Never as it Seems

"I can't believe we are doing this!" Dorcas squealed, her hands coming up to clutch Peter's arm. "What if we get caught?"

Peter placed a hand against the grainy stone wall of the dark tunnel, and pressed a finger to his lips listening for any signs of movement. Silence filled the tunnel for a few moments before he motioned for her to follow him. "We won't get caught. I know almost all of the tunnels that lead to Hogwarts, including the one in the Shrieking Shack if we are really desperate."

Peter crouched down, and placed a small white plastic duck on the floor. It quacked and ran ahead of them, looking for any signs of danger. "It will come back if there are people, or anything of danger, close to us. It isn't much but will warn us if something is coming, and will give us enough time to hide."

Dorcas' eyes widened in awe, a delicate hand came up to press against her mouth. "That is quite ingenious, who came up with that?"

Peter blushed deeply, rubbing his suddenly sweaty hands nervously against his thighs. "Me! I-I created it, I mean. It really isn't that big of a deal!"

Dorcas bit her lip, and looked into his eyes from under her eyelashes, "Well I think it is a big deal. I knew there was more to you then that cute shyness."

Peter shrugged bashfully, his shoe catching against the wall as he clumsily moved forward. "N-naw. There really isn't much to me."

The couple fell silent, squinting against the darkness as they tripped and stumbled their way through the tunnel. Peter held out his hand causing Dorcas to stop short. She gasped, knocking into his back. "Peter, what is it?"

He grabbed her hand and placed it against a rope ladder. "We're here." He positioned a hand on the fifth step before turning to smile at her. "Just wait here a second, I have to make sure the coast is clear." He then climbed the rope stopping momentarily to carefully push the trap door above him open as quietly as possible. He pushed and the door flipped, slamming against the stone floor of Honeyduke's cellar harsher than he had intended it to. Peter winced, ducking lower than the door in order to stay out of sight. He perked up his ears, and listened for any type of movement. A rat squealed somewhere at the far side of the room, and scurried across the floor. When he was certain the noise hadn't alerted the owners to the cellar, he pushed himself up and whispered for Dorcas to climb up. "We need to be really quiet now" Peter said softly as he helped her through the hole, He pushed hair and dust away from his face, glancing around the room. "James and Sirius will kill me if the owners find out that we have been entering their store from here." Dorcas nodded her head in understanding.

They tiptoed through the rows of cardboard boxes filled with candy, and up the dimly lit steps towards the main floor of the store. They entered the kitchen, quickly running to the left to hide under the stairs. Dorcas looked around the brightly lit kitchen, her eyes wide with delight. Stoves, dozens of them, were lined up against the far wall. Pans filled with different types of melted chocolate, turned over to spill their contents into a bowl before starting over again to melt more chocolate.

The bowls with the recently melted chocolate glided to the tables in the middle of the room, and began to pour the batter into molds, before they were magically shipped off to the freezer to cool. Dorcas squealed, causing Peter to throw his hand over her mouth, when newly frozen chocolate flew from the fridge and began to wrap themselves in colourful foil, before dropping into cardboard boxes.

Peter grabbed a piece of chocolate and placed it in Dorcas' mouth before pulling her to the other side of the room. He looked once more behind him before pushing the door open, and running into the back garden, Dorcas hot on his heels. They ran through three foot high grass, giggling merrily. Peter stopped between the backyards of Madam Puddifoot's and Zonko's Joke shop, laughing when Dorcas ran passed him. "I can't believe we just did that! Oh my god." Dorcas ran backwards and started turning around, her arm raised as she twisted in the tall grass, Peter caught her in his arms as she almost fell to the ground, both their faces bright red.

He took her hand, pointing towards the front of the stores where the street was, "Do you want to get some dinner at Broomsticks? Rosemerta is so used to us being there she doesn't even yell anymore."

Dorcas cocked her head thoughtfully to the side, "I would love that."

Watching to make sure she wouldn't trip, Peter lead her through the empty streets of Hogsmade. "It's empty tonight, the streets." The hairs at the back of his neck stood up, and he had to fight the instinct to pull Dorcas back to Honeyduke's.

She glanced around and noticed that Peter was indeed correct, not a soul was in the streets. Odd considering the small village us usually bustling. "Well dinner is soon, maybe they are all inside?"

