Catching the snitch
Title: Catching the snitch
Summary: They had mocked him for years about how he could barely ride a broom, never mind catching a snitch. They had pushed him to the side, downplayed his accomplishments and treated him like the dim younger brother who was just an annoying tag along. It was a shame, what he had to do, but they had it coming.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: one sided R/S
Word Count: 2340
Author's Note: This ficlet has been on quite the journey. I originally wrote this as the first scene for a longer fic, from Sirius' POV. Then I realized it would work well from Peter's, so I rewrote it. I didn't know where to go with it from there, so it was pushed aside and had languished in my fic folder for years. The other day I took it out, dusted it off and realized it would make a fine ficlet in its own right. So, I polished it up, added a bit, ran it through the beta machine and here it is. I hope you like. :D
Much thanks to nikki4noo and 7ofeleven, the aforementioned beta machine. You rock, ladies.
A chubby face was poised over one fat candle, the flame at its tip flickering with puffed breaths.
“Go on Harry, blow it out.” The boy looked up at his father with wide eyes before reaching out a pudgy hand toward the colorful icing.
“Umm Prongs, I don't think he's quite old enough to grasp the mechanics needed just yet.”
Peter grinned across the table at the man who had spoken, taking in Remus' cheerful face and amused mien. He could see from the corner of his eye that he wasn't the only one. Sirius never seemed to look away, these days. He turned to look at Harry again, catching Sirius taking a deep breath and turning his head pointedly away from Remus' direction. Again.
Peter had been watching his friends a lot lately, and he had noticed something peculiar about Sirius. He was absolutely certain that he knew something that would not only make his plan a lot easier, but would make it all the more satisfying. He had been watching closely, and felt a distinct sense of accomplishment at being the first to see that Sirius was head over heels in love with the werewolf. Peter chuckled to himself in his head, while chuckling out loud at Harry's antics. It was too perfect, really. The ideal way to drive a wedge into their supposedly impenetrable friendship, leaving him with a crack to hammer away at. It was laid out like a gift in front of him.
Peter smiled at Harry, pushing his plans out of his head for the moment. The boy in question was being encouraged by his father but had yet to do more then babble and try to grab the gold snitch drawn in icing that had been charmed to move around the cake.
“For heaven's sake, James, just blow for him. He's going to get cranky if we don't let him catch the snitch,” Lily said, laughing at her son's obvious preoccupation with the fluttering icing.
“Fine, but I still say he could do it,” James replied petulantly.
“Sure he can do it Prongs,” Sirius cut in. “But unless you fancy eating cake covered in baby spit, you'd better do it yourself.”
Peter glanced at Sirius again. He was always so supportive of his friend's determination that his son would succeed at every task placed before him, regardless of the fact that Harry might not enjoy what he had been asked to do. But that was the way of them. James and Sirius were on top of the world, nothing was beyond their reach, no task too difficult, and they included those around them in their success, regardless of what anyone else felt or wanted. It had been wearing on Peter for a long while, but resentment had only recently begun to grow. At first he had appreciated the help and the sense of accomplishment that came from some of their more amazing achievements, but he had begun to realize that, to James and Sirius, he had not participated in said feats, but rather, they had triumphed over Peter's mediocrity and achieved in spite of it. And oh, did it rankle.
But now, finally, he had come to see them for what they really were. He had also begun to notice chinks in their armour, places where a well aimed jab could injure in a way inconspicuous to an outside observer.
James sighed and puffed out a breath, extinguishing the candle just as Harry leaned forward and grabbed the iced snitch, digging his pudgy hand into the cake and declaring “Nitch!” with a triumphant squeal. The surrounding adults laughed.
“That's my boy!” James declared, and the battle over the candle was forgotten in the excitement.
“He's a Seeker alright, Prongs,” Peter said, basking in the thankful smile James turned his way. Or, seeming to. It wouldn't do to rouse suspicions in his direction, not if he was to pull off his plans of driving them apart. He had to be blameless. Or at least, he had to appear so.
