This is the sequel to Moony Forever. I didn't mean to do this, but I just couldn't help myself. Sorry. By the way, Remus Lupin is narrating. P.S. I thank Blaise, WeasleyTwin2, and Kate S. for my inspiration.
"Drat," I mumbled as I watched the great tawny owl settle in my chair. It hooted loudly, and I walked over to it, grinning.
"Wonder what Harry did now," I said to the owl. The owl was Snape's, and I had recognized it instantly. Lately, since he'd forgiven me and Harry (and vice versa), he'd gotten into the habit of sending me reports of Harry's misdeeds. I could definitely see a lot of James in Harry, and his mischievous tendencies were equal to those of his father. His friends too, were good in the mischief-making department, and I was beginning to wonder if the trio was going to break mine and Sirius's record for the most detentions (James had always managed to talk his way out of trouble, and would've done the same for me and Sirius, but we were going for a record, and we got our wish). I opened the letter and began to read Snape's evenly spaced handwriting.
"That's just irritating sometimes," I grumbled as I began to read. Sorry, but Snape's impeccably neat handwriting was just like his perfectly neat little life, and it just got aggravating sometimes. But these thoughts were quickly forgotten as I read.
Remus, he's back. He appeared at Hogwarts two days ago, trying to get to Harry. I was with Harry, and he left, but we all know that he'll be back. We're trying to keep track of Harry at all times, but you know how stubborn he can be. Hagrid won't be back for a least a month, and Sirius is gone, trying to track down Pettigrew, so I think it might be a good idea for you to come up here. Harry listens to you, at least more than he does to the rest of us. Hope to see you at Hogwarts as soon as possible.
Severus Snape
"Oh no." I dropped the letter to the floor. The last time I'd met up with Lord Voldemort I had barely survived, and now...
"I have to go," I said, my voice loud in the silent room. "And whatever happens, happens." Because there was more to my reluctance to go than just fear for myself. The last time Voldemort had almost managed to hypnotize me into helping him, and I wasn't sure, even now, if I could hold up against him again. But I would try.
..........................................................................................................................................
"Hi, Severus," I said tiredly. My old enemy and new friend had been standing in the front hall, waiting for me.
"You up to this?" he asked, looking worriedly at me. I couldn't help but smile at his apparent concern. Only a few months ago he would have been quite pleased to have seen me in this condition.
"What are you grinning about?" he demanded.
"I was just thinking about how this is quite a change from just a few months ago." He wagged a finger at me.
"Well, don't get used to it. And don't make me mad. I've got a very short temper these days, what with You-Know-W-, oh fine, Voldemort, about."
"And I don't blame you there," I assured him.
"You would if you were in my Potions class," Harry said, walking toward us. "He's given four detentions today, and three of those were to Slytherins!"
"Who was the other one?" I asked shrewdly.
"Me. Who else?"
"Well, Potter, if you would quit trying to sneak away from all the teachers I wouldn't have to give you detention to keep track of you," Snape protested. Harry rolled his eyes, and I turned away, hiding a smile.
"It's not funny!" Snape whined. That was too much for Harry. He cracked up, and I couldn't stop myself from grinning. Severus gave us a highly affronted look, which only made Harry laugh harder.
"Potter, if you don't stop laughing this minute, you're going to be in detention for the rest of your time in this school! And I'll do it!" Such a dire threat made Harry stop laughing almost instantly. Then he grinned mischievously.
"You won't, Professor. Because if you did, you'd take away my only reason for ever being good." Snape sighed.
"See how hard it is to win an argument with him?" he asked me. I nodded.
"Yep. And after seeing this, I'm extremely glad he's Sirius' godson instead of mine."
"I don't blame you there. But maybe we should go on up to Dumbledore's office. All the other teachers are already up there."
"Okay, well, if this is a staff meeting, I guess I better just be going," Harry said slyly, and started for the door. He didn't get far, though.
"I don't think so, Potter. You'll be coming with us," Severus informed him. Harry grumbled, but he walked alongside us as we headed for the headmaster's office.
"Sit," Severus ordered as we walked into the office, summoning chairs for the three of us. I sank gratefully into the chair as Dumbledore addressed the gathering.
