Entry tags:

! log, 1998-march, x-character: peter pettigrew

WHO: Gwenog Jones and Peter Pettigrew
WHAT: Looking at apartments, and then a coffee date break.
WHEN: Friday, March 6, 1998 at eleven am.
WHERE: Diagon Alley
RATING: Low?
STATUS: Completed in Gdocs.

Peter and Gwenog had gone to look at the apartments she had liked the first time, for a second time. There was just no reason to rush into an apartment, and though she tended to trust her gut instincts she also liked to make sure. She liked to look it all over again, and see if she felt the same. And it was good, too. The apartment she had initially liked the first time did not incur the same spark of excitement, and overall she talked herself out of it. It just wasn’t the right one.

The second apartment had never been right, despite the fair chance she had tried to give it. The third apartment, however, was just as charming as it had been the first time she’d seen it, and after looking at it the second time she decided that living over a storefront in Diagon Alley would be worth how great the flat was.

“I guess I was a bit weary about the idea of living over a storefront but… Well most of the activity I won’t even be home for, and I do suppose I don’t mind being somewhere a bit crowded sometimes.” She liked her quiet time, and her privacy, but sometimes one was able to be more private in a crowded area than in a smaller town. Besides, the location was central to all the places she wanted and needed to go aside from Hogwarts.

“What’s the price on this one?” She asked again, fingers touching the windowsills lightly, staring out onto the street. She could people watch from here pretty nicely, but it was difficult to see in from the outside. “What do you think, then. Tell me your honest opinion. Can you see me living here?”

Peter looked very professional in a set of business robes and tie, carrying a clipboard with parchments that provided all the relevant information of each flat he was showing. So, once Gwenog asked the price, he was able to tell her immediately. “It’s very fair, if you take into consideration it’s a newer style flat, with a second story loft, and access to the roof for broomstick use. And you can’t beat the location, smack dab in the center of London’s Wizarding Community. Though we don’t like to call it ‘Knockturn Alley’ anymore. Ever since all the Dark Arts shops were cleared away, we refer to this area as, ‘New Diagon Alley’.”

Internally, Peter looked calm, albeit tired, while internally his mind was agitated, first from the conversation he had over over the journals with Gwenog, and then the talk he had with Hallam in person at his shop. Gwen had told him that he didn’t have to go back to the Death Eaters, but the moment they summoned him, he went without an argument, frightened by what they would do if he declined. The mental stress was giving him a headache, hence his tired appearance, but he refused to let Gwen know he’d been weak and had given in. Managing a smile, he told her, “I think it’s you, and I’m not just saying that as a sale’s pitch. The flat has elements of old Diagon Alley design, but with a contemporary twist. It’s above a shop, but there are Silencing Charms that prevent any unwanted noise from disturbing you. I really do think you’ll like it here.”

Gwen had noticed he looked tired, but it seemed these days that Peter always looked a bit off. There was just something about him that day that seemed weirder than normal, but perhaps he was just nervous about the - well, she hardly called it a date, but whatever it was - he might be nervous about being with her later over coffee, in a less-than-professional sense. From their conversations, Gwenog knew he did not socialize very frequently if at all, and it seemed to make him right uncomfortable. She wished she could do something to ease that.

“Alright, I’m trusting you on that one, that it’s not just a sales pitch anyway.” It was perfect. Access to the roof for brooming, second story loft, silencing charms and everything… It was modern enough for her tastes, but still had a hint of the old. That nostalgia she had been looking for. And of course, location was everything. It was perfect, and she felt silly to be dissuaded by the areas previous negative associations. “Are you quite sure, Peter, that there are no Dark Arts anythings going on around here? I’m - well, I’m afraid I wandered here as a child and have been a bit terrified of it every since.” She had to admit, what with the reaction her parents had given her and everything.

“But, if you’re quite sure then I am as well. I think this is the one I want.”

“I can’t be one hundred percent certain what’s going on in private, but if there are Dark Arts shenanigans happening here, then I don’t know about it.” He might have Death Eater ties, but he definitely wasn’t one of them. At least, not in the sense that he was into performing the Dark Arts. “Anyways, it may help reduce your fears to know that the Aurors patrol this area, often. You know, just to keep it safe. I’m sure you won’t have any problems at all.”

