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In hindsight, Sirius should have seen this coming. He should have seen Peter’s growing dislike and recognised it for what it had been — the stirrings of mutiny and the seeds of betrayal. And now, he’s standing here, the town magistrate reading out his sentence with ample satisfaction.
Employed by the royal family, Sirius thinks bitterly, with a cushy paycheck to boot. He’d observed the malice glittering in the magistrate’s eyes and had concluded that the royal family had requested his services because of his special hatred of pirates. He vaguely remembers this man from when he'd been a boy and the man had had fewer grey hairs.
The crowd is roaring and jeering at him. Sirius’ wrists and ankles are bound by thick rope and his skin is slick with sweat. He stares at the platform beneath him, refusing to show any sort of reaction that could incite the magistrate or the crowd further. He’d said his piece, knowing that he’d stood no chance of a fair trial or of persuading anyone to support him. Now all he can do is wait for his sentence — but even then, he knows what’s coming. There is no mercy for people like him.
“Sirius Orion Black,” declares the magistrate, and Sirius internally winces. He’d forsaken his middle and surname a long time ago, desiring to cut ties with his father. “You are found guilty of a plethora of crimes against the Crown, including…”
As his list of charges is announced, Sirius focuses on one memory. His eyes slip shut. Amber eyes. Light brown hair. Lips, drawing nearer to his, a fluttering pulse, suggestive whispers…
I’m sorry, Moony. I’m sorry I couldn’t say goodbye…but please don’t forget me.
“...sentenced to death!” Sirius’ eyes slowly open as the crowd cheers deafeningly. But he’s strangely calm. He doesn’t fight, locking eyes with the magistrate, who gives him a nasty smile. “In twelve days.”
He doesn’t fight as he’s dragged back to his holding cell, where he will wait for death.
There had been a time when Remus hadn’t been a pirate. Another life, it feels like. But the memories remain and the act of slipping into simple clothes to go about town comes more naturally than expected. Clean-shaven, with his hair trimmed and tied behind his back, his own crew barely recognise him.
The poor and the rich both stand apart from everyone else, so Remus plans to hide within the middle class. They won’t suspect someone who walks amongst them, he’ll be unnoticeable and therefore invisible. He pulls on some glasses to complete his look, and he heads out, leaving the crew in the capable hands of his first mate, Alice.
James and Alice are figuring out the dynamics of the rescue and they’ll get a message to him soon enough, but Remus needs time on land to get situated before what he imagines to be a very publicised hanging. He’s not wrong — as he walks through the bleak town of Ozkavan, there are posters everywhere, to show that their guards had been the ones to capture the infamous Captain Black.
Remus bristles at this. Padfoot has chosen his pirate name to go by, they should at least respect that. But the authorities these days… he had made the mistake of trusting them in his youth, but… he reaches up to touch a particularly violent scar and he shudders.
He takes a deep breath before dragging his eyes away from the large poster (that really doesn’t show how utterly gorgeous Padfoot is) to the job advertisements. This board isn’t that much different than the one on Pufferfish Islet, a safe haven for pirates and there are a few various jobs. His eyes linger on one for a bookshop as he weighs up the pros and cons of working there, before he suddenly notices that the tavern is hiring.
Perfect. Taverns are an excellent source of information.
A cheerful woman — Rosmerta — greets him as he enters the tavern. It’s almost empty, being so early in the day, and within seconds, Remus realises that she’s the motherly sort and he certainly knows how to play to that. He naturally falls back into habits of his old life, appearing awkward, shy, and ‘eager to please’. Within twenty minutes he not only has the job, he also has an offer for room and board. It’s almost too easy.
For her kindness, he won’t cause trouble in her tavern.
That evening, he pins up a bland-looking leaflet on the noticeboard, alongside all of the others. The townsfolk will glance at it briefly and go about their day, but Alice knows what to look for. She knows their code which will be embedded in the words, with the secret message. She knows to look for the moon symbol on the paper to know it’s from him.
On his first day working, he’s thrilled to realise that this is the tavern that the guards frequent. They barely look his way, but they drink a lot and talk about Captain Padfoot and Remus takes everything in, because every bit of information helps. In his free time, he walks the streets, learning every road, every alleyway. He needs to be prepared for anything that could go wrong in this escape, and doesn’t want them to get stuck in some dead-end or a hastily put-together trap by the guards.