"As you probably know," he began, "Voldemort has already expressed his intent to capture Harry. That is our main concern. I have reason to believe that should Lord Voldemort succeed in capturing Harry, nothing could stop him. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to keep Harry under watch for as long as Voldemort remains a threat. Sorry, Harry," he added as he saw the disgusted look on Harry's face.
"Oh well," Harry said resignedly. "Looks like the mischief makers are out of commission for a while."
"You got that right," Snape said fiercely. "You'll be going nowhere without one of us with you."
"Um, actually I don't think it's a good idea for Harry to be around me," I said timidly. Everyone turned to stare at me.
"Why on earth not?" Minerva McGonagall demanded. I sighed, and only reluctantly began my explanation.
"Last time Voldemort was here-" everyone winced at the name "-I was alone with Harry at one point when we went for Albus. Voldemort almost succeeded in hypnotizing me that time, and would have, without Harry's timely intervention. He knows my weaknesses very well, and I can't - and won't - put Harry at risk because of my own weakness." There was a stunned silence.
"Well, I'm curious," Flitwick admitted. "What could he be holding over your head? Because I won't hesitate to say that you're probably the best of us, excluding Albus and Harry possibly, at Defense Against the Dark Arts." There were nods of agreement. I stared at the floor for a moment, trying to steady my voice. I failed. I glanced up at Snape pleadingly, and he nodded slightly.
"We all know what Lupin is. And that is his weakness. Voldemort, last time, was offering him a cure. I'm not sure whether he was telling the truth, but if he is... If he is, it'll be Lupin's downfall. He'd give anything to not have to worry about hurting anyone any more."
"Remus," Flitwick demanded, "is that the truth?"
"Yes," I said coolly, my emotions fully in check at last. "Totally. Absolutely. As I explained to Severus, if I hadn't been a werewolf, I would have been with Lily and James that night."
"You'd just have died with them." McGonagall said what was probably on the minds of everybody in the room.
"Maybe. But as you just pointed out, I've always had a talent for Defense Against the Dark Arts." I laughed bitterly. "Maybe the Dark Arts can tell it's own kind."
"That'll be enough, Remus," McGonagall said sternly.
"Why? You all know I'm telling the truth. Don't tell me you've never considered me being working with Voldemort."
"Moony, that's enough," Harry snapped, his voice ringing with power. Obediently I slumped back into my chair.
"Sorry," I whispered faintly. "I don't know what came over me."
"I do," Dumbledore put in. "You see, in that room-" he pointed at a door leading to the next room - "are three dementors. I needed to know your weaknesses and this way I could learn what I needed to know quickly. I told Harry my intentions, and he gamely agreed to help me. I instructed the dementors to focus on one person at a time, and you can see their affect on Remus there." Now that I had learned this had all been a stupid test, I started getting mad. So did everyone else.
"You're saying this was all just a stupid test?!" Snape exploded. "That's ridiculous! Absurd! And subjecting Potter to that, you ought to be ashamed of yourself."
"He didn't make me. I offered," Harry insisted. "Because you can't keep me in a cage forever, and when Voldemort catches me-" it hurt that he said when not if "-he's probably gonna have some dementors with him. It makes sense that he would try to use them on me."
"They won't catch you," I hissed fiercely. "Not with me around."
"Remus, really. You can't protect me forever."
"I can try." He smiled, but it was a sad kind of smile.
"Just don't go crazy over it. I've already lost too many people close to me. Don't make me lose any more." That's when I heard an evil-sounding chuckle.
"Very sweet, Potter. Just hope you meant that." I took one look at the man who slowly appeared in front of us; he'd been invisible.
"Peter." It wasn't a question. It was a simple statement of the fact. Everyone gawked at him.
"It's really him," Flitwick said, sounding rather dazed.
"Of course it's him. Who else would it be? What does Voldemort want this time, Wormtail?" He advanced on us, pointing his wand right at me.
"Why, you, naturally. Sirius is out of reach at the moment, and by my master's way of thinking, the only other person we could use as bait for Potter is you." I tensed, and slowly stood up.
"Me, huh? Well, well. I would have thought he'd learned that werewolves are quite difficult to kill by now."
"Oh, he doesn't want to kill you, Remus. He just wants you to join us."
