Seventh Horcrux

Harry was going to see to it that he finally paid.

"Where are you?" he snarled, enraged. A slight noise caused him to spin and blast a spot on the ground, but still Wormtail didn't reappear.

"You coward. You've always been a coward. You never deserved their friendship," he said, panting.

He was met with silence. He stalked around the area, c.h.e.s.t heaving and clenching his teeth as he tried to control his anger.

After several moments, a raspy voice from somewhere on the other side of the one remaining wall startled him. "Will you put down your wand and listen to me for a moment? If you won't listen, then I can just disappear once again."

"What do you have to say that I would possibly want to hear?" Harry asked, slowly inching along the wall and preparing to strike when he reached the end.

"I want to discuss a common enemy," Wormtail replied, his voice wavering.

"'A common enemy,' is it now?" Harry asked. He was almost there, just a few steps more. "Have you earned Voldemort's disfavor, Wormtail? He's your enemy now, is he?"

"No! I didn't mean the Dark Lord," Wormtail squeaked, sounding panicked. "I'm talking about Snape."

"Snape?" Harry asked, stopping dead in his tracks. "What about him?" He momentarily forgot his rage and hatred of Wormtail as he heard the name of the man he loathed above any other, save Voldemort. Snape had killed Dumbledore in cold blood, and he'd helped to kill Sirius. There was no doubt in Harry's mind, and he was going to see to it that he paid.

"Yes, I thought that might interest you," Wormtail said as he slowly scurried around from behind the wall and came face-to-face with Harry. Both held their wands on one another, although neither made a move to cast a spell. Wormtail's eyes darted rapidly, and he appeared ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.

Harry was momentarily tempted to simply curse him anyway, but his curiosity about Snape was overpowering that impulse. Still, Ron's words from long ago arose in his mind.

Throw your wand away and punch him in the nose.

Harry drew back his fist and did just that. Wormtail's head snapped back, and he fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding nose as he scrambled away from Harry.

"Be glad that's all I did," Harry spat, shaking out his split knuckles.

"I thought you'd want to discuss Snape," Wormtail said, sniffling.

"What about him?" Harry repeated.

"He's gained great favor with the Dark Lord for killing Albus Dumbledore. There isn't a plan underway that he isn't involved in or at least aware. Where the Dark Lord once trusted many, he now trusts only one," Wormtail spat, bitterness unmistakable in his voice as he dabbed at his still-bleeding nose and rose to his feet.

Harry watched him warily, seeing red when he so casually mentioned Professor Dumbledore's demise. "Voldemort doesn't trust anyone. You're the fool if you believed that, and Snape is a fool now to think he won't turn on him in an instant when his usefulness has expired. You're not his friends but his servants, nothing more."

"You underestimate the benefits of the Dark Lord's favor," Wormtail replied reverently.

"I underestimate nothing. I know exactly what he's all about," Harry said coldly.

"I once stood in that spot of great favor," Wormtail said, puffing out his c.h.e.s.t and raising his chin defiantly.

"Yeah, I remember; you lost your hand over it. So what? Now you've been bumped down a spot, Wormtail? Being replaced not sitting well, is it? What do you want me to do about it?" Harry asked incredulously.