When James had approached him days ago, under some illusion that he had been Padfoot's lover of all things, Remus hadn’t been able to bring himself to refuse. He had never considered a life without Padfoot causing him trouble, and he's not about to start now. He even refuses the offered gold. James had explained how he had been childhood friends with the other captain, and Remus respected his show of loyalty, allowing James to temporarily join his crew for the duration of the mission.
He had never liked Padfoot's first mate, Peter — and if he finds the traitorous little rat who turned his Padfoot into the authorities for the bounty…
Sirius has been staring into the spyglass for twenty minutes until someone interrupts him.
“Captain–”
“James! Just the person I was looking for.” He hands over the spyglass. “Tell me, which image do you see on that flag?” He points at the ship in the distance.
James looks. He has been in Sirius’ crew for only a few months, so he is still getting used to everything. “A crescent moon?”
“Captain Moony’s flag!” Sirius takes back the spyglass and stares wistfully into the distance. It has been a while since Sirius last ran into his rival. “I wonder where he’s heading. I’d love to pay him a visit.”
“Blind Man’s Cove is that way,” James says. “I did overhear someone in his crew mentioning it when you had me spy on his first mate at the Republic of Pirates. Maybe they’re looking for treasure.”
“Must be if they dare go there with all the English ships around currently.” With a risk that great, and knowing Moony, this treasure is sure to be amazing. Sirius quickly makes up his mind. “Peter!” he yells.
Moments later Sirius’ first mate, Peter Pettigrew, walks up to meet them. “Yes?” he asks, mildly irritated. He always seems that way these days.
“Set sail for Blind Man’s Cove. We’re following Captain Moony’s ship.” He hands the spyglass over to Peter. “Tell me when we’re near. I want to change first.”
Sirius finds and puts on his most flattering outfit. He is just about finished brushing his hair when Peter comes to fetch him. The sun is at the right height in the sky, where it isn’t blinding him, but is still bright enough to make him sparkle.
But the sight which awaits him is worrying. None of Moony’s crew has gone ashore, and his ship has turned, so that it is ready to leave the cove. Still, Sirius doesn’t let this phase him.
“Captain Moony!” he yells. “It’s been a while.”
“A while since you spied on my crew at the Republic of Pirates. Sure is.” Moony leans a little over the ship. “For claiming to be my rival, you sure do follow me around a lot.”
“Basic piracy strategy,” Sirius retorts. “You have obviously found a treasure somewhere around here.”
“Have I?” Moony smirks.
Sirius regards him. “You’re bluffing.”
Moony smiles innocently. “Am I?”
Before Sirius can decide if he is or not, Moony yells at his crew to raise the anchor and they are making a swift exit. Damn, he looks good when he is doing that.
But Sirius is still angry so he crosses his arms and stomps to his cabin and mopes in silence about having wasted such a good outfit for nothing.
“Sirius Black. You have been charged, tried and convicted for willful commission of crimes against the Crown...”
Sirius rolls his head back and stares at the sun. This is going to take forever. And the rope around his neck and hands is itchy. He can probably go blind before the speech is finished.
He looks back down and blinks to make the black spots go away. At least his hanging has gathered quite the crowd. As long as it has more than Moony’s future one, everything is good.
“...the most egregious of these be cited herewith: piracy, smuggling, arson, pranking, looting, and general lawlessness.”
Sirius gives a little shake of his head. Moony really must be occupying his mind, because he swears that man in the crowd looks like him… it can’t possibly be, though. They hold eye contact and Sirius raises an eyebrow.
The man gives a little wave. Sirius blinks again, but the black spots continue to bother him. The man points to the knife at his side, then holds up the other hand, showing all five fingers, then four… three… two…
“...and for these crimes, you have been sentenced to be, on this day, hung by the neck until dead. May God have mercy on your soul.”
One…
Before Sirius has time to think, the floor disappears under him and the rope tightens around his neck. But a second later, that man in the crowd throws his knife, effectively cutting the rope and Sirius lands in the small room underneath.
The crowd is panicking and screaming, but Sirius doesn’t have time to think. One of the guards peeks down and Sirius quickly pulls him down as well, effectively knocking him out when he lands head first. Sirius cuts the rope off his hands and grabs the guard’s sword before breaking through the wall, luckily it’s easy to break through, unluckily, it leaves splinters in his skin and a cut on his forehead.