"Dream on, rat."
"If you're going to be like that, then I suppose I haven't got a choice but to take you back by any means necessary. I warn you, Remus, it won't be pleasant if I have to force you."
"Never thought it would be. And I'm warning you, Wormtail. If your master's plan is to use me as bait for Harry, he can dream on. Severus won't let him come."
"Then we'll just kill you, and have one less enemy to worry about."
"Good for you. I have to admit, you've got guts, because you've seen me at my worst. And I'll be the first to admit that my worst is certainly not pretty. But it'll be the day indeed when you can beat me in a duel."
"Voldemort has powers you never will. Since I joined him, he's taught me quite a bit."
"Wonderful. Yay. Quit messing around, Peter, and get down to business. Didn't the boss say any means necessary?" He glared at me hatefully, and I returned the look.
"Lupin, what do you think you're doing?" Snape demanded. I didn't bother to answer. My entire focus was on Peter.
"What you waiting for?" I taunted. "Scared, Peter? That's why you were always the weakest of the four of us. You could never make a choice on your own. You let everyone tell you what to do, even me and Sirius. I bet it didn't take much to make you turn your back on us. I doubt that you ever had any second thoughts. Surprising, though, that Voldemort didn't try and get Sirius on his side. He was far more powerful. I suppose Voldemort was smarter than I gave him credit for. He knew that we'd never suspect you. And we didn't."
"Stop it!" he yelled at me. I smiled triumphantly. Peter had always been insecure, and I was using that to my advantage.
"Stop it, or I'll curse you right now!" I sat back down in my chair and looked innocently up at him.
"Stop what, Peter?"
"That! What you're doing right now. You're trying to hypnotize me, and it won't work!"
"Why won't it?"
"You're the weak one," he shouted at me in an out-of-control panic. "You're the werewolf!"
"And I'm not likely to forget it. You made sure of that when we were in school, didn't you, Peter?"
"I'll kill you!"
"So? I thought the purpose of this was to bring me back alive."
"It was," Peter answered, but the he sounded somehow uncertain. "No matter, I don't care what the boss says, I'm taking you down anyway." He pointed his wand directly at me, and looked like he was seriously considering blowing me to smithereens. Which would have been just great.
"Remus, what are you doing?" McGonagall asked, almost frantic.
"At the moment, not much."
"Be serious!"
"For me, this is serious."
"Moony," Harry howled, sounding scared to death. I momentarily felt guilty for not being able to tell him what I already knew. Because Peter was a coward at heart, and I had always been able to beat him in a duel. At the same time, I was also glad Harry didn't know or understand the rest of the plan. Talking about Lily and James at the best of times was painful, and now, with dementors so close by, the effects on both Peter and myself would be devastating. But if that was what it took, then so be it.
"Hey, Peter, looks like you've run out of friends," I snickered. He stared at me. "I mean, Lily and James were the ones who always protected you, even from me and Sirius. But with them gone, looks like you haven't got anyone left to run to."
"No," he whimpered, not really realizing what he was saying. "It was all my fault."
"'Course it was, Peter. You betrayed them, not Sirius. And then you let poor, innocent Sirius rot in Azkaban while you roamed free."
"No, I didn't mean to. I just wanted... I didn't want to!"
"But you did," I prompted. Already I was feeling the effects of the dementors, and apparently so was Peter. But I didn't have him where I wanted him, not yet.
"I - I didn't. I wouldn't."
"You did, though. After all James did for you..." I took my mind off my own troubles by watching Peter. He was panicking, backed up against a wall, looking around, desperate to escape. Good.
"No, no, no," he mumbled in a not quite steady voice, and suddenly he whipped around and pointed his wand at me. And I realized that for all my careful planning, it had gone terribly wrong. The effects of the dementors, both on Peter and myself, had been too strong. Peter had totally flipped out, and now he was downright dangerous. There was no telling what he would do. As for myself, I had only averted disaster this long by sheer willpower. But there was no telling how long I could keep it up.
