[HP] Can you be gentle with me

"There's no way I'm not going out—" Peter wailed. "I'm not as good as James and you guys. If I face them, I will definitely be killed..."

He just wanted to save money to open a small shop. Who would have thought that he was still facing the threat of his life, and that person personally ordered it.

"They won't kill you," Tahlia said. "Voldemort wants you to live."

Peter nearly collapsed. "That doesn't comfort me more, Tahlia!" As he said that, he jumped up, and without knowing where the courage came from, he took out his wand and pointed it at several people in the room.

"Peter, calm down," Tahlia said.

Peter yelled hysterically. "I don't want to calm down! That person is going to kill me! How can I calm down?" As he spoke, he quickly backed away towards the door.

"Wormtail!" James yelled, but Peter didn't stop, with deep fear in his eyes, and continued to move towards the door.

Damn.

Tahlia cursed secretly, if Peter was allowed to run around outside, he would definitely be caught...

"You stay here first, okay?" she advised. "Then we'll figure out how to—"

"You can't help it!" Peter yelled. "I'm sorry, Tahlia—but you can't always do it, can you?" he murmured. "...There is not always a way..." After finishing speaking, he took a last look at the few of them, then turned around and ran out of the room quickly.

"Peter!" Tahlia said.He rushed out first, but it was too late. As soon as Peter ran out of the range where apparation was prohibited, he disappeared without a trace.

"Damn it!" James who came after him cursed. "What is this guy crazy about?"

"Now you should be worried about him getting caught, right? James—" Tahlia frowned. "If he's caught—"

"He won't say anything." James vowed. "I believe in him."

Tahlia didn't speak.

Arguing with James about the trust between friends is absolutely unjustifiable, even Lily can't win, let alone myself.

Sirius also ran out, looking outside in astonishment, there was no sign of Peter at this moment. "Is he really gone? What was he thinking!" Running out at this time is simply throwing himself into a trap...

"You better hope he doesn't get found...I'll watch out for you—" Tahlia said, also taking a few steps forward. "I have to go...James, tell Lily for me, I won't forget what I promised her." After speaking, Apparation disappeared.

Peter is missing.

Tahlia knew it wasn't the Death Eaters who had taken him, because there was no way she didn't know.

It seemed that Peter had made up his mind to hide, and he was so good at hiding that no one ever saw him again.

Of course Voldemort was very angry, and everyone suffered - even Tahlia and the others who were more appreciated by that man were not spared.

Tahlia almost thought Peter would be so successful that he could hide forever.

Soon, half a year passed, and the weather turned from hot to cold. Before I knew it, it was Halloween.

And after Tahlia was summoned by Voldemort and saw Peter standing timidly beside him, she knew it was over.

All plans were dashed.

"Tahlia, you're here." Voldemort seemed in a good mood, and waved for Tahlia to come closer. "Peter was sharing something interesting with me just now - would you like to hear it?"

"All ears." Tahlia said with her head down.

The corners of Voldemort's mouth curled up. "He said we've been looking for the wrong person all along, and that Black isn't the Potters' Keeper at all."

Tahlia looked up in feigned surprise. "Not him? I thought that Black was Potter's best friend—"

"Precisely because they are best friends, I admit that we were misled──" Voldemort said lazily, ignoring the trembling Peter on the side. "They do have some brains." He looked at Peter playfully. "You say so, my dear friend?"

"Yes... yes." Peter stammered, not daring to look at Tahlia.

She must despise herself now—

"So, Lord, do you know who the Keeper is?" Tahlia asked Voldemort without looking at Peter.

"That really surprised me, Tahlia." Voldemort let out a sudden, creepy laugh. "Who would have thought that the Keeper of Secrets would be Mr. Pettigrew next to me."

Tahlia spoke lightly. "Then Mr Pettigrew is here, obviously because he made the right decision."

"If I remember correctly, you should hate him..." Voldemort said slowly.

Tahlia put on a standard smile. "He is your guest, and I will never spoil your event because of personal grievances──" Then, he put on a puzzled look. "Let me ask, Lord, how did you find him?"

Since Peter was able to hide for half a year, he should be able to continue hiding. Why did Voldemort find him?

"I'm disappointed, Tahlia," Voldemort said. "None of you found him—Peter showed up to me by himself..."

Tahlia didn't hide her emotions for a moment, and was stunned for a moment, but fortunately for Voldemort, this reaction was quite normal. "He came here by himself...you?"

"Why don't you tell Tahlia yourself?" Voldemort didn't answer directly, but said to Peter who was almost unable to stand. "You don't need me to introduce you, do you?"

"I...I don't want to live in hiding anymore, Lo...Lord──" Peter broke out. "You, you are right──You are definitely the most... the greatest wizard──Anyone who stands in your way should be eliminated..."

