stomach as he stared at the hole in his boyfriend's robes. He was going to kill someone, and he knew two Marauders who would help.
"Ripped it off, threw it." Remus said, then laughed at the way they thought he was abusing his authority to 'get away' with... oh, what had Pomfrey given him that he was laughing at that? His brows drew together sharply. "Don't do anything stupid," he said, in lieu of giving names.
"Remus John Lupin, you tell me," Peter whispered, staring at him. "I was willing to overlook things, for your sake, but look where that got us. You're in hospital for God's sake!" he burst out, then took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "You know you'll have to tell someone. Better me than McGonagall."
Remus' eyes went a little wide when Peter shouted, then squeezed his hand tightly. "Shh, it's okay. I feel fine." He really didn't want to tell Peter, not that it was people he'd thought were friends, not that it was their dormmates. God, their dorm would be a war zone for the next week. "McGonagall won't curse them if I tell her."
Peter narrowed his eyes. "They found you up by Gryffindor tower," he said. "First years, did you know? They went to Lily for help, crying. I didn't find out until halfway through Arithmancy, when she sent someone up to get me out of class." McGonagall and Dumbledore had both been in there. Peter knew they would come back. And if Dumbledore sent Remus down, Peter was going, too, but not before someone paid for this.
"Oh, God," Remus said. "First years? Which ones? Are they okay?"
"Always the Prefect." Peter rolled his eyes. "They're fine. Maybe have a few nightmares about Prefect Lupin bloody." He sighed and leaned in close. "I'm going to have nightmares about that, too," he whispered.
Remus shook his head. "Don't." Then he wondered how safe it was for Harkiss and McLeod to be in their house at all. What if they hurt one of the younger years? "Look, if I tell you, promise you'll tell Dumbledore. You won't do anything stupid."
Peter met Remus' gaze for a long moment, then sighed again. "I'll tell Dumbledore," he promised. Once I've dealt with it myself and have to face the punishment.
Remus eyed Peter for a bit, then dropped his eyes. "I thought they liked me..." he mumbled, "Harkiss and McLeod, okay?" He looked back up, noting the sudden pain between his shoulder blades and wondering if he needed more pain medication.
Peter's mouth dropped open. Harkiss and McLeod--their own dormmates. People they spent hours with every day. People, yes, that he'd thought were their friends. He felt cold. He clenched his jaw, trying to hold in check the utter rage that was flooding him. People he'd trusted! He would have expected this from Snape and his cronies! Not from fellow Gryffindors!
He looked away from Remus and wiped a hand over his mouth, trying to cover his reaction. Oh, they were going to pay. Remus wouldn't like it, but Remus wouldn't know until it was too late. And as soon as Peter'd brought a reckoning, he would turn himself into their Head of House and explain why he'd done it. But he wasn't going to let them get away with writing lines or sorting through files. That was too easy for filthy toerags like Harkiss and McLeod.
Remus watched Peter's reaction closely, and he knew Peter's temper too well to not know Peter was angry, even if he was hiding it. Remus likely would have been angry if he was in Peter's spot. He probably should be angry now, but he was numb, and tired, and grateful he was sitting here with Peter and not permanently hurt. Oh, Merlin, he hadn't been out of bed yet, he hoped he wasn't permanently hurt. "Peter," he said cautiously, "they're not worth anything you're thinking. Just tell Dumbledore."
Peter shook his head, fighting back tears of pure rage. "Remus, they could've killed you," he whispered. He pressed the back of Remus' hand to his cheek. "Do you know what would happen to me if I lost you?"
Remus wanted to tell Peter that Peter would be fine without him, but the idea of Peter moving on without him was painful even to Remus. Remus uncurled his index finger and brushed Peter's temple. "I know," he whispered. He wondered for a moment why they didn't kill him. Surely they knew they'd get in trouble. Maybe they'd been caught, maybe the first years had walked up on it... or maybe they thought they had killed him. Wait... they found him near Gryffindor tower? They'd moved him? They had thought they'd killed him. The thought made Remus shudder, then he groaned softly at the ache it produced. "Go tell Dumbledore," he insisted, then frowned. "Is... Pomfrey around?"
"Are you in pain?" Peter asked anxiously. "Can I do anything? I'll get Pomfrey." He stood, then hesitated and leaned down to kiss Remus, very gently. Then he ran to look for Madam Pomfrey.
Remus smiled at the kiss and watched Peter go. He couldn't help but frown, however, when Pomfrey returned, wearing a look of pity Remus didn't really like. It didn't matter though, as as soon as he drank what she gave him, Remus fell back to sleep.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Peter had planned to ask Sirius to help him deal with Harkiss and McLeod, but in the end, he'd decided against it. Sirius had been the target of Remus' rage last year, when he'd pulled that stupid stunt with Snape; he wouldn't be eager to have Remus angry with him again. And Peter was under no illusions--Remus would be angry. He was relying on the fact that Remus loved him to beg for forgiveness after the fact.
Peter stole James' Invisibility Cloak. It would've been a simple matter to get James' permission, but if he stole it, he could truthfully say he'd done this with no accomplices, which was as responsible as he could manage to be about the whole thing. Besides, this was his war, his and Remus', and Remus couldn't fight it right now, even if he'd wanted to.
He lured Harkiss and McLeod down a little-travelled passageway, using a Confundus and a few subtle charms for laughter and music. They would think they were being called to a private party...and instead they got Peter.
"Petrificus Totallus!" he whispered, and Harkiss fell on his face. McLeod turned slowly, looking around, and Peter whispered, "Impedimenta!" McLeod flew back against the wall, then slumped down to his knees, looking stunned. Feeling his cheeks twitch into a grim smile, Peter slid the Cloak off and stood over them.