"For Prongs," I muttered under my breath. "Freak out later." I raised my wand, and pointed it at Wormtail. I mumbled a spell, remembering with reluctance the only time that spell had been used on me. I watched impassively as Pettigrew was bound hand and foot. Snape glanced over at me, and nodded slightly, and I knew he was remembering the end of Harry's third year, too. And suddenly I realized what catching Peter really meant. Sirius would be free. Well, he'd been free before, but now there could no longer be any doubt as to his loyalties.
It was my own fault. I was so preoccupied with my own thoughts that I was paying very little attention to Peter. The only thing I remember was hearing Peter laughing crazily, and knowing that finally, finally, he had won.
.......................................................................................................................................
I opened my eyes and groaned. I had a monstrous headache, and as I looked around the room, I realized I was still in Dumbledore's office. Severus was kneeling beside me.
"What's going on?" I asked weakly.
"Remus?" Snape said, sounding quite surprised. I sat up and looked at him.
"Yes. I'm awake. You sound surprised."
"I am. He got you good back there." Snape's words instantly brought back the memories of the last five minutes. Peter.
"He got free, and then snuck up on your blind side. Knocked you out," Severus finished.
"How's Harry?" I demanded, not really wanting to hear the answer, yet knowing I had to.
"He's okay," Snape assured me. "After Pettigrew took you out, Harry tied up the rat and put a freezing charm on him. Personally, I would've strangled him instead, but you know..."
"Yeah. I do. Much better than you think." But Snape sounded preoccupied. That was weird. I stood up slowly, and Severus steadied me.
"Careful," he scolded, but again I felt I didn't have his complete attention. I scanned the room, looking for whatever held Snape's focus. And I found it. Fudge, the Minister of Magic, was standing over Peter, looking concerned. I walked over to him, with Severus following behind. As I came toward him, Fudge glanced over at me.
"Who did this?" he asked.
"Someone with quite a bit of luck," I remarked.
"You got to be kidding!" came the stunned reply. "Release this man at once! He's done nothing wrong."
"He was working for Voldemort," I explained patiently.
"I don't care. Release him. And I intend to get the person who tied him up like that. Send `em to Azkaban." I was stunned. Snape was wearing a similar expression.
"I did it, sir," Harry said quietly. Everyone in the room turned to look at him.
"Ignore him," Dumbledore said loudly to Fudge, and then called all the professors to him, Snape and me included.
"We can't let Fudge take him to Azkaban," Albus said quickly.
"Certainly not!" Minerva exclaimed. Everybody else nodded agreement.
"But the only way to get Harry out of it would be to say one of us did it," Flitwick interrupted.
"Exactly," I said slowly. "It has to be me."
"No," Harry snapped. "You can't. You saw the effect the dementors had on you!"
"He'll believe I did it," I continued, ignoring Harry's protests. "It's what he wants to believe. I am a werewolf, after all."
"That doesn't matter," Harry wailed.
"Shut up, Harry," I said tensely. "Don't make this harder than it has to be." I turned my attention to the rest of the staff. "I'll do it. If I'd been paying attention Peter would not have gotten the jump on me, and Harry wouldn't be in this mess at all. Besides, there's a full moon in a week."
"So what?" McGonagall said, but Albus had already figured it out.
"He means that when he changes into the wolf, he should be able to get out of Azkaban and swim back. By then Fudge will have realized how stupid he was to send Remus there at all, and everybody goes home happy."
"I don't go home happy!" Harry exclaimed. I turned on him.
"Look, it's your sanity I'm trying to save. You've never been to Azkaban, so you don't know. You can't know. But I can tell you, it's the most awful place I've ever seen. Most prisoners go mad within a week. And even if I do go crazy in there, it won't be a big loss. But if we lost you, it could mean the difference between life and death for all of us. We've all disobeyed Voldemort more than once by refusing to join him, and if he comes back, do you think he'll leave me alone? I refused him when he was in power all those years ago, and I've done the same today. I'll probably be the first he comes after. I'm dangerous to him, and more than that, it probably cost him quite a bit of pride, to be beaten at his own game by a werewolf." There was a long moment in which no one moved. I took advantage of the moment to walk over to Fudge.
"You want to know who tied up Peter? I did. And I'd do again in a heartbeat." He stared at me, then quickly regained his composure.
"Guards," he yelled, and three dementors came striding toward me. They escorted me to the door, where Albus was waiting.
