Peter "so fucking done" Pettigrew (somanyregrets) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-05-21 23:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! [1979-05] may, meaghan dearborn (née mccormack), peter pettigrew, severus snape |
Who: Peter Pettigrew & Severus Snape (with a short cameo by Meaghan McCormack)
When: 21 May 1979; around 7pm in the evening
Where: the Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley, London
What: True to his word Severus meets Peter at the Leaky Cauldron, and discovers a ready opportunity to practise Legilimency.
Rating: PG
Status: Complete.
Severus had been having a relatively successful day. He had decided the opportunity to visit Diagon Alley in the evening was something not to be overlooked, and so he had spoken about going to Diagon to pick up potions ingredients. Master James had agreed and so Severus had found himself in Diagon alley shortly after noon, with the afternoon free to be used at his discretion. He was almost disbelieving of his good luck in this regard. The freedom of the afternoon meant that once his purchases were made, he was able to take a seat outside Fortescue's and watch passersby. He didn't normally spend time doing this, but Severus was determined to begin the practise of Legilimency. For the past four nights, he'd been working on clearing his mind before he fell asleep, something that had been difficult to accomplish completely as he had been so tired recently that he had fallen asleep almost immediately upon lying down, but he felt it was someplace to begin. Today, however, he'd had the first chance to cast Legilimens, his wand up his sleeve, he'd tried both a younger wizard, perhaps only a year or two from Hogwarts, and several older ones. The first attempt had been singularly unsuccessful. Sev had gotten nothing, and the witch he'd tried to Legilimens had stumbled as if someone had knocked into her, and had shook her head before going on her way. As this was not the way it was supposed to go, Sev had been annoyed, spent another half an hour looking over his notes, and had tried another individual, this time the younger boy. The boy had been more successful, he'd gotten more feelings than real glimpses of memories, and although the connection had been brief, it had been (apparently) unnoticed by the child, and it had given Severus a bit more courage to try again with an adult. Nearly half a dozen attempts later, Severus had received mainly glimpses of feelings, and nothing that was particularly descriptive of what the text discussed. At its most complicated, Severus knew Legilimency could actually plant ideas or memories in the mind of the person one was connected to, and that went beyond memory alteration into something more interesting. As the sun begin to lower itself Severus packed up the small parcel and put away his notes. As it was nearly seven, he made his way towards the Leaky Cauldron where he'd arranged to meet Pettigrew. Severus wasn't certain why he was meeting Pettigrew. He'd never liked the other man all that well, when he had actually noticed him. Pettigrew was a worshiper of Severus' worst enemies at Hogwarts, so he had been somewhat not trustworthy from that to begin with. Now though... well, they'd actually had reasonable conversations. Severus knew he had changed from Hogwarts. He was more capable now than he had been, his manner of dress was better - if not wealthy - and he'd improved his speech and his ability to blend well in a social gathering. Perhaps it was possible Pettigrew had changed as well. To be truthful, half of the decision to meet with him had been made on the fact that Peter might have been in Slytherin. The other half was pure spite. Severus knew that as much as it made Sirius Black angry that Severus was good friends with his younger brother, it would make him equally angry if Black knew that his friend Pettigrew was meeting up with Sev. Severus gave a smug smile as he entered the darkened, but lively atmosphere at the Leaky. Whatever the outcome of the event, and although they'd had reasonable conversations in the journal it was entirely possible Pettigrew would be frightfully dull in person, Severus felt that the knowledge the event could potentially be used to antagonise Black in the future, made the meeting quite worth it. As he entered, he glanced about to see if Pettigrew had already arrived. Meaghan had just finished an absolutely brutal day of practice. Probably the worst she had experienced since she had come off reserve, and definately the worst since her days at Hogwarts preparing for the big Gryffindor v. Slytherin matches. But this was bigger than Gryff v. Slyth. This was McCormack v. McCormack, and her coach was not prepared to see her lose to her mother. Adrian had spent the last five hours five inches from her broomstick, yelling in her ear, telling her exactly how she had fucked up every single save, belittling her seat and carriage, and generally beating her down for what seemed the longest stretch of time she had ever experienced. Then at the end, he had patted her on the back, said "Good job, Mac. You might just do us right," and disappeared into the locker room. Never before had Meaghan been so close to literally commiting murder. Now, muscles aching and mind exhausted, she had stopped in at the Leaky Cauldron to get herself a drink, hoping to see Ludo