The 1981 Sirius vs. Peter Showdown
Feb. 7th, 2025 08:43 pmAs much as it has to recommend it, the idea that Sirius threw a curse and Peter blocked it and detonated his own exploding curse a split-second later, convincing both witnesses and Sirius himself that Sirius had killed Peter, requires awfully good timing. Which we can’t rule out: when Remus transformed in PoA, we saw Peter seize the opportunity immediately, without hesitation, to transform and escape. He does have quick reflexes.
But what about this?
Peter yells, “Lily and James! How could you!”
The very absurdity of the accusation makes Sirius pause for just the briefest “WTF? Is he mad? Could we both have been set up by someone else? Wait, no, he’s the Secret-Keeper.” He sees that Peter is scrabbling for something behind his back, raises his own wand…
…and then, before he’s actually fired off his curse, the street blows up.
What do you know, Moody was right. It is dangerous to keep your wand in your back pocket. Wormy’s lost a lot more than a buttock, though! Sirius breaks down in hysterical laughter.
When the Hit Wizards and Aurors show up, he’s still laughing. He doesn’t defend himself, because why bother? He doesn’t need to hunt down Peter for revenge; Peter’s taken care of that for him. Voldeort is dead..ish? Whatever, gone, no more need to worry about him. Dumbledore won’t let him raise Harry, who has relatives and doesn’t need him. Lily is dead. James is dead. What’s left to live for? And in a way, Wormy was right. Sirius agreed to the Secret-Keeper switch, maybe even thought of it in the first place. His overconfidence and downright stupid oversight in not realizing Wormy was the traitor delivered his friends into Voldemort’s hands. It kind of is his fault that they’re dead. Maybe he deserves Azkaban.
Thoughts?
But what about this?
Peter yells, “Lily and James! How could you!”
The very absurdity of the accusation makes Sirius pause for just the briefest “WTF? Is he mad? Could we both have been set up by someone else? Wait, no, he’s the Secret-Keeper.” He sees that Peter is scrabbling for something behind his back, raises his own wand…
…and then, before he’s actually fired off his curse, the street blows up.
What do you know, Moody was right. It is dangerous to keep your wand in your back pocket. Wormy’s lost a lot more than a buttock, though! Sirius breaks down in hysterical laughter.
When the Hit Wizards and Aurors show up, he’s still laughing. He doesn’t defend himself, because why bother? He doesn’t need to hunt down Peter for revenge; Peter’s taken care of that for him. Voldeort is dead..ish? Whatever, gone, no more need to worry about him. Dumbledore won’t let him raise Harry, who has relatives and doesn’t need him. Lily is dead. James is dead. What’s left to live for? And in a way, Wormy was right. Sirius agreed to the Secret-Keeper switch, maybe even thought of it in the first place. His overconfidence and downright stupid oversight in not realizing Wormy was the traitor delivered his friends into Voldemort’s hands. It kind of is his fault that they’re dead. Maybe he deserves Azkaban.
Thoughts?