The man from before is surrounded by guards, but they break formation when Sirius comes from behind. The man uses the momentary confusion to disarm the rest. They hold eye contact for a moment, and Sirius swears there is something familiar about him. Maybe if he squints…
It suddenly dawns on him. “Moony?”
Moony smirks. “We have to go.”
He grabs Sirius’ hand and they start running, fighting their way through the crowd. Even though they are fighting for their lives, Sirius can’t stop casting glances at Moony. His beard is gone and… it’s not awful.
They have a moment to catch their breath. “What are you doing here?” Sirius demands.
“I was offered money to save your life.”
“By who? ”
Before Moony can answer, Sirius feels a sudden sharp pain from behind. He falls to his knees and clutches his stomach only to find his hand covered in blood. Sirius closes his eyes and focuses on breathing.
Something tight is wrapped around his stomach and then Moony is helping him stand up. The world is swimming worse than a storm on the sea, but they keep marching forward.
They are running down alleyways and are taking sudden sharp turns left and right until Sirius has lost complete track of where he is.
It’s after they make one last turn into a dark alleyway, that Sirius feels his mood rising.
It’s James! He is at Sirius’ side immediately and pours fresh water down his throat. “What took you so long?” James demands.
Moony raises his hand defensively. “I wasn’t expecting him to be so slow.”
Through the haze, Sirius has a gut feeling that he should be offended. “Well, sorry , next time I won’t get stabbed.” He stares between James and Moony. James must have been the one who paid Moony to save him. Well, he did a terrible job. “Supposed to save me but can’t even keep me from being stabbed,” he mumbles. “And why couldn’t you have saved me sooner? I waited twelve days. In Ozkavan of all places.”
James throws some clothes to both of them, but Moony keeps glaring at him.
“If it wasn’t for me, you’d be hanging by a rope.”
“I’d be the prettiest corpse in the world.”
“It can still be arranged.”
“So you agree I’d be a pretty corpse?”
Moony blinks, and before he can respond, James steps between them. “You two need to keep your mouths shut. Put on the disguises and get out of here.”
Sirius looks at the clothes he has been given. Now he really would rather be hanging by a rope.
“I’m not wearing this,” he announces and throws it to the ground.
“It’s the perfect disguise,” Moony says, but he’s smirking in that super annoying and not at all hot way.
“Oh, so this was your idea then?”
“Maybe.”
This time, Sirius is the one being cut off when James steps between them again. “Sirius, I put both of our lives at the hands of this very capable man, so please, take off your clothes and put on this dress.”
Sirius grumbles, but does as he is told. “You could at least have bought me a pretty dress.”
“You look lovely though,” Moony teases.
Sirius hates him.
Soon they are all in different outfits and Sirius is even wearing a large flowery hat, which covers most of his face. James is wearing what Sirius previously wore, but with a suspicious hood on top of that.
Moony, who is dressed as a gentleman, and Sirius, who is dressed as a woman in an ugly dress, walk hand in hand towards the docks without incident. The guards march right past them. Sirius tries to walk without a limp, but the pain is threatening to overtake him.
They get down to the docks where Moony exchanges pleasantries with an old man. Meanwhile, Sirius is trying his best not to pass out. Eventually Moony helps him down into an old rowboat and they take off.
As soon as they’re out of sight, Sirius takes off the stupid hat and sinks down. He is sweating all over his body, yet somehow cold. He curls up and with the gentle breeze, the rocking of the boat, and his new fever, Sirius eventually loses grip on his conscience, but at least he feels safe.
Everything hurts .
"Shh it's your fever, you'll be okay, it’ll break soon. Can you manage some soup? It'll help, then you can sleep."
Sirius knows he's dreaming because Moony is being nice and that’s very much not Captain Moony’s way. Still, he nods slightly.
A spoon presses against his lips and he opens a tired eye to see Moony sitting on the edge of the bed, clutching a bowl.
"I'm sorry I let you get hurt," Moony whispers, looking upset as he utters the words. "Eat. You'll feel better."
Sirius opens his mouth obediently. He should be wary, but Moony wouldn’t risk his own life to save him, only to poison him. Ever since their first encounter, he’s had the strangest feeling that Moony would never hurt him. But swallowing hurts. His throat hurts . The rope had tightened for only a moment, but that had been enough.