to discuss her fears over the upcoming match, but mostly to get a double whiskey down her throat and into her belly so she could fall into a nice dreamless sleep. Rubbing her fingers along her brow, she let out a long, low sigh and then took a large belt of her drink. Fuck, I'm tired. Severus took a seat at a booth along the wall and glanced around the tavern. Since Pettigrew wasn't there, he determined it would be a good idea to use the time wisely. And the best use of time he could think of was to try practising legilimency one more time. The Leaky, he thought, might actually be a fairly good place for practising something like this. People in pubs were often preoccupied, interested in things other than paying attention to their surroundings, and drinking away whatever problems they might have. People who were preoccupied, tended to not be interested in keeping people out of their minds, which was particularly useful when one was looking to actually magically invade, alter, or change people's minds. He noticed Meaghan when she came into the Leaky and he eyed her for a moment. She seemed tired, or preoccupied, at least, which made her basically the perfect target. He reached for his wand and pointed it under the table towards Meaghan, at the same time he moved the packages on the table as a distraction to anyone who might otherwise notice the hand underneath the table pointing a wand at someone in the pub. Legilimens, he muttered under his breath, sending the strength of the spell aiming straight at Meaghan. Meaghan was the absolute definition of an open book at the moment: exhausted, distracted, relaxed. She didn't feel the spell or his mind seeking to probe into hers, didn't feel a thing, actually. It probably, like so many things in life, only hurt if you fought it. Yawning, she leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head, wincing as she felt one of her shoulders crack. That did not sound good. Severus watched her stretch, and was ready to withdraw his attention from her if she seemed to notice him unduly. He hadn't yet encountered someone who had been aware enough to know what was happening, but he figured that it was possible that it could happen. Like other spells, Legilimency wouldn't work on someone who was an Occlumens, and from what Severus understood from his reading someone who was an Occlumens would probably know that he or she was being read. He didn't have her eye either, and the times it had worked most easily earlier, he'd been directly looking at the individual he'd been using Legilimens on, and it seemed that was the best way to do it. As he held the spell, he received nothing concrete. Exhaustion, and perhaps a bit of worry seemed to suggest themselves to him, but it was nothing that he couldn't have told simply by looking at her, which made him uncertain if it was him reading something into the spell based upon her body language, or if he actually was getting those feelings from her. He was going to have to get her to look at him, and getting someone to look at him directly and him be able to perform a spell in front of her without her being aware of it, was going to be difficult. He thought for a moment, and finally with his wand, moved the table in front of her just slightly - only a few centimetres, but hopefully enough for her to notice, and if she noticed, hopefully she would look around, and if she looked around, he'd be prepared. The noise of the moving table startled her from her sleepy haze, rousing her and making her look around for the source of the noise. Her eyes settled on a greasy looking fellow--Servis or something?--and she cocked an eyebrow in annoyance, as if it was so unusual for him to make a bit of noise in the crowded pub. Severus kept an extremely neutral look on his face, but as she glanced his way he muttered Legilimens again, under his breath, and sent the spell hurling in her direction. This time he was determined it would work. They had eye contact, she was clearly relaxed, so should be susceptible to the spell, and earlier in the day he'd been able to get thoughts and feelings off of people, this time, however, he was determined to get a bit more. She didn't notice the mumbling, too busy was she being pissed off at the world. She went back to her drink, again completely unaware of his intentions, of his intrusion into her mind. She was thinking about whether or not owling Pepper would be a good idea, even though she already had the answer. Forgetting the fact that she only had a few precious hours to sleep, she knew she was treading on thin ice with her involvement with him, that he was beginning to expect thing that she couldn't give without him giving what he couldn't give. If that made any sense. But he's such a damn good snog. Severus hadn't expected the spell to fail, but he hadn't entirely expected it to work as well as it did. As he'd gotten earlier in the day, he got feelings that were radiating from her thoughts, but this time he was actually getting thoughts, as the very distinct image of Octavius Pepper flashed in his brain, followed immediately by the thought he's such a damn good snog, Sev dropped the contact, but dropping his eyes. The idea of Pepper and snogging or indeed anything that remotely resembled sexual scenarios was not something Severus wanted in his head - ever. He'd gone to school with Octavius, and