A/N: I probably shouldn't do this, considering I still have two unfinished stories I'm working on, but I really like the idea. It's been done before, but I'm hoping it'll be unique. Read, review, and check out my other three stories!
*Note: In this version, Ron does not get injured by being dragged into the Whomping Willow. To be honest, I forgot that detail until I finished the chapter, and I just don't see any point in going back to add it in. I am also aware that in the books, Hagrid technically pulls Harry out of the ruins at Godric's Hollow. I'm changing that detail simply because this is AU and I want to lolz.
"Believe me, I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them." Sirius pleaded with Harry. At last, Harry nodded - he trusted him.
"No!" Pettigrew moaned, agonizing. His last chance at escape had been sealed shut at Harry's affirmation. "Harry, please," the pathetic man squeaked, reaching for the boy's ankle from his position on the ground.
"Get off, me." Harry spat, looking at the man with disgust.
"We should go," Remus said, staring nervously at Snape while he magically tied up Pettigrew. "If Snape wakes up before we get to the castle, things will be significantly more difficult for us."
"I'll levitate him," Sirius said, shooting ropes out the end of his wand to tie up Snape as well.
Harry walked over to Hermione and Ron, then followed Remus, Pettigrew, Snape, and Sirius out the door of the shack and down the passage to the Whomping Willow.
In this silence that followed, Harry thought he had never been in a stranger group. The only sounds he could hear as they walked down the path was Ron's heavy breathing and Pettigrew's grunts of exertion. Harry had a feeling the man hadn't been in his human form in a long time.
"So, Harry-" Sirius started, turning his head around to look him in the eyes. Snape's forehead scraped the ceiling, but Harry got the impression that Sirius didn't care much. "I don't know if anyone ever told you, but I'm your godfather."
"Yeah, I knew that." Harry said with a nod, remembering the awful feeling he had when he overheard Professor McGonagall explaining that to Rosmerta. The relief he felt now that he knew the truth was abundant.
"Well, you know, James and Lily wanted you to be with me, should something ever happen..." Sirius said slowly, watching Harry closely for any signs of embarrassment or discomfort.
"What, you mean, come and live with you?" Harry said, hope blossoming in the pit of his stomach. The thought of having a godfather that was best friends with his own father was exciting, but the idea of leaving his Aunt and Uncle seemed too good to be true. "Leave the Dursleys?"
"Well, of course, I'll understand if you don't want to-" Sirius said, looking at the ground in his haste to reassure Harry.
"Are you crazy? Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Do you have a house? When can I move in?" Harry asked excitedly.
Sirius expression changed into a huge grin, one of the most genuine smiles Harry had seen the man make. He could almost see the handsome guy in his parent's wedding photo standing in front of him. "Do you mean it?"
"Yeah, I mean it!" Harry said, mirroring his godfather's grin.
Sirius turned back around as they approached the end of the tunnel, a newfound exuberance in his step. Harry wondered how so many people thought he was a raving, murderous lunatic; he was so full of life, especially to have been locked up for so many years.
Once they were all out in the open and away from the swinging branches of the Whomping Willow, they formed a circle, Pettigrew and Snape in the middle.
"Alright, so I think it's best if I take you three, Pettigrew, and Snape inside. I'll explain the entire situation to Dumbledore, and come back out to get you once it's safe, Sirius. There are too many dementors looking for you around the castle, you'll be kissed before we can even explain the situation." Remus said, searching the skies for any signs of the terrible creatures.
Sirius nodded. "Of course, I'll go back to the Shack and wait for you lot."
Harry felt his heart constrict - he had been offered a home, but what if something happened to Sirius before they could get back to him? He didn't want to leave the man.
All of the sudden, a bright, shining light came down upon them, and the group was staring into a full moon.
Remembering what they had just discovered in the shack, Harry turned to Lupin. The man was staring into the sky, his bones quivering, drool dripping out of his mouth.
"Moony… Remus did you forget your potion?" Sirius asked, pushing Harry, Hermione, and Ron out of the way so he could get to his friend.
Harry heard a rustle behind them, and turned to see Pettigrew begin to shrink to the size of a rat - he was going to get away.
"Stupefy!" Hermione yelled, stunning the man. Pettigrew flew backwards and landed onto the ground, unconscious. Harry, Ron, and Hermione rushed to secure the ropes around the man, hearing snarls and growls behind them. Harry assumed Sirius had changed to his dog form to keep Moony at bay.
Hermione turned around and screamed; Lupin was running at them, lifting his hairy fist up to claw. The black dog charged at the wolf, successfully knocking him off course and into the Forbidden Forest.
"Sirius!" Harry yelled, attempting to chase the pair into the woods, but Hermione grabbed him.
"No, Harry! You could be killed in there. Besides, Sirius won't be free if we don't get Pettigrew to Dumbledore." Hermione reasoned, levitating the man with her wand.
