Harry Potter and Gryffindor's Legacy

Chapter 1: Sirius' Surprise

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Peter Pettigrew looked up, startled. He had been hard at work, pouring over the hundreds of dusty volumes that were Voldemort's library. His searching had been interrupted by a small clinking noise, almost as though something had fallen on the cold cement floor. His watery black eyes scanned the racks of books, trying to decipher what had made the noise. He had thought he was alone... then again, maybe he just dropped something. He looked down at the floor beside his great mahogany desk, where he found the lid to his inkwell. 'Maybe I just bumped it off,' he thought. He reached down, picked it up, and placed it somewhere where he wouldn't accidentally knock it off again. He sighed softly and bent over the desk, once again lost within the crackled yellow pages.

The book he was studying was about ancient potions. It was really very tedious and dull, but Pettigrew was fearful of his master's terrible temper, and it was that thought that kept him going. Although he was no stranger to the Cruciatus curse, he was not very fond of it. When Voldemort had told him to find the Nullificus Draught, he had said yes and ran down here as fast as his short, chubby legs would carry him. He knew very little of the draught, only that it was very powerful dark magic. One of the earlier books he had discovered had shed a little more light on the subject, but he doubted it was what Voldemort needed to know. The book had told him that the Nullificus Draught was a potion discovered by Salazar Slytherin, back in 1090. When ingested, it rendered the drinker completely devoid of magical powers. Permanently. It was made illegal shortly afterwards, in 1092, and the recipe had been confiscated by Godric Gryffindor. When he tried to destroy it, he discovered that Slytherin had placed a charm of indestructibility on it, so he placed it under unknown protective charms to keep anyone else from discovering it. It was forgotten until a few months ago, when Voldemort discovered it in one of Salazar Slytherin's memoirs. Unfortunately for Voldemort, the recipe was not written with the description. Seeing this as a possible route for that detestable Potter's destruction, he had sent Pettigrew to find out all he could about it.

The problem was that he didn't think that any clues as to the potion's whereabouts would be in the dark volumes that Voldemort owned. He supposed that he would just have to tell Voldemort this. He frowned, thinking of his master's fondness and definite skill for torture. 'Maybe,' he thought, 'I could convince him that I could sneak into the library at Hogwarts and find it there.' He shut the book with strengthened resolve, and made to put away his ink and quill when he heard a rustling from the other end of the library. He jerked up, trying desperately to find where the noise had come from. Just as he was about to reach for his wand, a sharp voice yelled, 'Stupefy!,' and he fell back, unconscious.

In the shadows of the dungeon library, a tall, dark figure smiled to himself. He strode forward, to the unconscious body of Peter Pettigrew. 'Filthy rat,' he whispered, looking disdainfully at the fat, balding man lying on the floor. 'Now to get him back,' the man thought for a second, and then, 'Mobilicorpus,' and the still form of Peter Pettigrew rose slowly into the air, where it hung, moving slowly up and down. The man moved his wand, and Pettigrew followed, as though millions of invisible ropes were connecting the wand to the unconscious Pettigrew. The man smiled- it was always amusing to use this spell, the way the bodies hung grotesquely, obeying the directions of the commander's wand. He moved away from the desk, leading Pettigrew to an open space in the library. With a small *pop*, the two disappeared.

Dumbledore looked out at the group assembled before him in his spacious office. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, who were conversing quietly with Arabella Figg and Mundungus Fletcher, occupied the sofa by the window. Arabella and Mundungus were sitting in two strait-backed chairs facing them, but in such a way that they could easily turn around and face Dumbledore when he began to speak. He had told Sirius, at the end of last term, to find these two and bring them together to aide in the immanent fight against Voldemort and his followers. The group would be powerful allies, and he needed them together. Also sitting in his office was Minerva McGonagall. She was sitting quietly, off from the group, not really paying attention to anyone else in the office. She stared out the window, seemingly anxious for someone or something to appear. Dumbledore knew she was worried about her fellow Professor, Severus Snape. Severus had left early that morning at the call of Lord Voldemort. Snape had turned spy in the days right before Voldemort's downfall, and was back at his old job, trying to keep Dumbledore informed of the dark lord's movements. He had been gone over six hours now, and, truth be told, even Dumbledore was feeling the beginnings of worry.

Minerva sighed softly.

'I'm sure he's just fine, Minerva,' Dumbledore spoke, breaking her reverie, and correctly interpreting her worried expression. 'Voldemort is strong, but Severus can hold his own, and I'm sure he'll be back very soon.'

Minerva turned, amazed at how the kindly old man before her seemed to be able to read minds, and nodded, giving him a wan smile. 'I know,' she replied, 'I just wish he would get back soon.' Dumbledore nodded his assent, and Minerva turned back to the window.

At the sound of footsteps on the stairs outside Albus Dumbledore's office, all voices stopped. Everyone turned to the door, waiting to see who would enter. The footsteps stopped, the door opened, and a tall, dark robed man entered the office. As he walked forward, another figure appeared, hanging, apparently lifeless, a short distance from the man's outstretched wand. The man reached up, and pulled down his own hood, revealing the oily black hair, hooked nose, and sallow complexion of Severus Snape.

He smiled evilly and walked to the centre of the office, still the focal point of all that were in the room. The still bouncing form of Peter Pettigrew followed him, but as his hood was still up over his head, none of the people in Dumbledore's office knew who it was. 'Look at who I found,' Severus said, lowering Peter's hood. All six of the people in Dumbledore's office stood, jaws dropped, obviously shocked at whom they saw suspended before them.

Sirius Black jumped and let out an almighty whoop as he recognised Peter Pettigrew.

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Yep - it's short, but the rest are longer. This is just a test chapter to see how well you enjoy it - if you like it, leave a review!