"It takes you getting stabbed and sick for you to finally listen to me," Moony teases. When a smile appears, it’s softer than Sirius has ever seen it.
"Where are we? What happened?" Sirius demands. Or, tries to demand, because his voice is weaker than it should be and even talking makes him feel tired and makes his head hurt.
"My ship. Not much, only me saving your life." Oh, there's the familiar smirk that Sirius loves. Maybe this isn't a dream after all? "You're safe now. You can stay as long as you need."
Sirius allows himself to be fed more soup, though he feels a bit ridiculous. But if he gets to see this sweet side of his Moony, he'll allow it. If his head wasn’t so foggy, he’d be trying to understand Moony’s motives a bit more.
His head spins as he tries to look around the room. The Captain’s Quarters. Moony's bedroom . Of course he hasn't fantasised about being in here, in this bed. Not at all. Though, there are more books than he imagined, and the sheets are softer too. Moony sleeps on the other side of the bed than Sirius does, which is what he’s always imagined. Or… not imagined, of course. Because he doesn’t think about Moony in bed.
Wait. Does… Does Moony…
"Space for two?" he finds himself asking, needing to know where Moony has been sleeping since Sirius has joined him in this room.
"Well, I'm the captain and I'm certainly not sleeping on the floor. I like you near me so I can check on you throughout the night and make sure you’re doing okay. Medbay is too far away for my liking,” Moony responds.
Sirius nods a little, though any movement hurts. He knows medbay is the best place for him at the moment, but it’s quite telling that Moony wants to keep an eye on him, but he needs more information. "Been here long?"
"A few days. You were running a fever when I rescued you. I'm not sure what conditions they kept you in but… well, not all your injuries are from our escape. Your health… fuck, don't you ever fucking scare me like that again, Padfoot." There’s a hint of panic to Moony’s tone which Sirius doesn’t miss.
"Sirius. It's my name." Maybe the fever is making him brave but he reaches out to grab Moony's hand.
"Remus," Moony offers softly, a beautiful smile on his lips. " Now, back to sleep so you can get better for me." He doesn’t pull his hand away, merely lets his thumb caress the back of Sirius’ hand.
"You eager to get rid of me?" Sirius asks. Not an accusation, but more a concern. Clearly Remus can see the worry on his face. He dabs at Sirius’ forehead with a wet cloth, and a few drops of water run down Sirius’ face. Sirius frowns and Remus drops the cloth back into the bowl and uses his thumb to wipe the water away.
It feels… Sirius doesn’t want this to ever end.
"You're going nowhere. You'll just get yourself killed. I guess I'm stuck protecting you."
"I suppose so," Sirius agrees. "How do you feel about co-captains?"
"Sweetheart, I think this fever is fucking with your head. Go to sleep now. I'll know you're better when you don't make ridiculous requests like that."
Sirius snorts. "Stay with me?" he asks. He doesn't want to appear weak, but doesn't want Remus to leave. Maybe he can allow himself to be vulnerable around Remus? James is the only one who has seen him vulnerable before, but…
"Of course." Remus climbs over Sirius onto the bed, and somehow Sirius finds himself curled into Remus' side, the other man's arm wrapped protectively around him. They’re cuddling and Sirius has never cuddled anyone before.
He loves it. He loves this. He loves… oh .
“Why?” Sirius finds himself whispering because money or not, Moony wouldn’t do this unless he wanted to. “Why save me? Don’t bullshit me about money.”
There’s a long pause, before…
“I’m the only one allowed to kill you,” Remus tells him, his voice dangerously quiet. He doesn’t even try to hide the possessive tone.
“It takes me almost dying to catch your attention then?” Sirius asks, feeling bold.
Remus looks down at him, his hold tightening a little as he pulls Sirius closer. Sirius can feel Remus’ warm breath on his skin and he shivers.
“You still haven’t figured it out, have you?” he asks. “Sirius, you don’t have to do anything at all to catch my attention because my eyes have never been on anyone else other than you.”
“Really?”
“Because you give me so much fucking trouble,” Remus gripes, effectively ruining — in Sirius’ opinion — what could have been a beautiful moment. “Go the fuck to sleep so you can get better and… and I can get my bed back.”
