They had never taught me any magic, never even mentioned to me they thought I was magical. Maybe, after I went back to bed, they decided it would be too dangerous. Or maybe they forgot. Or maybe I just dreamed the whole conversation. I find the last option to be very improbable, as it seemed so real to me.
“Hermione?” Lupin asked, dragging me out of my reverie.
“What? I wasn’t listening,” I said, tearing myself away from memories of my past.
“There’s something Sirius and I need to do tonight. So we’re going to leave you alone here, do you think you can handle it?” he asked, and I noticed he seemed for more nervous than usual.
“I’ll be fine,” I said, as I had held down the fort, as it were, while the two of them went out many times. “What do you have to do?”
They exchanged looks. Lupin seemed to warn Sirius with his eyes, but I got the distinct impression Sirius didn’t care what Lupin thought.
“We’re getting rid of Wormtail once and for all,” was all Sirius said, and I nodded. I’d learned long ago the treachery and betrayal which had allowed Wormtail to attain his current level of prestige and power. Lupin nodded at Sirius, and I thought I saw a relieved look on his face.
“Be careful,” I said, as they prepared to leave, “and good luck.”
“We’re going to need it,” Lupin said, and the two of them walked out the door.
‘Getting rid of Wormtail?’ I thought after they left. Did that mean they were going to kill him? I really didn’t think it was possible. How could they kill their best friend?
“Well,” I said to myself, “Actually, he’s their ex-best friend.” And with a slight pang, I remembered the night Sirius had told me what Wormtail had done to gain such respect.
It was Halloween, just a few months after Sirius took me in. I had so many questions, many of which I was still too afraid to ask. But on this night, I could see the sadness in his eyes, the utter depression with which he flipped through his old photo album; I knew I had to say something.
“Sirius?” I asked, my voice trembling slightly as I gently laid my arm on his. “What are you looking at?”
“Oh, these are just some old pictures,” he sighed, and started to close the book.
“Pictures of what?” I asked. I was being persistent. I wanted so much to know the past of this mysterious man who cared enough to take me. The words Remus had spoken to him on that first night haunted me. Why was he first on Wormtail’s list? What had he done?
I suppose he sensed my eagerness, and when he looked into my eyes, I suppose he could see my compassion. And so, he began to tell me. He opened the book, and pointed to a picture of four boys, looking to be about my age.
“That’s me,” he said, pointing to a boy with shaggy black hair and eyes as dark as night, “and my three best friends. Remus Lupin, you already know,” he said, pausing before he went on to the boy with messy black hair, thick glasses, and knobby knees. “That,” he said, with a deep sigh, “is the best friend I ever had, James Potter.”
I had figured that they were friends, from the way that Lupin and Sirius spoke about James, and about his son, Harry.
But there was one figure remaining. One who almost looked like-?
“Wormtail?” I gasped, pointing to the chubby boy with a rat-like face.
“Exactly,” said Sirius, and odd tone coming into his voice, “The back-stabbing little conniver was the fourth of our foursome, the smallest and meekest, the follower and never the leader, and eventually the traitor.”
I stared at Sirius, wordless in my astonishment. “Traitor?” I asked, breathlessly, beginning to see how Wormtail gained his title and respect.
“When James learned that he and his wife, Lily, were Voldemort newest targets, he took special measures to protect them and their little son, Harry. But sweet, meek, ratty Peter betrayed them. He turned them over to Voldemort. He gave up his best friends for his own power. Remus and I will never forgive him.”
He said this last sentence with such an air of finality that I did not press further. And now, it seemed, he and Remus were setting out to finally avenge the lives of their dearest friend, his wife and child, and the whole world.