"Hallo, boys. I thought you must've missed me when you set on Remus, so we should correct that, yeah?" He flicked his wand to petrify McLeod, too, and watched his eyes widen. "Thought it was easy, two against one, didn't you? How d'you feel now, one against two? Feel strong? Feel brave? You're both bloody cowards." His lips twisted and he kicked Harkiss in the knee.
"Put him in hospital, treat him like rubbish, all because of who he cares about? That's classy, that is."
He was so angry his hands were shaking, and yet now that he came down to it, he didn't know quite what to do with them. Oh, he'd thought of a whole list of things, but now they were looking at him with fear in their eyes, and the rush of power almost made him feel sick. They had hurt Remus. They could have killed Remus. They were the monsters, not his werewolf boyfriend. Peter clenched his teeth, jaw working as he tried to decide what to do to them.
"You're monsters," he hissed, breathing hard. What was that spell he'd heard Snape use? Sectus something. Blood would be good. There should be blood, for what they'd done.
Peter swung his wand. "Sectumsempra!"
When the blood came, it spurted from Harkiss' shoulder, where Peter's curse had hit him, and sprayed across the hem of Peter's robes. He stumbled backwards, shocked at the amount of it. He hadn't expected there to be so much. He stared from Harkiss to McLeod, who had tears leaking from his eyes, and suddenly thought he was going to be sick.
"Oh, God," he moaned, and swallowed hard. Stop, stop, how do you stop the blood? he wondered, but he couldn't come up with anything. Finally he just turned and ran, heading for McGonagall's office. When he reached it, he didn't even bother to knock, just flung open the door and staggered, breathless, inside.
McGonagall gasped as Peter burst through her door, accidentally knocking over her inkwell, which she righted quickly before she turned a sharp eye on Peter. "Mister Pettigrew," she snapped, rising to her feet, hands planted on her desk. She opened her mouth to continue when she really looked at the boy in front of her. Peter was pale and terrified and... my God, was that blood?! "Explain yourself," she said, moving quickly around the desk toward him.
Peter swallowed hard again to keep from being sick and lifted his chin. "Professor, you should probably tell Madam Pomfrey that Harkiss and McLeod are in the corridor just past the Charms classroom. I cursed them both. Harkiss is bleeding." His voice was shaking, but at least he didn't stumble over his words. His hands felt very cold. For that matter, he thought his entire body might be shaking.
"Why on earth would--" MacGonagall started, then realised it didn't matter now. Help Harkiss first, get an explanation later. "Stay here," she said sternly, rushing past Peter. "And you had better be here when I return, Mister Pettigrew."
Why would I turn myself in if I was going to hide? Peter thought, but he didn't say anything. He just clasped his hands together, looking at the flecks of blood that were drying on the backs of them. After a few minutes he sank down into a chair, his teeth chattering. Oh, God, I wanted to kill them, he thought. I could have killed them. He'd be sent down. He wouldn't be accepted into Auror training no matter how his NEWTs turned out. And he'd deserve it. God, what had he done?
He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking and trying not to fall apart.
MacGonagall left the hospital wing confident that Harkiss would make a complete recovery. The spell Peter had used was a fairly new one, but Pomfrey had insisted she'd seen it a few times in the past years and knew how to stop it. On the walk back from the hospital wing to her office though had left her just enough time to go from worry to anger. She swept inside and slammed her office door before sitting behind her desk and fixing Peter with a hard gaze. "Mister Pettigrew, this is a very serious offense. Care to tell me what happened?"
Peter swallowed again and drew in a long breath, then forced himself to meet her gaze. "Harkiss and McLeod were the ones who put Remus in hospital, because we're queer and they found out," he said. There. That was the worst of it out in the open straight away.
MacGonagall opened her mouth to reply, then shut it. Oh. That was not what she was expecting at all. For a brief moment, she wasn't sure who to be angry with, but decided to focus on what was in front of her. "And you took it upon yourself to punish them rather than bring it to me or the Headmaster?"
"Remus wanted me to tell Dumbledore," Peter said. He cleared his throat. He wished he had some water or tea. "But they deserved more than just writing lines or cleaning old classrooms, Professor." He clenched his hands together again, trying to still their shaking. "And I should have protected him."
"I can assure you that myself and the Headmaster are more capable of protecting students than you, and have more authority when it comes to assigning punishments," MacGonagall snapped.
Peter clenched his teeth. "Yeah, well, neither of you's in love with him, and I should've been there. He shouldn't've been alone, and I should've known that." He wiped a hand over his face and tried--and failed--to meet her gaze. "It was my fault."
MacGonagall pursed her lips and stared at him for a moment. She didn't really see any point in continuing to argue the point and she wasn't about to coddle him. "That's enough, Mister Pettigrew. You'll be serving detention with me for the remainder of the school year, and I will be writing home to your mother." She pulled out he quill and quickly made a note to herself to do that, not just for Peter but for Harkiss and McLeod as well, around the large splotch of ink she'd spilled earlier. "Furthermore, you will all being seeing the Headmaster regarding this incident." She paused and looked up at him. "I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am."
Peter jerked to attention. "Remus wasn't involved in this," he said. "He didn't have any idea what I was going to do." Not true, but there was also nothing Remus could've done to prevent it, unless he'd turned Peter in to McGonagall and Dumbledore before he acted. "And James and Sirius didn't know anything about it at all. They didn't even know who'd done that to him." Merlin, his mouth was dry, and his stomach hadn't quit roiling. He kept wondering if he was going to be sick.
"Maybe so, but Mister Lupin certainly knows more about the attack on him than you." And she was sure the Headmaster would want the entire story, not just what the other two would tell him. She turned her eyes down. "You're dismissed," he added, her tone final.