“Shut up, you love having me in here with you,” Sirius mutters, his eyes closing against his will. “It’s my bed now, too.”
“I do, but if you tell anyone that, I’ll kill you.” He makes no comment about the bed being Sirius’ too, which Sirius silently counts as a win.
“Promises promises,” Sirius murmurs, finally allowing sleep to take him.
The smell of gunpowder pervades the ship as steel clashes against steel and blood spatters the deck. The fighting is vicious — more vicious than Sirius has ever seen it. He knocks one enemy pirate aside, and another steps up to challenge him, his sword meeting Sirius’ with a frenzy of sparks. Sirius’ grin broadens — this is too easy. He parries and counterattacks, slashing at his opponent with deadly precision. He isn’t fighting to kill, but he fights until his enemy is begging for mercy.
Sirius pushes him against the railing, sword tip digging into the man’s back. “Jump,” he orders curtly, and the man wastes no time in obeying, scrambling over the side of the ship and plunging into the ocean below.
(He’ll be fine. If he’s a pirate, he should know how to swim. With luck, he’d make it back to his own ship.)
Sirius hears footsteps running towards him and he ducks just in time — a blade passes over his head, missing it by inches. While he’s on the ground, he sweeps his sword toward the enemy’s legs, intending to unbalance him, but is surprised when this man jumps back quickly.
A second later, he knows why, as amber eyes burn into him, searing and promising pain. Scars crisscross this man’s face, across the bridge of his nose, slicing through an eyebrow, and — well, his face is recognisable, because it’s been plastered on the wanted posters next to Sirius’. He should have recognised the insignia on the flag of the other ship.
Captain Moony.
Captain Moony seems to recognise him as well, his eyes narrowing. “Captain Padfoot,” he says, thrusting his sword at Sirius’ chest. Sirius backs into the railing, and he’s completely aware of the rolling waves beneath him, just waiting for another victim to swallow.
But Sirius doesn’t intend for that to happen. He needs an opening.
He lets his eyes travel languidly down Captain Moony’s body, a smirk pulling the corner of his lips up. Heat bursts in his stomach. “You’re more attractive than I thought you were,” he purrs, every syllable laced with suggestion. “Your wanted posters don’t do you justice.”
Captain Moony blinks, his cheeks colouring pink. “My wanted — what do you think you’re doing?” he sputters, and Sirius almost forgets that he’s supposed to be disarming this man.
Well, he seems plenty disarmed already.
“You’re adorable when you’re flustered.” Sirius’ voice deepens. “It’s quite a shame that I have to do this…”
Within seconds, Captain Moony’s sword clatters to the deck and Sirius has him pinned against the railing, blade at his throat. The enemy captain isn’t bleeding but his eyes are ablaze with shock and anger.
“Look at that,” Sirius murmurs, leaning in to whisper into Captain Moony’s ear, “I have you right where I want you, Captain.”
He doesn’t miss the flare of interest on the captain’s face, nor does he miss that every point where he and Captain Moony are touching is explosive. Pressed up against him, Sirius can count every freckle on his adversary’s face, pick out every long eyelash, trace his lips with his eyes…
No. No. This isn’t anything at all. They’d only just met, and the captain had almost impaled him. They’re enemies, meant to oppose each other until the end.
With tremendous effort, Sirius wrenches himself away from his captivating foe and orders, “Tell your men to retreat.”
“Retreat?” The haze clears from Captain Moony’s eyes. He glances cursorily around at the battle and seems to realise that he is outmatched. “Fine.”
A few minutes later, it’s like nothing has happened at all. Silence descends over Sirius’ ship, broken only by the moans of wounded men and the murmurs of those treating them. They’d captured a few of Moony’s men and the rest had escaped to the safety of their own ship, sailing off in the distance.
Peter joins him at the railing — the same place Sirius and the other captain had faced off. Sirius keeps his eyes firmly fixed on the horizon as his friend asks, without preamble, “Why did you let them go?”
Sirius shakes his head, mystified. He thinks of Moony’s burning eyes, and says, “I don’t know,” as his heartbeat accelerates.
Oh. Oh no.
Two weeks recovering in the Captain’s Quarters and Sirius is bored . James comes in a couple of times a day to spend time with him, but he’s found his place in the crew and has to go about his duties like everyone else. But Sirius looks forward to his time with Remus. He’s able to get to know the Pirate Captain like never before.