"It's a very brave thing you're doing," he told me.
"Let's just hope it isn't a stupid thing too."
.............................................................................................................................................
"Drat," I mumbled as I watched the great tawny owl settle in my chair. It hooted loudly, and I walked over to it, grinning.
"Wonder what Harry did now," I said to the owl. The owl was Snape's, and I had recognized it instantly. Lately, since he'd forgiven me and Harry (and vice versa), he'd gotten into the habit of sending me reports of Harry's misdeeds. I could definitely see a lot of James in Harry, and his mischievous tendencies were equal to those of his father. His friends too, were good in the mischief-making department, and I was beginning to wonder if the trio was going to break mine and Sirius's record for the most detentions (James had always managed to talk his way out of trouble, and would've done the same for me and Sirius, but we were going for a record, and we got our wish). I opened the letter and began to read Snape's evenly spaced handwriting.
"That's just irritating sometimes," I grumbled as I began to read. Sorry, but Snape's impeccably neat handwriting was just like his perfectly neat little life, and it just got aggravating sometimes. But these thoughts were quickly forgotten as I read.
Remus, he's back. He appeared at Hogwarts two days ago, trying to get to Harry. I was with Harry, and he left, but we all know that he'll be back. We're trying to keep track of Harry at all times, but you know how stubborn he can be. Hagrid won't be back for a least a month, and Sirius is gone, trying to track down Pettigrew, so I think it might be a good idea for you to come up here. Harry listens to you, at least more than he does to the rest of us. Hope to see you at Hogwarts as soon as possible.
Severus Snape
"Oh no." I dropped the letter to the floor. The last time I'd met up with Lord Voldemort I had barely survived, and now...
"I have to go," I said, my voice loud in the silent room. "And whatever happens, happens." Because there was more to my reluctance to go than just fear for myself. The last time Voldemort had almost managed to hypnotize me into helping him, and I wasn't sure, even now, if I could hold up against him again. But I would try.
..........................................................................................................................................
"Hi, Severus," I said tiredly. My old enemy and new friend had been standing in the front hall, waiting for me.
"You up to this?" he asked, looking worriedly at me. I couldn't help but smile at his apparent concern. Only a few months ago he would have been quite pleased to have seen me in this condition.
"What are you grinning about?" he demanded.
"I was just thinking about how this is quite a change from just a few months ago." He wagged a finger at me.
"Well, don't get used to it. And don't make me mad. I've got a very short temper these days, what with You-Know-W-, oh fine, Voldemort, about."
"And I don't blame you there," I assured him.
"You would if you were in my Potions class," Harry said, walking toward us. "He's given four detentions today, and three of those were to Slytherins!"
"Who was the other one?" I asked shrewdly.
"Me. Who else?"
"Well, Potter, if you would quit trying to sneak away from all the teachers I wouldn't have to give you detention to keep track of you," Snape protested. Harry rolled his eyes, and I turned away, hiding a smile.
"It's not funny!" Snape whined. That was too much for Harry. He cracked up, and I couldn't stop myself from grinning. Severus gave us a highly affronted look, which only made Harry laugh harder.
"Potter, if you don't stop laughing this minute, you're going to be in detention for the rest of your time in this school! And I'll do it!" Such a dire threat made Harry stop laughing almost instantly. Then he grinned mischievously.
"You won't, Professor. Because if you did, you'd take away my only reason for ever being good." Snape sighed.
"See how hard it is to win an argument with him?" he asked me. I nodded.
"Yep. And after seeing this, I'm extremely glad he's Sirius' godson instead of mine."
"I don't blame you there. But maybe we should go on up to Dumbledore's office. All the other teachers are already up there."
"Okay, well, if this is a staff meeting, I guess I better just be going," Harry said slyly, and started for the door. He didn't get far, though.
"I don't think so, Potter. You'll be coming with us," Severus informed him. Harry grumbled, but he walked alongside us as we headed for the headmaster's office.
"Sit," Severus ordered as we walked into the office, summoning chairs for the three of us. I sank gratefully into the chair as Dumbledore addressed the gathering.