Peter surveyed the area, a sinking feeling in his stomach growing as the seconds passed. "Yeah, maybe." Pushing negative thoughts to the back of his mind, he picked up his pace, stopping short at the Three Broomsticks' entrance.

A crash, and a scream came from inside the bar causing both of them to jump. Peter squeezed her hand, pulling his wand out from his pocket. "Stay here, keep your back to the wall, and stun anything that comes towards you. Seriously, I don't care if it's a cat, just stun it."

Dorcas gripped his shoulder, "where are you going?"

He closed his eyes, kissing her softly on the cheek. "I am just going to make sure everything is ok in the bar, I swear I will be right out."

Her grip tightened on his shoulder, before letting his arm go and nodding reluctantly. "Be careful, Peter."

Peter hmmed, moving to rest his hand against the handle of the front door, his heart pounding in his chest, handle gripped stiffly in his right hand. Closing his eyes, he bit his lip before opening the door open a crack and peering inside the dimly lit bar. He gasped seeing Rosemerta crouched against the bar sobbing, a wand against her neck. Peter let his eyes fly up to the person with the wand, his breath sucking in when he recognized the person.

Bellatrix Black sneered down at the bar keep, her beautiful mouth twisted into a sinister sneer, her wand pressing hard against Rosemerta's neck. Peter flicked his eyes to the other side of the room where a man with long blonde hair was conversing with another he didn't recognize.

"Expelliarmus!" Peter groaned, his body being thrown back against the concrete floor.

"Peter!" Dorcas squealed, running over to where the boy had fallen.

"Protego!" She flung the spell over her shoulder, giving her time to skid to Peter's side, and pull him up. They looked around, realizing in horror that they were boxed in by four deatheaters.

"Corde flamme, évier trou!" Bellowed the deatheater from the left. Peter's eyes widened, as he pushed Dorcas behind himself, as whipping cords of bright blue flames flung themselves at their bodies. Dorcas grabbed his shoulders, squealing as the floor below their feet began to shake and rumble. Cracks in the ground beginning to form as the floor started to fall in on itself.

Dorcas pulled Peter down, allowing them to evade a majority of the flames. Peter winced as the flames licked his cheek, leaving a harsh burn in its wake. His hair singed. Peter gritted his teeth, "Bullentum!"

Silver bullet's shot from the end of Peter's wand, launching towards their enemy's. The tallest enemy, unlike his comrades whom ducked behind the store, laughed manically, "Mur de feu!" The silver bullets were met with an intense wall of fire, where they immediately melted into a silver pool on the floor.

Peter narrowed his eyes, "Levicorpus!" The tall deatheater was flung into the air, seemingly by an invisible rope. HIs wand fell from his hand, clambering to the floor below.

"Accio!" Dorcas grabbed the wand as it sailed towards her, snapping it in two before throwing it into the wall of fire, effectively destroying it.

"Confringo!" Peter threw the spell at the two deatheaters in front of him and Dorcas.

"Stupify!" "Tarantellegra!" The three spells discharged in the middle. Colourful sparks falling to the floor where the spells hit each other. Dorcas leapt to the right dodging a spell from a Deatheater behind her, while aiming her wand towards the one on her left. "Furnunculus!"

"Aguamenti!" Water flew from the tip of Peter's wand, wrapping tightly around the two deatheaters behind Dorcas.

Dorcas turned around, flicking her wand throwing a ball of lightning into the water surrounding the Deatheaters. "Dorcas look out!" Peter screamed, pulling her towards him and ducking, crouching over her to protect her from the oncoming bolt which had been reflected back to them. Peter staggered to his feet. Looking around he saw that the two Deatheaters had been knocked unconscious. He gave a sigh of relief.

"Relashio!" Pain flew up Peter's arm, causing him to grit his teeth. He gripped his wand tighter, refusing to let the object fall him his hand.

"Stupefy!" Peter seethed, willing the pain in his arm to go away.

The Deatheater lurched away from him, "Sectumsempra!"

Peter stood still in shock his eyes widening, That voice. Peter recognized that voice. "S… Snape?" Dorcas pulled Peter out of the way as the spell slashed passed him, missing his arm by mere inches.

"Confundo!" She snapped, the spell hitting the person square in the chest, causing him to fall over. Peter watched as the man tried to stand up but failed.