Again, Peter smiled. “Great. I have the paperwork right here,” he nodded toward the briefcase he’d brought along with him, sitting upon the kitchen countertop. “We’ll just need to sign a few forms and the flat’s yours!” It was a cheerful line he told every new tenant, but for Gwen, he really meant it.

It did feel reassuring to know that Aurors patrolled the area. She had never even asked Bina, but she was sure if she had then all of this could have been done a bit sooner. The few reservations she had about the area were disappearing and he had the papers all set to go. Alright, she was ready to do this, wasn’t she? She took in a deep breath and smiled brightly before walking over to the kitchen counter where he had the briefcase with all the necessary documentation.

“Yes, alright let’s get it done then. We’ve got a coffee date to get to, yeah?” She smiled at him, before grabbing up a quill and waiting for the sign here-sign there to be all shown to her. “I’m so excited, I didn’t think I’d find a good flat. This is perfect, Peter. Thank you so much.” Gwenog raised her shoulders a bit as she smiled, as if she were tensing, but she dropped them quickly enough. She wasn’t tense, she was just - well, excited, and nervous. For more than just the apartment.

“Sign here, and here. Initial here. This is for direct deposit of your rent from your Gringott’s account to our vault, automatically each month, completely optional, but convenient .” Peter gave her his quill to do the signing. “Oh. About that coffee date.” He grimaced. “You still want to that that, huh?”

She went ahead and started signing things, initialing where it was required and all that. She didn’t like the idea or direct deposit - seemed quite new age, and she liked to handle her money herself, so she didn’t opt in for that. Peter knew well enough that she paid her rent on time, always. There shouldn’t be any reason to worry about that, anyway. When she was done signing, she gave him another nervous grin and set the quill down. “Of course I still wanted to. I mean, that is if you still wanted to.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Peter sheepishly admitted, wrinkling his brow with concern. “It’s just… it might not be good for you to be seen with me. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Gwenog scoffed, just a little bit. “I don’t bloody care what people think, Peter. I’ve - spent certainly enough time caring what other people think and I’m done with that. I want to go out for coffee with you, end of story. Either you want to or you don’t.” Gwenog had always been, and always would be, the kind of girl that went for what she wanted. You didn’t get to be the captain of the Holyhead Harpies by being a pushover. “So, what d’you say then?”


“It’s more than that,” Peter admitted, cautiously, focusing on the paperwork Gwen had finished signing as an excuse not to look her in the eye. “There are… people… dangerous people… who saw you with me… might get it in their minds to hurt you. I can’t let that happen.”

“Peter, please.” She said, sighing a little. She moved over to him, standing next to him as opposed to across from him. Gwen didn’t know what it was, but there was something about Peter that just drew her to him, always had. Ever since they were in school, and she saw him with his mates. They were older than she was, she thought they were so cool, even if the rest of them sort of treated Peter like shit. It was different now, of course, but that fascination with Peter was still very much there. “Then don’t let them hurt me.” Gwenog, apparently, lived in a very black and white sort of world. “If they see, they see. I don’t care.” She spent ninety percent of her time in the safest possible places amongst the safest possible people. Hogwarts, the Ministry, and a loadful of Auror friends. She didn’t feel in danger in the slightest.

Peter was unable to hide his worry, the expression of his face revealing the nature of his heart. If anything happened to Gwen on his account, he wouldn’t be able to stand it. Exasperated, he scrubbed his face with his hand. “You’re really something. Here I am, giving you every reason to back away and hate my guts,” like everybody else, “but you don’t budge, and I don’t understand why. It’s got to be some inbred Gryffindor thing.”

“If it stresses you out that much, then let’s just have coffee here. Where no one can see us.” She replied, gently touching his shoulder with her hand, watching him stress and worry about it so much. “You can’t live your life entirely alone, with no one there to care for you, Peter.” It saddened her just to think about it, how isolated he would be, how lonely. She hated the thought of it. “Don’t - don’t deny me simply because other people are shite, and dangerous, and whatever. If you don’t want to spend time with me, it should be because you don’t find my company enjoyable. No other reason.”

Peter wanted to argue, he opened his mouth to protest but stammered, because as much as he wanted to say that he wasn’t alone and that he didn’t want her company, it would be a lie that would be too painful to tell. Frustrated, he closed his mouth to gather his wits, then spoke again, with a simple, confused, “Why?”