"As you probably know," he began, "Voldemort has already expressed his intent to capture Harry. That is our main concern. I have reason to believe that should Lord Voldemort succeed in capturing Harry, nothing could stop him. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to keep Harry under watch for as long as Voldemort remains a threat. Sorry, Harry," he added as he saw the disgusted look on Harry's face.
"Oh well," Harry said resignedly. "Looks like the mischief makers are out of commission for a while."
"You got that right," Snape said fiercely. "You'll be going nowhere without one of us with you."
"Um, actually I don't think it's a good idea for Harry to be around me," I said timidly. Everyone turned to stare at me.
"Why on earth not?" Minerva McGonagall demanded. I sighed, and only reluctantly began my explanation.
"Last time Voldemort was here-" everyone winced at the name "-I was alone with Harry at one point when we went for Albus. Voldemort almost succeeded in hypnotizing me that time, and would have, without Harry's timely intervention. He knows my weaknesses very well, and I can't - and won't - put Harry at risk because of my own weakness." There was a stunned silence.
"Well, I'm curious," Flitwick admitted. "What could he be holding over your head? Because I won't hesitate to say that you're probably the best of us, excluding Albus and Harry possibly, at Defense Against the Dark Arts." There were nods of agreement. I stared at the floor for a moment, trying to steady my voice. I failed. I glanced up at Snape pleadingly, and he nodded slightly.
"We all know what Lupin is. And that is his weakness. Voldemort, last time, was offering him a cure. I'm not sure whether he was telling the truth, but if he is... If he is, it'll be Lupin's downfall. He'd give anything to not have to worry about hurting anyone any more."
"Remus," Flitwick demanded, "is that the truth?"
"Yes," I said coolly, my emotions fully in check at last. "Totally. Absolutely. As I explained to Severus, if I hadn't been a werewolf, I would have been with Lily and James that night."
"You'd just have died with them." McGonagall said what was probably on the minds of everybody in the room.
"Maybe. But as you just pointed out, I've always had a talent for Defense Against the Dark Arts." I laughed bitterly. "Maybe the Dark Arts can tell it's own kind."
"That'll be enough, Remus," McGonagall said sternly.
"Why? You all know I'm telling the truth. Don't tell me you've never considered me being working with Voldemort."
"Moony, that's enough," Harry snapped, his voice ringing with power. Obediently I slumped back into my chair.
"Sorry," I whispered faintly. "I don't know what came over me."
"I do," Dumbledore put in. "You see, in that room-" he pointed at a door leading to the next room - "are three dementors. I needed to know your weaknesses and this way I could learn what I needed to know quickly. I told Harry my intentions, and he gamely agreed to help me. I instructed the dementors to focus on one person at a time, and you can see their affect on Remus there." Now that I had learned this had all been a stupid test, I started getting mad. So did everyone else.
"You're saying this was all just a stupid test?!" Snape exploded. "That's ridiculous! Absurd! And subjecting Potter to that, you ought to be ashamed of yourself."
"He didn't make me. I offered," Harry insisted. "Because you can't keep me in a cage forever, and when Voldemort catches me-" it hurt that he said when not if "-he's probably gonna have some dementors with him. It makes sense that he would try to use them on me."
"They won't catch you," I hissed fiercely. "Not with me around."
"Remus, really. You can't protect me forever."
"I can try." He smiled, but it was a sad kind of smile.
"Just don't go crazy over it. I've already lost too many people close to me. Don't make me lose any more." That's when I heard an evil-sounding chuckle.
"Very sweet, Potter. Just hope you meant that." I took one look at the man who slowly appeared in front of us; he'd been invisible.
"Peter." It wasn't a question. It was a simple statement of the fact. Everyone gawked at him.
"It's really him," Flitwick said, sounding rather dazed.
"Of course it's him. Who else would it be? What does Voldemort want this time, Wormtail?" He advanced on us, pointing his wand right at me.
"Why, you, naturally. Sirius is out of reach at the moment, and by my master's way of thinking, the only other person we could use as bait for Potter is you." I tensed, and slowly stood up.
"Me, huh? Well, well. I would have thought he'd learned that werewolves are quite difficult to kill by now."
"Oh, he doesn't want to kill you, Remus. He just wants you to join us."
"Dream on, rat."