"What good is his freedom if Lupin kills him?" Harry asked angrily, staring with worry in the direction his godfather had gone.
"You heard them earlier, Harry, they used to do this all the time when they were at Hogwarts! Come on, we need to go before Professor Lupin comes back. Ron, will you levitate Professor Snape?" Hermione asked, already leading the way back up towards the castle.
With one last, dejected look towards the forest, Harry followed his friends to the castle. He tried to think through the best way to explain the situation to Dumbledore; he was really beginning to worry that the headmaster wouldn't believe them and Sirius would be kissed anyway. He couldn't bear the thought of losing his godfather when he had only just met him.
The familiar chill of a dementor creeped up his spine as they approached the castle doors, Harry shivered, keeping his head down. He knew dementors guarded the gates and he could produce a patronus should he need to; regardless, he would be perfectly happy if he never had to be near one again.
The Hogwart's doors swung open, and Professor McGonagall rushed outside. "You three! What's this… who's-" McGonagall looked as if she had seen a ghost when she noticed Pettigrew levitating in front of Hermione. "That's impossible…"
"No, it's not," Harry said, stepping forward, determined to help his godfather. "This is Pettigrew. Sirius was framed. May we please speak to Dumbledore."
"I… well…" McGonagall stumbled over her words, attempting to make sense of what was in front of her. Then, she straightened up and nodded in McGonagall-esque style. "Of course. Potter, Granger, follow me with Pettigrew. Weasley, please take Professor Snape to the hospital wing… I don't know what happened to him, but he looks as if he needs rest."
Ron looked disgusted at having to help his least favorite professor, but nodded nonetheless. Harry and Hermione had to practically run to keep up with McGonagall, who had now taken over the job of levitating the still-unconscious Pettigrew. They raced up the steps to the stone gargoyle, and McGonagall was immediately granted entry.
"Albus, we need to get Cornelius and Amelia here now. Look who Potter, Granger, and Weasley found." McGonagall said, dropping Pettigrew onto the floor of Dumbledore's office.
"Is that…" Dumbledore began, standing up to move closer.
"Pettigrew, alive and well. Harry insists Black is innocent, though I don't know how he came by this claim-"
"I talked to Black-er, Sirius… and Pettigrew. I heard Pettigrew confess," Harry insisted, looking between the two. "Please, trust me. I believe Sirius, I don't think he betrayed my parents."
"I want to get the story straight before we involve the Ministry." Dumbledore said, gesturing towards the couches and chairs surrounding where Pettigrew lay. "Have a seat and tell me what's happened. I'll lock the door so we don't have any unwelcome visitors."
Harry looked nervously out the window - he hoped that Lupin hadn't hurt his godfather. They were so close to securing his freedom, Harry could almost imagine him packing up to actually go home this year, to a place that was happy and fun. A place like his parent's house would have been…
"Right," Dumbledore said, sitting across from them. "Do tell."
"Well… we went to comfort Hagrid before Buckbeak's execution," Hermione started sadly. Harry could hardly believe that had happened earlier that day - it seemed as though it were ages ago.
"When we were leaving, Ron dropped Scabbers and he ran off. Ron, of course, chased after Scabbers and ended up falling in front of the Whomping Willow. That's when a big, black dog appeared. He went after Ron, or at least, that's what we thought. He dragged Ron into the tunnel under the Willow, and we followed." Hermione said, looking to Harry for back up.
"We got in the Shrieking Shack and we found out that the dog wasn't actually a dog - it was Sirius. He is an animagus, and so was my dad… and so is Pettigrew." Harry added the last part angrily, looking down at the man that was still unconscious.
"They became animagi to help Professor Lupin," Hermione added.
"An impressive feat," Dumbledore said, a small smile on his features, "though I wish they had told me. Continue."
"Right, well, I tried to attack Sirius because I thought he had betrayed my parents. But then Professor Lupin showed up and got me off Sirius, then explained everything. He told us about how they became animagi to help with his lycanthropy, and Sirius explained what happened the night my parents died. He said he was supposed to be a decoy - everyone thought that he was the secret keeper, and the death eaters would come after him. The real secret keeper was Pettigrew, but he was actually a Death Eater. He told Voldemort their location and then framed Sirius." Harry said, feeling his blood pressure rise.
"Sirius went after Pettigrew to kill him because he was so angry. Before he could though, Pettigrew shouted that Sirius betrayed James and Lily and blew up the entire street, before cutting off his finger, changing into a rat, and running away. Then… well, I suppose you know what happened after that." Hermione said sheepishly, turning to look at Harry.
"In the middle of them telling us what happened, Snape came and threatened to turn Sirius in… so we, er, might have used defensive magic on him. That's why he was so beat up when we brought him back. He would have had Sirius kissed, though!" Harry exclaimed, looking between the professors.
"I see," Dumbledore said gravely. McGonagall frowned and turned to Dumbledore to see what he thought. "Regardless of Snape's actions, you should never attack a professor; the circumstances being what they were, however, I think we will let it slide." The headmaster remained quiet for a moment, before turning to Harry. "You believe Sirius's innocence, I take it?"