The field became quiet, both Peter and Dorcas surveying the area before running to the man hit by the confundus charm. Though a hood covered the man's face, Peter was almost certain about who it was. He ran up to the person, grabbed the wand that had fell from the persons hand to the floor, and threw it to Dorcas whom placed it in her pocket. He pulled the hood away to reveal a defiant Snape, his eyes darker than usual as he glared up at Peter from under his fringe.

"Snape, how... why... when..." Peter couldn't find the words, shock causing him to completely freeze as he stared down at his classmate of six years. Dorcas had her hand over her mouth, and was shaking her head in disbelief, unable to believe that the boy in front of her was the same person as her classmate.

Snape had the decency to look ashamed at the floor, anger gracing his features. "You and Dorcas need to get out of here, Pettigrew. You... You'll get killed if you don't."

"Finite Incantatem!" The confundus spell was lifted from Snape, and Peter pulled him up to his feet. Holding onto Snape's arm until he was sure the boy was steady on his feet.

"Peter, what... he's a deatheater!"

Peter shook his head in her direction, "He is our classmate first, Dorcas. I trust him. Besides he can't hurt us, you have his wand." Peter turned to Snape, "The Deatheaters are knocked out, Snape. Come back to Hogwarts with us, we can go to Professor Dumbledore... we can get you help."

Snape closed his eyes, shaking his head. "You can't help me, Pettigrew. Listen, you need to get out of here. If the Dark Lord comes here, if other Deatheaters come here, they will capture you and torture you. Look, I know we have had our bad times, but I won't have your death on my hands. Go, before you are seen."

"What about you!" Peter growled, pulling on Snape's sleeve. "I think you are a greasy git as much as the next guy, but that isn't a reason to have you killed, Snape. You need to come back with us."

"If I go back with you, he will kill me. Don't you understand!" Peter looked into Snape's eyes and saw fear there, but under that he saw concern. Whether it was for Peter and Dorcas' safety, or his own. Peter did not know. Snape pulled Peter closer, his breath hot in his ear as he whispered. "I will throw a spell at you, and Dorcas. Play along until I give you the signal to run, when I give you that signal, run and don't look back until you are safely in the castle. Nod if you understand me."

Peter nodded ever so slightly, gasping as he was pushing violently onto his back. Snape glared at Dorcas, his wand whipping from her back pocket and flying back into its owner's hand.

"Sectumsempra!"

"Stupify!"

The spells met and rebounded, the slashing spell backfiring and flung themselves back at Snape, who got slashed on his right cheek from the impact. Peter's spell was flung at him but he dodged just in time, the spell hitting the floor three feet behind him.

"Impendimenta!"

"Évier trou!"

The spells flew across the street, colliding with each other. The ground split spell from Snape met with Peter's and slowed down almost completely. It inched towards peter but his spell held it fast.

"Stupify! Levicorpus!"

"Protego! Mur de feu!" The force of spell slammed into Snape's shield, bending it. Peter would have been able to break the shield had the wall of flames not been called dup, effectively blocking the full force of the spells.

"PETER, WATCH OUT!" Peter turned around, just in time to see a wave of brinks tower over him and Dorcas, Snape's eyes widened in alarm, his hand going to pull Peter out of the way, but it was too late.

"Protego maxima!"

Snape whispered, his eyes scanning the pile he watched the bricks fall upon Dorcas and Peter, hoping that the impact hadn't killed them.

A crackled laugh came from behind him, and Snape jumped, his wand raised as he turned to meet the intruder. "Bellatrix, you fool. do you realize what you have done?" Bellatrix sneered at him, flicking her wand and causing the rocks to be lifted from Peter and Dorcas. They both lay upon the ground, various parts of their body bloodied, but Snape sighed in relief when he noticed that they were still breathing. "The Dark Lord is not going to be happy about this; he said not to attack those from the school."

Laughing Bellatrix threw her head back, "and what would the Dark Lord say when his new recruit was playing spell tag with said children?"

Snape's hands rolled into fists, "I didn't almost kill them! I was going to obliviate their minds, and send them back to the school. You made that impossible, they go back to the school in this condition and our cover is found out, you fool."

Bellatrix smirked, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she circled him, "then there is only one thing we can do."

Snape swallowed nervously, "and what is that?"

"We take them to Riddle Mansion." Snape froze, his eyes slipping to his classmates who where lying still against the floor. Ice cold dread running down his spine. "We bring them to the Dark Lord."

To be continued...