“You got that right, Wormtail,” James replied, kissing one of Harry's cheeks and getting covered in icing for his trouble.
Lily reached over and took the cake, cutting a slice for each of them. There were not very many people at the party; times were getting more dangerous and drastic measures might soon be taken. Peter knew that James and Lily were talking with Dumbledore about the possibility of going under the Fidelus Charm to hide them from Voldemort. The prophecy was not widely known, but it was most certainly the reason behind the increasing attacks against Order members, James and Lily in particular. He knew that James would do whatever it took to protect his family.
Peter took his slice of cake with a grin and sat down to eat, his gaze once more finding Sirius across the room. Now that he knew what to look for, the signs were everywhere. Looking back, Peter found he could recognize symptoms of Sirius' current predicament as far back as their 5thyear. It was poetic justice to Peter that love should be the undoing of someone who had always seemed to unreachable, so impenetrable. Then again, Sirius was only human after all, just like the rest of them. Honestly, what more could he expect from loving a werewolf?
Oh, Peter had thought he was fine with Remus' condition in the beginning, but the more times he had been forced face to face with the reality, the more he had been repulsed by it. James and Sirius had insisted that Remus was just a person with a chronic and annoying disease, but Peter knew he was a monster thinly veiled in the trappings of humanity. The longer he knew Remus, the more his revulsion had grown. He was grateful to have finally found some friends who shared his views on such things. They had encouraged him to find any weaknesses in the other Marauders, convincing him that they deserved their fates. They had never truly cared for him anyway, each one had used him in their own way, and Peter was done being used. Now it was his turn to use them to gain some recognition.
He could see Sirius gazing at Remus, his eyes filled with a barely hidden lust and a desperate sense of hopelessness that was becoming easier for Peter to see. He knew as well as Sirius did that it would never happen. Remus was straight, and thank Merlin for that. Had he been inclined toward such perversions as Sirius clearly was, Peter would likely not have been able to hide his feelings of revulsion. One disgusting trait per man was all he could handle.
Remus had been accompanied to the party by his latest girlfriend, a lovely girl whose name Sirius acted as if he'd forgotten. He may have the others fooled, but Peter was certain that Sirius could likely name every girl Remus had ever slept with, snogged, dated or even flirted with. Compared to Sirius' own shoddy romantic record, Remus was quite the ladies man. Peter's own exploits lay in the middle. He had been in several relationships over the years, and was proud to say he was much more functional than either of them. They could not hold down a girl even if they'd wanted to. Sirius was too bent and Remus too much of a monster.
'Finally,' Peter thought, 'Their inferiority shines through. If only more people could see it.' But some already had, and others would. He would make sure of that.
Sirius was quite maudlin tonight. His unrequited crush had blossomed into hopeless love and still there was no sign at all, no indication that Remus would reciprocate. Far from avoiding girls because of his furry little problem, Remus had jumped cheerfully into the role of a serial dater, shagging a girl for a few weeks to a month and moving on before any pointed questions could be asked. Peter wrinkled his nose. Sirius might be a filthy queer, but at least he wasn't a slut, like Remus.
Yes, tonight would be a perfect night to set his plan into motion. A few words there, and insinuation here and they would begin to suspect each other. He knew that the Order was aware there was a spy, he had been too careless with his information initially. He was also certain that none of them would fathom that it was he. Dim little Peter, he'd never be able to pull it off. He's not clever enough, not quick enough. Peter knew they thought him the simpleton, but he was not taking any chances. He had only to sow the seeds of discord between them to make it all fall apart, but he had not been expecting them to make it so easy.
They ate their cake and then settled in the living room with their drinks, watching Harry tear into his gifts with abandon. Peter took the opportunity to sit beside Sirius while the others were distracted.
“Heya Pete, how've you been lately?” Sirius asked cheerfully.