“Why? Why what?” She asked, leaning on the counter and staring at him with a rather unhappy face. She thought this was going to be a nice occasion, something that would be enjoyable for the both of them and it wasn’t turning out to be as nice as she’d hoped. Why did he agree in the first place, then?

“I’m a Death Eater and a traitor! I’ve betrayed my friends and sent some of them to Azkaban. I’ve done time in prison. Isn’t that enough?” He’d become so accustomed of being treated with disdain, Peter couldn’t imagine why anybody would want to get close to him.

“You were a Death Eater.” She corrected him, folding her arms across her chest. “Yes, you did terrible things, but you weren’t the only one. A lot of people betrayed their friends, didn’t they? A lot of people did horrible things during the war. Are you sorry you did those things, Peter? Do you wish, if you could, you never got involved?”

“Of course! Of course!” Peter was insistent, but couldn’t meet Gwen’s eyes. “I - I wasn’t in my right mind when I made the decision. If I had a choice to do it over again…” He hung his head. “A lot of people betrayed their friends, but I’m the one nobody wants anything to do with. Not even the Death Eaters trust me.” He didn’t want to mention his meeting with Hallam, how it suggested he might begin working for them again, despite being mistrusted. If she knew, then Gwen would truly walk out, and even though he wasn’t worthy of her friendship, there was still a spark that was kept alive with the hope that she brought.

“And it’s bollocks that you’re the one no one wants to talk to.” She said, a sincerity in her voice that could not be faked, a firmness that said she meant business. She absolutely believed Peter when he said he regretted it, that he would do it over. Even the Death Eaters didn’t trust him, because they shouldn’t. Because Peter didn’t want that sort of life anymore, nor did he ever really want it, from what she could tell. She took his hand, holding it softly and looking him in the eyes, frowning a bit. “I trust you.” Gwenog’s voice was soft, but she meant it.

It was difficult believing her, what with his experience, but the conviction with which Gwen told Peter she trusted him, made him speechless and silenced all the negative voices in his head. He tightened his hold on Gwen’s hand, as if this was a life line that kept him from falling further into the Abyss.

“Thank you. This means a lot.” He paused, deliberating something before finally saying, “I think… urm… I’d like that coffee. There’s actually a bakery a couple doors down from here that serves a good cuppa, along with pastries. It’ll be my treat.” Before she could make any wrong assumptions, he quickly added, “To celebrate your signing the contract for your new flat.”

The way he tightened his grip on her hand, it sort of broke her heart. She knew he needed someone, and she was more than happy to be that for him. That someone who trusted him, that someone who would be there for him, when no one else would. Not really, anyway. Gwenog did trust him, she didn’t care about his past or what things he had done. She knew he wouldn’t have, given the choice, knowing what he did now.

His response was too quick for her to really assume this was a date, but the look on her face was of clear disappointment. “That sounds lovely, Peter. I’d like that. To, celebrate.” She added, smiling. Showing that she understood - the boundaries were there. “Let’s not waste any more time then.”

“What’s the matter?” Peter asked, noting her expression. Had he done something wrong? Did she suddenly change her mind?

“Nothing’s the matter.” She replied, still holding his hand. She almost didn’t want to let go, despite how insistent he was that this was not going to be a date. “Lead the way?”

Peter was always a little bit slow picking up on social clues, so as he continued to wonder what the problem might be, an odd thought struck him: what if… and this had to be a BIG what if... she was actually attracted to him? His eyes opened in wonder at the possibility. That could explain his persistent asking why. He readjusted his hold on her as they walked to the door, glancing down at their interlocked hands, then up into her face to catch a hint of what she was thinking.
At the door, he told her, “I’ll need to lock up the apartment and put up the wards.” The unspoken suggestion was that she needed to let go of his hand in order for him accomplish this. Once she did, he pulled out his set of keys, and then his wand. After taking care of that business, he gave her the spare set of keys and held it up for her. “The apartment’s yours,” he announced, then pressed it into the palm of her right hand, but then resumed taking hold of her left so they could continue walking toward the staircase that would lead them outside.