"If you're going to be like that, then I suppose I haven't got a choice but to take you back by any means necessary. I warn you, Remus, it won't be pleasant if I have to force you."
"Never thought it would be. And I'm warning you, Wormtail. If your master's plan is to use me as bait for Harry, he can dream on. Severus won't let him come."
"Then we'll just kill you, and have one less enemy to worry about."
"Good for you. I have to admit, you've got guts, because you've seen me at my worst. And I'll be the first to admit that my worst is certainly not pretty. But it'll be the day indeed when you can beat me in a duel."
"Voldemort has powers you never will. Since I joined him, he's taught me quite a bit."
"Wonderful. Yay. Quit messing around, Peter, and get down to business. Didn't the boss say any means necessary?" He glared at me hatefully, and I returned the look.
"Lupin, what do you think you're doing?" Snape demanded. I didn't bother to answer. My entire focus was on Peter.
"What you waiting for?" I taunted. "Scared, Peter? That's why you were always the weakest of the four of us. You could never make a choice on your own. You let everyone tell you what to do, even me and Sirius. I bet it didn't take much to make you turn your back on us. I doubt that you ever had any second thoughts. Surprising, though, that Voldemort didn't try and get Sirius on his side. He was far more powerful. I suppose Voldemort was smarter than I gave him credit for. He knew that we'd never suspect you. And we didn't."
"Stop it!" he yelled at me. I smiled triumphantly. Peter had always been insecure, and I was using that to my advantage.
"Stop it, or I'll curse you right now!" I sat back down in my chair and looked innocently up at him.
"Stop what, Peter?"
"That! What you're doing right now. You're trying to hypnotize me, and it won't work!"
"Why won't it?"
"You're the weak one," he shouted at me in an out-of-control panic. "You're the werewolf!"
"And I'm not likely to forget it. You made sure of that when we were in school, didn't you, Peter?"
"I'll kill you!"
"So? I thought the purpose of this was to bring me back alive."
"It was," Peter answered, but the he sounded somehow uncertain. "No matter, I don't care what the boss says, I'm taking you down anyway." He pointed his wand directly at me, and looked like he was seriously considering blowing me to smithereens. Which would have been just great.
"Remus, what are you doing?" McGonagall asked, almost frantic.
"At the moment, not much."
"Be serious!"
"For me, this is serious."
"Moony," Harry howled, sounding scared to death. I momentarily felt guilty for not being able to tell him what I already knew. Because Peter was a coward at heart, and I had always been able to beat him in a duel. At the same time, I was also glad Harry didn't know or understand the rest of the plan. Talking about Lily and James at the best of times was painful, and now, with dementors so close by, the effects on both Peter and myself would be devastating. But if that was what it took, then so be it.
"Hey, Peter, looks like you've run out of friends," I snickered. He stared at me. "I mean, Lily and James were the ones who always protected you, even from me and Sirius. But with them gone, looks like you haven't got anyone left to run to."
"No," he whimpered, not really realizing what he was saying. "It was all my fault."
"'Course it was, Peter. You betrayed them, not Sirius. And then you let poor, innocent Sirius rot in Azkaban while you roamed free."
"No, I didn't mean to. I just wanted... I didn't want to!"
"But you did," I prompted. Already I was feeling the effects of the dementors, and apparently so was Peter. But I didn't have him where I wanted him, not yet.
"I - I didn't. I wouldn't."
"You did, though. After all James did for you..." I took my mind off my own troubles by watching Peter. He was panicking, backed up against a wall, looking around, desperate to escape. Good.
"No, no, no," he mumbled in a not quite steady voice, and suddenly he whipped around and pointed his wand at me. And I realized that for all my careful planning, it had gone terribly wrong. The effects of the dementors, both on Peter and myself, had been too strong. Peter had totally flipped out, and now he was downright dangerous. There was no telling what he would do. As for myself, I had only averted disaster this long by sheer willpower. But there was no telling how long I could keep it up.
"For Prongs," I muttered under my breath. "Freak out later." I raised my wand, and pointed it at Wormtail. I mumbled a spell, remembering with reluctance the only time that spell had been used on me. I watched impassively as Pettigrew was bound hand and foot. Snape glanced over at me, and nodded slightly, and I knew he was remembering the end of Harry's third year, too. And suddenly I realized what catching Peter really meant. Sirius would be free. Well, he'd been free before, but now there could no longer be any doubt as to his loyalties.