“Oh fine. Busy,” Peter said sincerely. “The Ministry has been chaotic lately, and with working for Dumbledore on the side, it's really kept me going.”
Dumbledore's assignments were not common knowledge, so they would never know that Peter was rarely called on for a mission. Just one more thing to be resentful of. He liked feeling useful, and now, at last, he did.
“I know what you mean. He's had us all so busy,” Sirius commiserated. “I'm working with Prongs lately, so I get to see Harry, but Remus is around less than you, it seems.”
“Oh, has he been away a lot?” Peter asked curiously, tamping down his desire to punch Sirius in his smug, handsome face. The time for retribution would come soon enough.
“Yeah. Gone for days or weeks at a time.” Sirius' eyes had drifted toward Remus again, filled with clear longing.
“Hmm, I wonder,” Peter said, just loud enough that Sirius could hear him, but quietly enough that he would believe Peter had not meant him to hear.
“Wonder what?” he asked.
“Oh, it's probably nothing,” he scoffed. What an imbecile Sirius was, falling prey to the simplest of tricks.
“No, tell me,” Sirius encouraged. “What?”
“Well...it's just...” Peter took a deep breath as if bracing himself to go on. “I saw him last week, with Snape.”
Sirius interrupted.
“Snape?” he hissed, garnering a curious look from Remus, though no one else noticed. “What was he doing with Snivellus?”
“Well, I don't know, do I? They were arguing about something, and I thought I'd go over and back Remus up, but before I could he apparated away.” Peter looked suitably nervous now, as if he was telling something he shouldn't instead of just sharing information.
“Arguing? But...” Sirius pondered for a moment, watching Remus with yet another yearning gaze. “It just makes no sense...it's not like he and Snivellus are friends.”
“God forbid!” Peter exclaimed. He hated having to hide himself around his former dorm mates, but if he'd told Sirius that he'd been spending time with Snape lately, and he was actually a good bloke, albeit prickly and caustic, Sirius would certainly want nothing to do with him. And as much as Peter would like never seeing his superior face again, he had a mission to accomplish. It all rode on his ability to act like nothing had changed.
He continued. “It's just...Snape is a Death Eater, or so Gideon says, and with how often Remus is away, it seems strange, that's all. What could Dumbledore be asking him to do that would make him travel like that, and on such short notice?”
Sirius' gaze had hardened a bit and Peter couldn't hide a small smirk. Honestly, this was too easy. But that's what Sirius deserved for falling in love with a werewolf. Not to mention a male werewolf. Peter hid a shudder of disgust.
“No, that's ridiculous...Remus would never...” Sirius began, but Peter cut him off as James brought Harry over to join them.
“Wouldn't he?” Peter whispered to Sirius as James sat Harry on the floor in front of them, effectively disrupting any further conversation.
“Look Harry...It's Padfoot and Wormtail! Tell them what you told Mummy, go on...” James prompted, giving them the 'wait till you see this' look. Peter sighed. It was all becoming so tedious. Thank Merlin for the plan. It would give him something to think about while he spent time with them all. It was a challenge, a new one that would eventually lead to his glory if he got it right. His own glory, not the trickled down remnants he had received for all their pranks and games over the years. He would pull this off, the Dark Lord would reward him and the glory would be his alone.
Peter pretended to grin at Harry, to disguise a sudden burst of giddy joy. Finally, he would get the recognition he deserved, instead of being used by those he looked up to.
“Go on,” James prompted again, taking a snitch out of his pocket and waving it in front of the boy. “What do we do with this lovely little ball here?”
Peter bit his lip to avoid a sneer. Bloody Quidditch. They were all so fascinated by it, so superior because they had so-called natural talent and Peter could barely get the broom off the ground. They had never let him live that down, and had mocked him about it ever since.
“Catch 'nitch!” Harry yelled, reaching out and snatching the ball from James' hand, to the delight of the whole room.
Peter grinned as well, planning his next move. Soon he'd be the one catching the snitch. And then they'd be sorry.