the two of them had been in the same house, and he had nothing against the older Slytherin, but he also didn't want any images of Pepper naked in his head, and if Meg was snogging Pepper, there was always the distinct possibility that he might stumble across such a thing. He adjusted the packages on the table and slid his wand away into his pocket. The spell completed, he glanced over at Meg feeling rather satisfied. Vision of Pepper and thoughts of snogging aside, he'd just gotten one very clear image from Meg's mind. And that was the first time he'd been able to do that. It had been distinct, if the rest of the feelings and thoughts had not been. Sev took out his journal and begin to make some notes in it while he continued waiting for Pettigrew. There was a possibility that he was going to be able to perfect legilimency after all. She decided that owling him would be a bad idea and, blissfully ignorant, finished her drink and headed home to bed. Peter had had a difficult day. He hadn't gotten much sleep the evening before because of the moon, and that had ended with him late for work the next morning. Mr. Crook was a agreeable enough individual most times, but when it seemed as though Peter was trying to blow off his responsibilities, Mr. Crook's agreeable attitude faded rather quickly. This was the situation that he'd found himself in this afternoon, and when he'd tried to finish up his work in order to get out by seven, he was met with a rather harsh lecture on quality over quantity and how rushing the documentation lead to mistakes that he would have to answer for. By the time that Peter had finally been able to pull himself from the office, it was already some time after seven. Ten minutes, to be more precise. When he finally reached the Leaky Cauldron, he was running quite late and rather embarrassed by that fact. Clearing his throat as he spotted Severus already there and waiting, Peter slid into a seat across from him, offering him a very sheepish, apologetic smile, "Sorry. Mr. Crook was in one of his moods. Lectures on my incompetence can get quite long." Severus hadn't ordered anything yet, although he was debating between actually getting food, and simply getting a drink. He didn't really have money for both, but after a day with nothing after lunch, he was hungry, so the thought of something in his stomach was preferable to the thought of just a drink. If he got something simple, maybe he could manage both. He smiled - or at least it was almost a smile - as Peter approached and waited for him to reach the table before shrugging. "Not a problem," he said simply. "I've been in Diagon most of the afternoon, I was just mentally running over what I've yet to accomplish this week," he closed the small journal that was out on the table and slid it into his bag. "I hope it wasn't too difficult to get away," he added. Now that Peter was here, Severus wasn't quite certain whether this had been a good idea. Oh, it lent credibility to the idea that he wasn't a Death Eater, and at this point, he felt that this was a wise idea to nurse along. There would come a day, and it would be a day quite soon Severus was certain when it wouldn't be a problem to openly admit his allegiance to the Dark Lord, in fact it would be something to proclaim loudly, but right now was not that time. Plus, he'd actually enjoyed the conversation he and Pettigrew had written in the journals. Still, writing to each other in journals and actually sharing a drink were different things and it was possible they'd both be sorry they agreed to meet before the evening was finished. Avoid discussion of Potter and Black and Lupin. Feel free to discuss work, morality (as that seemed to be something they could discuss without killing each other), and possibly politics... It could be interesting to see Peter's views since it seemed he was too afraid to say anything most of the time. He would have made a better Slytherin, Sev thought. If Mulciber didn't kill him, that is. "I had the good fortune of Master James actually needing things from Diagon," Severus pointed to the packages witting beside him. "I suppose we're fortunate he wasn't brewing a complicated overnight antidote or I should have had to write you a note in the journal and bow out. That's one of the things about being at the bottom of the ladder, you don't get a lot of options. Do you otherwise like working for Mr Crook?" "It wasn't too difficult," Peter said, running a hand through his hair nervously. There was something more noticeably unusual about this whole situation than there was about having conversations in journals. There was a certain amount of distance between them when it was a discussion through paper. But now, all of that distance was gone, and Peter was suddenly rather uncomfortable. Silently, he hoped that the uneasiness would pass, but for the moment, he would cover it up as best that he could. "I just had to grit and bear it. If I argue, the lectures get even longer. It's an enjoyable job most of the time. He tends to stay back in his office, and I go over the records that come through the office, file the paperwork that's necessary for his cases, and read up on the legislative code when I don't have any of that to do. I'm really just a glorified secretary for the time being, but in a few years, something might actually come from it." Better than he could