They headed towards the door, and he made it a point to tell her that he needed to set the wards and lock up. “Oh, right.” She said, dropping his hand. She didn’t expect, at all, for him to take hers up again after the keys were given to her. She smiled and let out a little squee of excitement. She was very happy to have the whole apartment business all squared away, even if she thought it might mean Peter wouldn’t come to see her anymore.

But then he did take up her hand as they left the flat and she couldn’t help but smile at him. Maybe he did want a date, maybe he was interested. Why would he be holding her hand otherwise? She didn’t want to say anything, though, and ruin the moment but… Well she had to try and figure it out somehow. “So now that I have a brand new apartment, you’ll have to come and check on me won’t you? At first, to see if I’m getting all settled?”

This was surreal, too good to be true. Peter expected to wake up and find that this was just some cruel dream. Gwenog Jones was interested… in him? As in, romantically? No, that couldn’t be it. There had to be some other reason. Gwenog Jones was way out of his league, and he wasn’t talking about Quidditch. Maybe she’d been hit by some love potion? That might explain things. But regardless of all his excuses, he didn’t want to let go of her hand, lest the spell be broken.

“Yeah. Sure. That sounds good. It could be a housewarming party. I can bring you a plant,” he joked. “That’s what people bring to housewarmings, right? When do you think you’ll be moving in?”

“Well, I’ve got most of my things all packed, because I knew I would be moving, so I should be moving in relatively soon. I’m really excited, so I think I’ll probably be bringing in things starting tomorrow.” She laughed at herself a little, being so enthusiastic about moving in and everything. “A plant would be lovely. Not that I have time to even care for a plant.” She smiled at him again, happily walking with him hand and hand down the stairs. She was overjoyed, really. Surprised as all hell that this was actually happening.

Maybe, just maybe, things would work out. “I’m really glad you changed your mind about getting coffee with me, Peter. I thought you - I thought you didn’t want to be around me.”

“Then I’ll give you a low maintenance plant,” Peter continued to jest. “Maybe a cacti. Or better yet, an artificial one!

Gwen’s sudden change in mood sealed it for Peter: she was</infatuated>you know.” He didn’t feel like he should open that can of flubberworms again. “What’s there not to like about you?”

“An artificial one, no maintenance at al! That would be perfect, I think.” She smiled at him, letting out a little laugh. It would be nice to have some sort of plant life in her apartment, and even better if it never wilted, turned brown, or died because she neglected it.

Peter seemed to be looking quite happy himself, and she brightened up considerably. She rarely ever saw him smile, and this one looked so nice on his face. She didn’t want it to go away.

He seemed to be suggesting that there should be some reason that her feelings had seemed unreturned at first and she rose a brow at him. “I don’t know.” She responded, wondering if he was unsure of her affections again. She rolled her eyes just the slightest, but in far more of a joking manner than anything else, when he asked what wasn’t to like about her.

“I could name several things but I promise I won’t.”

“Well, good. Because you’re far too nice, I won’t believe any of it.” Peter took this as a warning - she didn’t want to go on and on about her bad qualities, so he also shouldn’t. Although the same insecurities always nagged him, from the back of his mind. Out on the street, he almost expected people to stop, stare and point at them holding hands, but everybody went about their business, and if they thought something, they kept it to themselves. Peter did scan the immediate area for Death Eaters. Those were the ones who were really dangerous.

“The bakery’s this way,” he nodded in the direction before heading there with her by his side. Say something nice to complement her, he thought, scrambling to come up with something clever, something suave. “That’s.. [clearing throat] … a very pretty sweater you have on. It uh… goes well with your hair.”

“Ha ha.” She joked, smirking at him and giving him a sly sort of smile as they made their way down onto the street. If people stopped and stared, whispered, anything at all, Gwenog made no notice. She was actually quite used to people looking at her everywhere she went, whispering, being famous sort of got you numb to all that kind of thing. There was no notice of anything at all that wasn’t Peter.

She glanced down at her sweater when Peter complimented it, and then turned to look at him with a bright smile. “Thank you, Peter. I wasn’t sure if it was my color or not.” Apparently though, it was. And Peter thought so. And she couldn’t imagine her luck. She stood on tippy toes for a brief moment to kiss him very quickly on the cheek, before they made it to the cafe. “Oh, this looks nice. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this place before.”