Tahlia just looked at Peter flatly. "Glad you're finally seeing the truth, Pettigrew," she said. "Of course the Lord is great, I don't need you to say—"

"Okay, okay..." The satisfaction in Voldemort's words was fully revealed. "Tahlia, don't be so fierce, you will scare our dear friend—"

Tahlia nodded reluctantly.

"Now, Peter is in your hands—" Voldemort stood up slowly. "I have an appointment with the Potters..." After finishing speaking, he left the hall directly, leaving Tahlia and Peter behind.

"Tahlia, I—"

"Don't say anything." Tahlia interrupted Peter, who was speaking nervously, and turned around. "Whatever you want to say, it's too late..." After he finished speaking, he ignored Voldemort's order just now and rushed out of the hall.

At least try to stop it.

Tahlia rushed to Godric's Hollow.

But it was too late.

The house that once gave her a warm feeling was broken, as if it had been blown up by a bomb. The broken roof tiles were scattered in the courtyard that was full of beautiful flowers not long ago. It was already like this. Are James and the others still alive?

And, what about Voldemort?

Cautiously past the dead door, barely hanging there, and she saw—

With eyes wide open, James fell to the ground motionless.

Tahlia didn't know how she was feeling right now, but it definitely didn't feel right, and sadness wasn't an adequate way to describe what she was feeling right now.

But she couldn't shed a single tear, she just stared blankly at the straightforward and enthusiastic man in front of her since she was a student. It can be said that his future is bright──

But he can no longer experience it.

Tahlia took a slow step forward, pausing for a moment as she passed James, with the slightest hope that there was still someone alive in the room, but she walked through anyway.

Cautiously walked up the stairs, and then, she heard small cries──

It should be said that it was the cry of a man.

Walking a little further, she stopped at the door of a room, and the first thing she saw was Voldemort, who had terrified her once, lying on the ground in an extremely strange posture at this moment, the red eyes that had given her countless fears stared at him. His body grew big, but his body didn't move at all, as if he hadn't breathed for a long time.

Then there was a man with a woman in his arms, a woman with red hair, but Tahlia couldn't see her green eyes because they were closed and would never open again—

"What are you doing here?" The man sitting on the ground drew his wand and pointed it at Tahlia. "To finish what he didn't finish?" Pointing angrily at Voldemort's body lying on the ground.

"I won't kill you," Tahlia said quietly. "You'd better leave before anyone finds out."

Snape's face was stained with tears, and he stood up slowly.

It turned out that he was the one who cried just now, and he still cared so much about Lily, Tahlia thought bitterly.

"I won't forgive you," Snape said, his hatred evident. "never."

"You think I care?" Tahlia raised an eyebrow. "You won't want to meet me, trust me—get out of here before I change my mind."

Snape gave her one last look that would never let go, and left.

Tahlia quietly looked at Lily lying on the ground.

She's a smart woman, very smart -- but she's not immune to death either.

There was no point in hiding for over a year, they were still dead, but...how could Voldemort...?

Was it Lily's counterattack before she died?

There was a sudden movement in the crib further inside, Tahlia's eyes were drawn to it, and when she got closer, she found it was Harry.

Those eyes looked at him blankly, and his head was slightly tilted. If Tahlia hadn't just learned about his parents' departure, he would definitely find this expression extremely cute.

So Harry wasn't killed by Voldemort.

A thin thread of blood slid down his forehead, and Tahlia noticed a lightning-shaped wound on the otherwise smooth forehead.

Seeming to have finally sensed that something was wrong, little Harry started to cry, and after a while when he realized that his parents hadn't come to comfort him, he cried even louder.

Gently picking him up, Tahlia stared blankly at Harry who was still crying but in a softer voice.

What is going on?

Voldemort failed to kill the child?

It is absolutely impossible that he suddenly felt compassion when facing the little baby, he has no such thing at all.

So what's going on?

"Ask you and you don't know, do you?" Tahlia murmured to Harry.

There was a sudden sound of collision downstairs, Tahlia's eyes became sharp, and she moved to a corner of the room with Harry in her arms, holding her wand tightly in her hand.

Voldemort disappeared.

And what she has to do now is to keep the agreement with Lily—to take care of Harry.

So, whoever came up, if he wanted to harm Harry...

"Ahhhh──"

The mournful cry revealed the identity of the person who came, it was Sirius, but Tahlia did not go downstairs, but stood there quietly, maybe he would need some time to digest the fact that his best friend had died .

It was a long time before she heard Sirius' footsteps going up the stairs, very slowly, and seemed very vigilant.

Tahlia really wanted to just rush out and tell him that if Voldemort was still alive, it would be too late for him to remember to be on the alert, but she didn't do that, and besides, she was the one staying here now, and she wouldn't pose any threat to him at all— ─

"Expelliarmus (expelliarmus)."

Red light flashed.