have really hoped for with his NEWT scores, but he didn't really see any reason to bring that into things. "What about yourself?" Peter asked. "Enjoying the real world?" Severus shrugged and gave a half smile. "I suppose you could say that. It's fascinating, and I'm learning a lot." Why did he feel like he'd had this conversation before? Probably because he had. It seemed to be what most people asked about, and although there was safety there, he wasn't certain he really felt like talking about it. "I don't suppose it's quite all it's cracked up to be," he added. "I mean, yes, fascinating, nice to be of age and not be attacked by the Ministry if you use your wand, but there are days I miss Hogwarts - or at least parts of it." Mostly seeing Lily every day "I was thinking I'd get a jacket potato," he nodded towards the bar. "And maybe a butterbeer, should we order something?" If they ordered something, they'd have something in front of them, and that would make things a bit less awkward. Severus stood as if he was going to go over to the bar, but then a thought occurred to him. He had been practising Legilimency all day, perhaps Pettigrew would prove an interesting target. And if Severus could successfully pull something like that off, while someone was sitting there talking to him, well... he'd be doing well. Was it too risky? Severus wasn't certain. He didn't think Pettigrew had a particularly strong mind - at least, from his behaviour at school Sev wouldn't suppose that he did. Maybe he'd think about that after he made his order. "I know what you mean," Peter said, standing and wordlessly answering Severus's inquiry about ordering. "There's a certain freedom that comes with not having as many responsibilities," like being able to sleep in after being out all night during a full moon. Peter couldn't help but be a bit jealous of the ability that Sirius and James had to just collapse when they got back in that morning and stay there until they made up for the lost sleep. Peter had barely been able to grab an hour, and it probably would have been a better idea how him to have not bothered. "I hope you don't mind if I order something a bit stronger," Peter said as they crossed over to the bar. "I had a rather long night." Putting his money down on the bar, Peter ordered a lager, not really in the mood for something as strong as firewhiskey, but at least this would be able to take the edge off of his aching muscles and slight headache. Severus shook his head in answer to Peter's question. He didn't see Peter as the 'allow himself to get sloshed' type, and even if he were, Severus would just leave if he got irritated. Particularly with someone he wasn't required to impress and Peter certainly fell under the category of not someone he was required to impress. He ordered a jacket potato and beans and a butterbeer, not wanting anything heavy. One of the things that truly annoyed Severus were how many of his classmates had few responsibilities. And while he realised that the potion in the other cauldron might look better than his own when in reality it was sludge, it still frustrated him. He worked at the apothecary often close to forty-five or fifty hours a week, and when he wasn't working there he was training with other Death Eaters, trying to improve the house at Spinner's End, or work on advancing his studies in areas not related to potions. And there were times when he felt that it wasn't worth it. When those moments came over him, he reminded himself that if he actually worked hard and applied himself, some good would come of it. Unlike some of his classmates he couldn't afford to be careless or sloppy or not court the right people if he wanted to someday be in a better position than he'd grown up in. And he was determined to make it happen. As he laid the sickles on the bar to pay for his food, it occurred to Severus what time of the month it was. "Full moon isn't it," he asked evenly. "I suppose that would be a long night for you." It was another one of those things that Severus thought about annoyed him. It was mostly the memory, and the sheer hypocrisy of Sirius Black having the nerve to label him a murderer and a Death Eater when Black had tried to get Severus killed - or worse, turned into a werewolf - long before Severus had even considered casting an unforgivable. "Why wouldn't you call in sick today?" He asked, although he thought he knew the answer. It would probably be similar to the answer he would give in a similar scenario. Not that he would find himself in a similar scenario, because he wouldn't be friends with a werewolf, and if he were, he wouldn't stay up all night with said werewolf friend. He would get sleep. Peter had expected that Severus would understand why he had had a long night, but he hadn't anticipated him actually voicing it. But Peter managed to school his expression into a mask of neutrality despite the fact that his initial urge was the lash out, defend Remus against the negative thoughts that were most likely running through the other man's mind. But it wasn't like Peter had any right to tell someone what to think. So instead, he just shrugged, turning the question over in his head. Why hadn't he called in sick? Snorting slightly, Peter took a long drink, setting his glass back down on the counter before muttering, "Can't afford to lay around in bed all day like