Summary: They had mocked him for years about how he could barely ride a broom, never mind catching a snitch. They had pushed him to the side, downplayed his accomplishments and treated him like the dim younger brother who was just an annoying tag along. It was a shame, what he had to do, but they had it coming.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: one sided R/S
Word Count: 2340
Author's Note: This ficlet has been on quite the journey. I originally wrote this as the first scene for a longer fic, from Sirius' POV. Then I realized it would work well from Peter's, so I rewrote it. I didn't know where to go with it from there, so it was pushed aside and had languished in my fic folder for years. The other day I took it out, dusted it off and realized it would make a fine ficlet in its own right. So, I polished it up, added a bit, ran it through the beta machine and here it is. I hope you like. :D
Much thanks to nikki4noo and 7ofeleven, the aforementioned beta machine. You rock, ladies.
A chubby face was poised over one fat candle, the flame at its tip flickering with puffed breaths.
“Go on Harry, blow it out.” The boy looked up at his father with wide eyes before reaching out a pudgy hand toward the colorful icing.
“Umm Prongs, I don't think he's quite old enough to grasp the mechanics needed just yet.”
Peter grinned across the table at the man who had spoken, taking in Remus' cheerful face and amused mien. He could see from the corner of his eye that he wasn't the only one. Sirius never seemed to look away, these days. He turned to look at Harry again, catching Sirius taking a deep breath and turning his head pointedly away from Remus' direction. Again.
Peter had been watching his friends a lot lately, and he had noticed something peculiar about Sirius. He was absolutely certain that he knew something that would not only make his plan a lot easier, but would make it all the more satisfying. He had been watching closely, and felt a distinct sense of accomplishment at being the first to see that Sirius was head over heels in love with the werewolf. Peter chuckled to himself in his head, while chuckling out loud at Harry's antics. It was too perfect, really. The ideal way to drive a wedge into their supposedly impenetrable friendship, leaving him with a crack to hammer away at. It was laid out like a gift in front of him.
Peter smiled at Harry, pushing his plans out of his head for the moment. The boy in question was being encouraged by his father but had yet to do more then babble and try to grab the gold snitch drawn in icing that had been charmed to move around the cake.
“For heaven's sake, James, just blow for him. He's going to get cranky if we don't let him catch the snitch,” Lily said, laughing at her son's obvious preoccupation with the fluttering icing.
“Fine, but I still say he could do it,” James replied petulantly.
“Sure he can do it Prongs,” Sirius cut in. “But unless you fancy eating cake covered in baby spit, you'd better do it yourself.”
Peter glanced at Sirius again. He was always so supportive of his friend's determination that his son would succeed at every task placed before him, regardless of the fact that Harry might not enjoy what he had been asked to do. But that was the way of them. James and Sirius were on top of the world, nothing was beyond their reach, no task too difficult, and they included those around them in their success, regardless of what anyone else felt or wanted. It had been wearing on Peter for a long while, but resentment had only recently begun to grow. At first he had appreciated the help and the sense of accomplishment that came from some of their more amazing achievements, but he had begun to realize that, to James and Sirius, he had not participated in said feats, but rather, they had triumphed over Peter's mediocrity and achieved in spite of it. And oh, did it rankle.
But now, finally, he had come to see them for what they really were. He had also begun to notice chinks in their armour, places where a well aimed jab could injure in a way inconspicuous to an outside observer.
James sighed and puffed out a breath, extinguishing the candle just as Harry leaned forward and grabbed the iced snitch, digging his pudgy hand into the cake and declaring “Nitch!” with a triumphant squeal. The surrounding adults laughed.
“That's my boy!” James declared, and the battle over the candle was forgotten in the excitement.
“He's a Seeker alright, Prongs,” Peter said, basking in the thankful smile James turned his way. Or, seeming to. It wouldn't do to rouse suspicions in his direction, not if he was to pull off his plans of driving them apart. He had to be blameless. Or at least, he had to appear so.