It was my own fault. I was so preoccupied with my own thoughts that I was paying very little attention to Peter. The only thing I remember was hearing Peter laughing crazily, and knowing that finally, finally, he had won.
.......................................................................................................................................
I opened my eyes and groaned. I had a monstrous headache, and as I looked around the room, I realized I was still in Dumbledore's office. Severus was kneeling beside me.
"What's going on?" I asked weakly.
"Remus?" Snape said, sounding quite surprised. I sat up and looked at him.
"Yes. I'm awake. You sound surprised."
"I am. He got you good back there." Snape's words instantly brought back the memories of the last five minutes. Peter.
"He got free, and then snuck up on your blind side. Knocked you out," Severus finished.
"How's Harry?" I demanded, not really wanting to hear the answer, yet knowing I had to.
"He's okay," Snape assured me. "After Pettigrew took you out, Harry tied up the rat and put a freezing charm on him. Personally, I would've strangled him instead, but you know..."
"Yeah. I do. Much better than you think." But Snape sounded preoccupied. That was weird. I stood up slowly, and Severus steadied me.
"Careful," he scolded, but again I felt I didn't have his complete attention. I scanned the room, looking for whatever held Snape's focus. And I found it. Fudge, the Minister of Magic, was standing over Peter, looking concerned. I walked over to him, with Severus following behind. As I came toward him, Fudge glanced over at me.
"Who did this?" he asked.
"Someone with quite a bit of luck," I remarked.
"You got to be kidding!" came the stunned reply. "Release this man at once! He's done nothing wrong."
"He was working for Voldemort," I explained patiently.
"I don't care. Release him. And I intend to get the person who tied him up like that. Send `em to Azkaban." I was stunned. Snape was wearing a similar expression.
"I did it, sir," Harry said quietly. Everyone in the room turned to look at him.
"Ignore him," Dumbledore said loudly to Fudge, and then called all the professors to him, Snape and me included.
"We can't let Fudge take him to Azkaban," Albus said quickly.
"Certainly not!" Minerva exclaimed. Everybody else nodded agreement.
"But the only way to get Harry out of it would be to say one of us did it," Flitwick interrupted.
"Exactly," I said slowly. "It has to be me."
"No," Harry snapped. "You can't. You saw the effect the dementors had on you!"
"He'll believe I did it," I continued, ignoring Harry's protests. "It's what he wants to believe. I am a werewolf, after all."
"That doesn't matter," Harry wailed.
"Shut up, Harry," I said tensely. "Don't make this harder than it has to be." I turned my attention to the rest of the staff. "I'll do it. If I'd been paying attention Peter would not have gotten the jump on me, and Harry wouldn't be in this mess at all. Besides, there's a full moon in a week."
"So what?" McGonagall said, but Albus had already figured it out.
"He means that when he changes into the wolf, he should be able to get out of Azkaban and swim back. By then Fudge will have realized how stupid he was to send Remus there at all, and everybody goes home happy."
"I don't go home happy!" Harry exclaimed. I turned on him.
"Look, it's your sanity I'm trying to save. You've never been to Azkaban, so you don't know. You can't know. But I can tell you, it's the most awful place I've ever seen. Most prisoners go mad within a week. And even if I do go crazy in there, it won't be a big loss. But if we lost you, it could mean the difference between life and death for all of us. We've all disobeyed Voldemort more than once by refusing to join him, and if he comes back, do you think he'll leave me alone? I refused him when he was in power all those years ago, and I've done the same today. I'll probably be the first he comes after. I'm dangerous to him, and more than that, it probably cost him quite a bit of pride, to be beaten at his own game by a werewolf." There was a long moment in which no one moved. I took advantage of the moment to walk over to Fudge.
"You want to know who tied up Peter? I did. And I'd do again in a heartbeat." He stared at me, then quickly regained his composure.
"Guards," he yelled, and three dementors came striding toward me. They escorted me to the door, where Albus was waiting.
"It's a very brave thing you're doing," he told me.
"Let's just hope it isn't a stupid thing too."
.............................................................................................................................................