some people can, and I certainly can't do anything that might jeopardize my job. I wouldn't be likely to get another if I lost it." Severus nodded. He understood that certainly. "Why do you do it?" He asked. It was mostly an honest question, although there was certainly some picking at Peter's friends behind it. "Would they do the same for you?" He added. Severus couldn't imagine doing something like that if he wasn't getting something out of it, and maybe the something out of it was continuing to be around people who were better off, and he supposed he understood that, but he couldn't imagine any reason (really) that he'd stay out all night just for a 'friend'. "I know how Master Augustus would be if I came in half asleep in the morning," like I was yesterday morning "and wasn't able to complete my work properly. Doesn't it put your job in jeopardy even if you don't call in sick?" "Actually, no. I don't think so," Peter said quietly, swirling his glass as he peered down into it. It was easier to focus on the liquid than it was to look Severus in the eye. "My father told Crook not to expect much out of me. He seems to assume that I'm going to screw up. I got the feeling Crook was surprised I could even read when I showed up the first day much less that he got as much productivity out of me that he did." Not that that really mattered much, anymore. He'd been there almost a full year, and he'd certainly proved his capability. Peter hoped that he wasn't going to be cast off just because he was a few minutes late and a bit groggy. And as far as helping out Remus was concerned, Peter could only shake his head sadly. Slytherin friendships had to be drastically different from what he was used to. There was not a part of him that would even consider leaving Remus out on his own unless there was an absolute emergency that he had to attend to. And as for why he did it, the reason was...ridiculously simple. "I do it because we're friends. That's really all there is to it," Peter said, glancing over at Severus. "I know what it seemed like back in school. Trust me, I do. But I'm less of a pathetic little tag-a-long than I appeared to be." Not to say that there weren't some degrees of pathetic there, but that was another thing that really didn't need to be voiced out loud. Ouch., thought Severus as Peter talked about what his father had said to Mr Crook. He was rather quiet himself looking into his butterbeer as he listened to Peter. It hit a little too close to home for Severus to feel comfortable saying anything about it. Had his own father been in a position to give any sort of recommendation to the Magical world or to his current employer, Severus wondered whether the commendation would have been any different. His experience with fathers was that they were generally over-rated, and life was just as simple, if not simpler without them around. He had supposed that was only Muggle fathers originally, but now he wondered if it wasn't just fathers in general. Severus shrugged. He didn't have any such friends. Or at least, he couldn't think of any. Oh, he'd do anything for Lily, if asked, but he wouldn't have put his apprenticeship in danger for Aquila or Regulus nor, did he suppose, that they would expect him to. "I suppose it's your decision," he said, a bit stiffly. He took another sip of the butterbeer in front of him. "It is nice to prove people wrong though, isn't it?" He gave a satisfied look at Peter. "You've been doing well for Mr Crook, obviously that's prove anyone wrong who thought you wouldn't. And I've been in that situation myself," rather often. "It's extremely satisfying to know that you surpassed their expectations of you." Peter was quietly thankful that Severus hadn't made a comment on his father. It was something that was far too easy to target, as far as Peter was concerned, and the fact that he hadn't taken the opportunity to make it into issue caused some of Peter's awkwardness to dissipate. It was a relief to know that Severus wasn't going to take any potshots at him even when given the chance. "You'd think it would," Peter said, a slight smile on his face as he took another drink. "Mum's proud, at least," He said before looking over at Severus. "And there is something satisfying about doing better than you figured that you would." Sev nodded and a brief smile crossed his lips. "Mum's are like that," he said with a tone that was the closest to sentimental you would ever get from Severus Snape, although it was nowhere near actually sentimental. He told himself that his Mother was proud of him although he didn't often actually hear the words from her. It wasn't quite the same thing, but Severus thought that she should be - and that she probably was. She'd taught him so much before he'd ever gone to Hogwarts and when he was a boy, from the time he'd first demonstrated magic, she'd always told him that he would be a powerful wizard someday. Surely she was proud of him now. "It's nice that they're willing to be proud of you even if your father isn't. Of course, my father didn't really get magic," Sev said simply. "I think he was scared of Mum and I most of the time, particularly as I got older. Not that it mattered much, because until I was of age I couldn't have done anything to him. Not that I would have anyway." Sev added quickly. "All that nonsense about Muggles learning about Magic