“You got that right, Wormtail,” James replied, kissing one of Harry's cheeks and getting covered in icing for his trouble.
Lily reached over and took the cake, cutting a slice for each of them. There were not very many people at the party; times were getting more dangerous and drastic measures might soon be taken. Peter knew that James and Lily were talking with Dumbledore about the possibility of going under the Fidelus Charm to hide them from Voldemort. The prophecy was not widely known, but it was most certainly the reason behind the increasing attacks against Order members, James and Lily in particular. He knew that James would do whatever it took to protect his family.
Peter took his slice of cake with a grin and sat down to eat, his gaze once more finding Sirius across the room. Now that he knew what to look for, the signs were everywhere. Looking back, Peter found he could recognize symptoms of Sirius' current predicament as far back as their 5thyear. It was poetic justice to Peter that love should be the undoing of someone who had always seemed to unreachable, so impenetrable. Then again, Sirius was only human after all, just like the rest of them. Honestly, what more could he expect from loving a werewolf?
Oh, Peter had thought he was fine with Remus' condition in the beginning, but the more times he had been forced face to face with the reality, the more he had been repulsed by it. James and Sirius had insisted that Remus was just a person with a chronic and annoying disease, but Peter knew he was a monster thinly veiled in the trappings of humanity. The longer he knew Remus, the more his revulsion had grown. He was grateful to have finally found some friends who shared his views on such things. They had encouraged him to find any weaknesses in the other Marauders, convincing him that they deserved their fates. They had never truly cared for him anyway, each one had used him in their own way, and Peter was done being used. Now it was his turn to use them to gain some recognition.
He could see Sirius gazing at Remus, his eyes filled with a barely hidden lust and a desperate sense of hopelessness that was becoming easier for Peter to see. He knew as well as Sirius did that it would never happen. Remus was straight, and thank Merlin for that. Had he been inclined toward such perversions as Sirius clearly was, Peter would likely not have been able to hide his feelings of revulsion. One disgusting trait per man was all he could handle.
Remus had been accompanied to the party by his latest girlfriend, a lovely girl whose name Sirius acted as if he'd forgotten. He may have the others fooled, but Peter was certain that Sirius could likely name every girl Remus had ever slept with, snogged, dated or even flirted with. Compared to Sirius' own shoddy romantic record, Remus was quite the ladies man. Peter's own exploits lay in the middle. He had been in several relationships over the years, and was proud to say he was much more functional than either of them. They could not hold down a girl even if they'd wanted to. Sirius was too bent and Remus too much of a monster.
'Finally,' Peter thought, 'Their inferiority shines through. If only more people could see it.' But some already had, and others would. He would make sure of that.
Sirius was quite maudlin tonight. His unrequited crush had blossomed into hopeless love and still there was no sign at all, no indication that Remus would reciprocate. Far from avoiding girls because of his furry little problem, Remus had jumped cheerfully into the role of a serial dater, shagging a girl for a few weeks to a month and moving on before any pointed questions could be asked. Peter wrinkled his nose. Sirius might be a filthy queer, but at least he wasn't a slut, like Remus.
Yes, tonight would be a perfect night to set his plan into motion. A few words there, and insinuation here and they would begin to suspect each other. He knew that the Order was aware there was a spy, he had been too careless with his information initially. He was also certain that none of them would fathom that it was he. Dim little Peter, he'd never be able to pull it off. He's not clever enough, not quick enough. Peter knew they thought him the simpleton, but he was not taking any chances. He had only to sow the seeds of discord between them to make it all fall apart, but he had not been expecting them to make it so easy.
They ate their cake and then settled in the living room with their drinks, watching Harry tear into his gifts with abandon. Peter took the opportunity to sit beside Sirius while the others were distracted.
“Heya Pete, how've you been lately?” Sirius asked cheerfully.