He’s learnt about Remus’ life before the ship, and can picture shy, teenage Remus so clearly — to think, they grew up two towns away from each other — he knows all about Remus’ mum, who Remus visits so very often (and Sirius will have to visit his future mother-in-law soon). He also knows why Remus is sailing the seas — he’s running from someone. Someone who hurt him because of who his father was.
There’s a spark there. More than a spark, a jolt of lightning big enough to light up the entire sky. That was evident from the day they met, but this is a hell of a lot more. This is him getting to know Remus, not just Captain Moony. This is knowing all the different sides of the man that has invaded his dreams since that first time they met.
Sirius has shared his own story in return. Only a few people know it, but he trusts Remus impeccably.
He sneaks to the stairs, peeking up at where Remus is issuing orders from the wheel, and Sirius takes a minute to watch. He likes these moments where he can see Remus as the captain, looking so fucking dangerous and gorgeous and…
“Are you out of fucking bed again ?” Remus spins around, blazing eyes on Sirius, as though he can tell exactly where Sirius is at that moment.
Okay. Maybe he’s not as sneaky as he had been before his injuries.
“I’m bored,” Sirius retorts.
“You’re sick and injured and you need to recover. Get the fuck back to bed before I carry you in there myself and make you stay there,” Remus orders. Bossily. Oh, and that bossy tone is hot.
“What? You’ll tie me to the bed? Pin me down?” Sirius counters, his mouth moving faster than his brain. It takes him a moment for his words to register, and there’s a moment of silence as they just stare at each other. There has been flirting, but nothing more, but this moment promises to be so much more, if one of them just uses their words. Sirius realises that if he wants this, it has to be him. He desires Captain Moony, he always has. But he’s falling so fucking hard for Remus Lupin. He’s not ever going to leave this ship, because how can he leave the man he’s fallen in love with?
“No,” Remus says. There’s a slight shake to his voice. “I’ll… I’ll remind you how being out in the cold will set back your recovery and I’ll cover you with a fucking blanket to keep you warm.” The crewmates around them are unusually silent, watching the encounter rather than following orders.
“There are other ways to keep me warm,” Sirius comments, chin jutting out defiantly.
“Don’t give me ideas,” Remus growls. The growl sends a delightful shiver through him.
“Besides… It’s a little hot in there. If I go back in, I might have to strip off entirely… but with my injuries, it might be a struggle. Care to help, Captain? ” Sirius looks up at Remus innocently.
“You little shit,” Remus mutters, storming down the stairs, his amber eyes flashing dangerously. Sexily, in Sirius’ opinion. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” He stops too close to Sirius and Sirius can count the pretty freckles that litter the other man’s skin. Oh, what he wouldn’t do just to be able to run his lips over each and every scar.
“Will you just kiss me already?” Sirius demands. He likes this flirting, but he can’t wait anymore.
“Oh, fucking gladly.” Remus grabs the front of Sirius’ shirt with a gentleness that Sirius wouldn’t have expected from the man prior to his rescue, and pulls Sirius in.
Remus’ lips claim his and Sirius’ hands wind around the other man’s neck. They hear whistles and shouts from the crew around them, but Sirius pays little attention. He’s been waiting for this moment for longer than he realises, and Remus’ lips are soft, gentle, perfect against his, and his heart is racing more than any fight or any other moment of his life.
Remus finally pulls away from the kiss, despite Sirius trying to coax him into another one.
“Now, will you behave and rest?” Remus asks, fingers softly tracing Sirius’ jaw, his lips following briefly. “Please, sweetheart.”
“Only if you come and join me soon, Luv,” Sirius murmurs. Fuck, how can he refuse when Remus looks at him like that ?
“Let me get us some lunch and then I’m all yours,” Remus promises.
“All mine,” Sirius echoes. He likes the sound of that very much. He turns to walk towards the cabin again, eager to spend time with Remus.
“They’ve just left for Black Hallows Isle,” Remus murmurs behind him, talking to someone else. Sirius supposes he’s not supposed to hear this, but he’s always had excellent hearing. “We’ll catch them as they return to their ship. I want Wormtail alive. He’ll pay for what he did to my Padfoot.”
Sirius smiles darkly. Peter will indeed pay.