and being all right with it is rubbish. In my experience, they're scared to death of you, and I reckon it wouldn't be too difficult to bring back burning witches, or whatnot no matter what some people go on about. There's a statute of secrecy for a reason." Peter was surprised, to say the least. Not only at what he was hearing but merely at the fact that he was hearing it. This was the sort of information that James and Sirius would have leaped on back in school, that they would have exploited to absolutely no ends. But, well, Sirius and James weren't here, and Peter was certainly not going to run back to them and spill the news like he might have when they were still just fourth or fifth years. He was more mature than that, and if he was being trusted with such confidences, he had no intention of betraying them. "I don't think my mother understands it much, either," Peter said quietly. "She tries. God bless her, she tries. But the theories are so complex that if you don't have the practicals to tie it all together, it's very easy to get bogged down and confused. I think it's difficult for muggles to really grasp what it's like when they can only witness it and not actually experience it. And muggles, as a collective, do have a horrible tendency to turn against anything or anyone different. Not that we don't do that ourselves, but there's a hell of a lot more of them than there are us. And I'm not really aching to be the focus of another blitzkrieg." Peering down at his glass for a long moment, Peter slowly turned his gaze to Severus, "Of course, that doesn't give anyone the right to dictate whether or not muggleborns should be allowed to enter our world. There's really no question about that. It's only practical that they be allowed in. Unless someone enjoys the idea of people running around with magical powers that are completely and totally out of control. I don't know about you, but I sure as hell wouldn't want my powers to still be expressing themselves in the way that they did when I was younger." Severus actually had no idea that Peter didn't know that his father had not been particularly friendly towards magic. In his mind, he'd supposed that having hung out with Lily as long as Peter had, that somehow he knew. He was surprised a bit that Peter was a halfblood. It had never been something Severus had considered. In his mind Potter, Black, and indeed the entire lot of them were over-privileged prats who were babied and spoiled and handed everything on a silver platter. It hadn't occurred to him that perhaps Pettigrew wasn't at all like his friends. Severus couldn't help but smirk as Peter made his statement about Muggleborns and magic. Severus' mother had been able to help him, but even with that, he'd made his share of ridiculous mistakes and he wouldn't have wanted to have been left on his own to try to figure it out. When it came to the issue of Muggleborns, it was one of those things Severus wavered back and forth between. Some days he thought of Lily and knew for certain that Muggleborns were every bit as useful in the Wizarding World as he was or any pureblooded wizard might been. Other days, when he was trying to rethink into an acceptable way of thinking, he was sure that they weren't. However, when it came right down to it, Severus didn't have any issue with Muggleborns, per say. And as Peter mentioned it was safer to have them trained then not. "No," Severus shook his head. "I have no desire to not be able to control magic, nor would I have any desire to meet up with someone who couldn't. Besides," and Severus felt like he could honestly say this to Pettigrew, as clearly Peter wasn't about to rat him out to Death Eaters. "You know Lily as well as I do. She's possibly one of the most brilliant witches I've ever met and she's absolutely got a knack with potions. And she's Muggleborn." He shook his head and took a bit of the potato that had finally been placed in front of him. "No, Muggleborns are different, they've got magical ability and if they don't learn how to control it they're probably a danger to anyone around them. Not to mention they might be extremely talented and you'll never know if you don't train them. But I wouldn't marry a Muggle," he added. "And I don't much approve of people like Pinkstone who go around doing magic in front of them. It's asking for trouble." As Severus continued eating, he turned his mind to the legilimency spell. Would he be able to do it at such close range without Pettigrew noticing? "Pinkstone," Peter said, a hint of distaste in his tone as he recalled their earlier conversation. He wasn't very fond of wizarding reporters as it was. They didn't seem to have any sort of code of ethical journalism. "Had a run in with her earlier. She came down to the office looking for information on proper legal procedures post arrest. In other words, she was looking for information to see how badly she could twist it to make the Ministry look incompetent. That seems to be the dead horse that the newspapers are beating this year, though, so I shouldn't be surprised." There really was no question about whether or not the Ministry was incompetent. They really could be so myopic that they ended up missing the bigger picture. In Severus' opinion the Ministry was incompetent, but he wasn't certain that was how Peter saw it. But even as he thought it, he realised he