“Oh fine. Busy,” Peter said sincerely. “The Ministry has been chaotic lately, and with working for Dumbledore on the side, it's really kept me going.”
Dumbledore's assignments were not common knowledge, so they would never know that Peter was rarely called on for a mission. Just one more thing to be resentful of. He liked feeling useful, and now, at last, he did.
“I know what you mean. He's had us all so busy,” Sirius commiserated. “I'm working with Prongs lately, so I get to see Harry, but Remus is around less than you, it seems.”
“Oh, has he been away a lot?” Peter asked curiously, tamping down his desire to punch Sirius in his smug, handsome face. The time for retribution would come soon enough.
“Yeah. Gone for days or weeks at a time.” Sirius' eyes had drifted toward Remus again, filled with clear longing.
“Hmm, I wonder,” Peter said, just loud enough that Sirius could hear him, but quietly enough that he would believe Peter had not meant him to hear.
“Wonder what?” he asked.
“Oh, it's probably nothing,” he scoffed. What an imbecile Sirius was, falling prey to the simplest of tricks.
“No, tell me,” Sirius encouraged. “What?”
“Well...it's just...” Peter took a deep breath as if bracing himself to go on. “I saw him last week, with Snape.”
Sirius interrupted.
“Snape?” he hissed, garnering a curious look from Remus, though no one else noticed. “What was he doing with Snivellus?”
“Well, I don't know, do I? They were arguing about something, and I thought I'd go over and back Remus up, but before I could he apparated away.” Peter looked suitably nervous now, as if he was telling something he shouldn't instead of just sharing information.
“Arguing? But...” Sirius pondered for a moment, watching Remus with yet another yearning gaze. “It just makes no sense...it's not like he and Snivellus are friends.”
“God forbid!” Peter exclaimed. He hated having to hide himself around his former dorm mates, but if he'd told Sirius that he'd been spending time with Snape lately, and he was actually a good bloke, albeit prickly and caustic, Sirius would certainly want nothing to do with him. And as much as Peter would like never seeing his superior face again, he had a mission to accomplish. It all rode on his ability to act like nothing had changed.
He continued. “It's just...Snape is a Death Eater, or so Gideon says, and with how often Remus is away, it seems strange, that's all. What could Dumbledore be asking him to do that would make him travel like that, and on such short notice?”
Sirius' gaze had hardened a bit and Peter couldn't hide a small smirk. Honestly, this was too easy. But that's what Sirius deserved for falling in love with a werewolf. Not to mention a male werewolf. Peter hid a shudder of disgust.
“No, that's ridiculous...Remus would never...” Sirius began, but Peter cut him off as James brought Harry over to join them.
“Wouldn't he?” Peter whispered to Sirius as James sat Harry on the floor in front of them, effectively disrupting any further conversation.
“Look Harry...It's Padfoot and Wormtail! Tell them what you told Mummy, go on...” James prompted, giving them the 'wait till you see this' look. Peter sighed. It was all becoming so tedious. Thank Merlin for the plan. It would give him something to think about while he spent time with them all. It was a challenge, a new one that would eventually lead to his glory if he got it right. His own glory, not the trickled down remnants he had received for all their pranks and games over the years. He would pull this off, the Dark Lord would reward him and the glory would be his alone.
Peter pretended to grin at Harry, to disguise a sudden burst of giddy joy. Finally, he would get the recognition he deserved, instead of being used by those he looked up to.
“Go on,” James prompted again, taking a snitch out of his pocket and waving it in front of the boy. “What do we do with this lovely little ball here?”
Peter bit his lip to avoid a sneer. Bloody Quidditch. They were all so fascinated by it, so superior because they had so-called natural talent and Peter could barely get the broom off the ground. They had never let him live that down, and had mocked him about it ever since.
“Catch 'nitch!” Harry yelled, reaching out and snatching the ball from James' hand, to the delight of the whole room.
Peter grinned as well, planning his next move. Soon he'd be the one catching the snitch. And then they'd be sorry.