Harry nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, completely. He's telling the truth, Pettigrew said it himself. Will Sirius be free?"
"I think that it was smart of you two not to bring Sirius here with you - the Minister would attack first and ask questions later if he saw him. I also think that he has a case, especially if we could get veritaserum to question Pettigrew with-" Dumbledore said, interrupted by Harry.
"What's veritaserum?" Harry asked, looking confused.
"A truth potion," Hermione explained, looking to her professors for confirmation. "The strongest one there is - if Pettigrew testifies under that, there's no denying it. Sirius would be free."
Harry felt a bubble of hope erupt in his chest; perhaps things would finally go his way. "So what are we waiting on? Bring in the Ministry!"
Dumbledore chuckled as he turned to Fawkes. "Get Cornelius and Amelia here as soon as possible," he said to the bird, gesturing for it to fly out the window. Harry watched as the crimson colored bird disappeared into the darkness, thinking about how, in a few hours, his life could really change - there was a chance he might not ever have to see the Dursley's again.
His thoughts were interrupted by McGonagall's question. "Where is Black, then? We need to know for when the aurors want him questioned."
Anxiety begin to swell up inside Harry - he had no idea where Sirius was, or if he was still alive. What if Lupin had hurt him? And why would the aurors need to question his godfather if Pettigrew was going to admit the truth first?
"He's preoccupied," Hermione said quietly, looking at Harry with worry. "Professor Lupin, um, forgot to take his potion. He transformed and Sirius saved us by fighting him and eventually chasing him into the Forbidden Forest.
Dumbledore frowned, but before he could say anything, Cornelius Fudge stepped out of the fireplace and into the room, looking slightly agitated. "What is it now, Albus? First the hippogriff got away, what do you need at this hour that can't wait until morning?"
Harry and Hermione looked at one another quizzically - the hippogriff got away? Before they could think on it further, the Minister's surprised yelp caught their attention.
"Is that? There's no way…" Cornelius said, shaking his head. Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, had also been brought in, and she looked equally as shocked.
"Albus, is that Peter Pettigrew?" She asked, stepping closer.
"It is, and I can assure you that he is alive. I insist that we use veritaserum on him, I think there's more to Sirius Black than we've been thinking the past twelve years." Dumbledore said, levitating Pettigrew onto a chair and tying him to it. "Madame Bones, do you happen to have any on hand?"
She nodded and stepped forward to administer the potion before reviving the man.
Pettigrew's glassy eyes opened, and he looked around at the faces in front of him with fear.
"Are you Peter Pettigrew," Amelia asked.
A squeak and a nod. "Yes, I am."
The minister looked as though he might faint. Amelia turned to Dumbledore, recognizing that he should probably ask the questions.
"What happened on October 31, 1981?"
"I told the Dark Lord where James and Lily were - I gave him the secret that lead to their death and I betrayed them." Pettigrew said lifelessly.
"How did you do that? Sirius Black was the secret keeper for James and Lily Potter," Dumbledore asked, stepping to the side so the Minister and Amelia could watch.
"No, we switched. Sirius thought that he was too obvious of a target and that he could act as a decoy. They made me secret keeper, not knowing that I was a death eater. I told the Dark Lord their whereabouts." Pettigrew said, his glassy eyes sweeping across the room.
"And what did you do after you discovered that Voldemort had met his downfall?" Dumbledore asked.
"I fled - I knew Sirius would come after me, as well as a lot of the Death Eaters. The Death Eaters thought that I knew he would die if I sent him to the Potter's and they wanted revenge for me destroying their master. Sirius knew I had given up the Potter's secret and wanted to kill me to avenge his best friends."
Dumbledore nodded and turned to the Minister and Amelia. "Am I forgetting anything?"
Both shook their heads - Amelia looked solemn and Fudge looked worried. Surely convicting the wrong man for twelve years would not look well on the Ministry.
"All we need is Black's account under veritaserum so we can clear this situation up for good," Amelia said, stunning Pettigrew again and sitting in a nearby chair.
"Why do you need Sirius?" Harry asked, speaking for the first time since they had arrived. "Isn't this proof enough?"
Amelia smiled kindly at Harry and shook her head. "We just want all the details from both sides so that we know for sure before we convict. Unless Black's story under veritaserum doesn't match Pettigrew's, his interrogation will simply be a formality."
Harry nodded, though he was still uncomfortable with the idea of his godfather coming so close to the head of the DMLE.
Amelia stood and walked over to Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I won't take your godfather from you unless he really is guilty. I assume that's what you're concerned about?"
Harry nodded, looking over to the window. Before he could respond to her, he noticed a cold mist was forming over the glass. Rushing over to look outside the window, Harry saw an awful sight - hundreds of dementors, all heading towards the Black Lake, where his godfather lay, unconscious.