didn't really want to go down that road. "You had a run in with Pinkstone?" Severus questioned. "Her articles are more laughable than serious, although I'm not certain I'd want to be quoted in one, actually, now that you're talking about it though." Being misquoted for the world to see wasn't something Sev was interested in ever having happen to him. Although, if he were in a position of respect, where he could be quoted, that might be something a little different. He finished up his potato and took another sip of the butterbeer. His wand was in his pocket and the nice thing about robes - Severus tended to dress fairly traditionally for Wizards - were that they had large pockets. He wondered if he could maneuver the wand so it was pointing at him. He slid his right hand in his pocket and felt the wand, considering. Was it too risky? It might be. He waved his left hand as he asked, "Is she as amusing in person as she always in when she's writing her articles?" "She didn't seem that amusing to me," Peter said, a thoughtful expression flickering over his features. "Cheerful, certainly. But I wasn't really paying much attention to her demeanor. It was really too focused on keeping from giving her more information than necessary." And still, she had probably gotten away with more than was good for anyone other than herself, especially if she happened to quote him directly. That last thought brought on a mental wince before he took another drink, finishing off his lager and pushing the glass away from him as he raised a hand to press against his forehead. He really didn't want to have to deal with the fallout that might come if he was quoted. Crook would probably lecture him for giving her any information, and he could only imagine how his words might be used in order to reinforce a point contrary to the one that he was trying to make. "I suppose all I can hope was that it was an article for the Quibbler and not the Prophet," Peter said, snorting slightly. "Nobody puts any stock in the Quibbler except the people that write for it." "True enough," Severus actually chuckled. "They've got such nonsense in that rag, and they're always printing half truths and outright lies. Not to mention the penchant they have for sharing all sorts of interesting non-existent plants and animals. If she's writing the article for there, you can be certain that even if your name is mentioned nobody will pay attention to what it says, at least nobody of any import." He finished off his butterbeer and realised that he still hadn't actually tried the spell on Pettigrew. It was the perfect opportunity. They were sitting face to face, Severus would have eye contact, and with what he'd been able to do earlier, surely it would work. Peter wasn't exactly the poster child for strong minded, Severus didn't think, but on the other hand, he wasn't certain he wanted to risk it just yet. He wasn't entirely certain he was able to do the spell without anyone noticing - he was pretty sure that someone at some point was going to notice - and frankly, their conversation hadn't been completely horrible. It wasn't exactly that Severus wanted to be best mates, he didn't. He definitely didn't. But Peter seemed willing to talk to him, and Severus was aware enough to realise that it might be handy in the near future. If Peter allowed something to slip... and if Severus had his trust... He fingered his wand in his pocket, debating the merits and demerits of attempting Legilimens on the other man. "Hopefully," Peter said. He really didn't want to think what might happen if his father happened to see his name in an article. He'd be getting a lot more than a lecture that way. Turning his glass on the counter, Peter turned his wrist to glance at his watch. "I should probably get going," Peter said, hoping that he wasn't extracting himself too abruptly. But it had seemed to him that their conversation had started to wind down, and they'd both finished their drinks. It seemed an opportune time to leave before things ended up getting awkward. "I promised James and Lily that I would stop over for dinner before heading back home. I don't want to leave that too late." Severus looked at him startled, but realised that of course he would have other friends. "Of course," he pushed the glass away and stood up. He wanted to ask Peter to tell Lily hi, but he was fairly certain Pettigrew probably wasn't brave enough to tell James where he'd been, and besides that, Severus wasn't certain it was in either of their best interests for Potter to know. Particularly if Severus was to use this absolutely insane new discussion to any use later on. "Well, um," he considered what to actually say. The polite thing to say in society would be something to the effect of thanking Pettigrew for drinks, but then again, who was Severus kidding? They were just a couple of half-bloods in a pub, weren't they? "Maybe sometime again," he finally said, leaving it open to possibilities in the future. "Have a good evening, Peter." He gathered up his packages wondering if he'd be annoyed that he just gave up the opportunity to legilimens someone who was, frankly, quite attached to the enemy. It was certainly too late now. Perhaps another opportunity would present itself in the future, but for now Severus should get home and make certain his mother was fed and prepare his work for tomorrow. |