Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling
Hey guys! I finally got an update in. I haven't had much time to write, what with math midterms and science finals and Thanksgiving, but I finally got it in. Thank Jonathyn and Camille like always, and I recommend reading A Red-Headed Muggle Stepchild, by mugglesftw
Harry's euphoria at finally winning the Quidditch Cup lasted at least a week. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating; as June approached, the days became cloudless and sultry, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice, perhaps playing a casual game of Gobstones or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake.
But they couldn't. Exams were nearly upon them, and instead of lazing around outside, the students were forced to remain inside the castle, trying to bully their brains into concentrating while enticing wafts of summer air drifted in through the windows. Even Fred and George Weasley had been spotted working; they were about to take their O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels). Percy was getting ready to take his N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the highest qualification Hogwarts offered. As Percy hoped to enter the Ministry of Magic, he needed top grades. He was becoming increasingly edgy, and gave very severe punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the common room in the evenings. In fact, the only person who seemed more anxious than Percy was Hermione.
Harry's anger at Hermione had still not abated, but it had simmered down into a pact where he just ignored her. Hermione refused to apologize for her comments about Luna still, but their constant fights had disappeared.
Harry's potions exam went well since Lyra had taken to teaching him the basics of potions; his Confusing Concoction went well. Things had been awkward for him in regards to Lyra after the Quidditch Match but she acted like everything was normal, so Harry followed her lead.
The other exams also went well: Harry aced Care of Magical Creatures, and his Ancient Runes exam went well.
"Every single rune!" Susan complained later after the exam. "We were tested on every single rune!"
"It wasn't that bad." Harry shrugged. "It was fun creating the bag of runes in the project anyway, and we had to memorize all the runes to create them."
Susan gave a large grin. "What will the Dursley's think? You can do magic there after all."
"I was able to to do it anyway." Harry shrugged. "But now I don't need Dobby's wards protecting me." he gave a wicked grin.
"Plus you've added so many spells to your repertoire." Lyra pointed out.
"Yeah." Harry grinned. "If it weren't for Sirius Black it would be perfect."
"Lyra they said yes!" Draco bounced down the empty hall.
Lyra let out a girly shriek that kind-of scared Harry, before abruptly stopping.
"Who said yes?" Harry asked curiously.
"Mum and dad!" she laughed. "They said that you could come over to our place after a month at your relatives."
Harry paled. He knew that Lucius had slipped the diary to Ginny, and he didn't know what to do. He had never commented on it because Ginny had talked it through with Lyra, but he never did.
"Oh." he replied weakly.
"What's wrong?" Lyra asked, picking up on Harry's hesitation.
"Well." Harry started, wincing as recognition dawned on Draco's face. "Didn't your dad, you know, drop the diary in-" he was cut off.
Lyra was furious as she hissed, "Father didn't know the diary was cursed you prat. I can't believe," her voice raised and the pitch was higher, "I can't believe you think THAT FATHER WOULD ACTUALLY DO THAT ON PURPOSE!"
Harry winced as she stormed away, her hair practically sparking with anger.
"You brought that on yourself mate." Draco said grimly, not even bothering to help him up from where Harry had fallen before he stalked away.
Harry just got up and loped back to the common room, his sadness at breaking his friendships following him like a dark cloud. Ginny and the rest weren't helping either. Ginny thought he was being dumb, and Blaise was made that Harry had put Draco in such a bad mood.
That evening Harry went up to the Astronomy Tower and sat next to Lyra where she looked out at the sky in silence.
"I'm sorry." he started, breaking the oppressive silence.
"I know." she sighed. "But that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. I thought you trusted me Harry."
"I do." Harry promised. "I was just a little wary."
"That's the point." she told him. "I didn't think you would be so scared."
"I'm really sorry." he said. "After thinking I actually would love to come to your house. Your parents seem nice."
Lyra didn't answer, and instead rested her head on his shoulder as they looked at the stars.
"There." Harry said softly, pointing at a star in the sky. "That's Lyra. The brightest star in the sky."
"I thought it was Sirius?" she quipped.
Harry gave her an amused look before they sat in silence, eventually drifting to sleep.
Harry was wishing that Ron and Hermione didn't fight so much. He had been talking with Ron when Crookshanks had come and scratched at Scabbers, before Hermione came running in for her cat.
"Give it up Ronald!" she screeched, while Ron held his rat away.
"No Mione!" he bellowed back. "Your cat is a menace!"
"My cat is fine!" she hissed.
Before Ron could say more Harry saw Padfoot behind him, ready to lunge, and he acted on instinct. Harry tackled Ron down, grabbing Scabbers and stuffing it in his pocket. "Go!" he bellowed as the dog dragged him into a hole in the Whomping Willow.
Harry was dragged by Padfoot through the hall. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except the floor, where a wide shiny stripe had been made by him being dragged upstairs.
They reached the dark landing, and Harry was dragged into a room. On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight.
Harry let out a groan of pain and flicked his wand out of his wand holster. "Episkey."he muttered, letting out a pained scream as his bone snapped in place. Ignoring his surroundings he wrapped his leg. "Ferrula."
Suddenly, Harry heard a sound behind him and he wheeled around. With a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them.
A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black.
"Expelliarmus!" he croaked, pointing a wand at them.
"Protego!" Harry snapped on reflex, his wand twitching in his hand. Black let out a filthy grin.
"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said hoarsely.
His voice sounded as though he had long since lost the habit of using it. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful...it will make everything much easier..."
Harry glared at him, a boiling hate erupting in his chest, leaving no place for fear. For the first time in his life he wanted to use his wand not to defend himself, but to attack...to kill. "You're an animagus." he snarled instead.
"You're more like Lily than you think." Black grinned savagely. "Your dad wouldn't have guessed that."
Before Harry could retort he heard footsteps and Lyra, Draco, and Luna barrelled in. "Expelliarmus!" Lyra screeched, Black's stolen wand shooting into her hand.
"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" Draco said fiercely.
Something flickered in Black's shadowed eyes.
"You're a Malfoy." he said quietly.
"I think Azkaban really damaged your brain." Draco spat back.
"What is a Gryffindor doing with Malfoys?" Black asked instead.
"They're friends." Harry snarled at him. "Not that you'd understand that, you traitor."
"Never thought I'd see the day a lion hung out with snakes." Black commented.
Before anyone could respond Scabbers started twitching around in his pocket. When the rat bit him Harry lost his temper. "Stupefy!" he exclaimed, stunning the yellow rat.
"Step aside kids." Black commanded.
"You won't kill us." Luna stated calmly.
"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Black, and his grin widened.
"Why's that?" Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of Draco, who was restraining him. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew...What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"
"Harry!" Lyra snapped. "Don't tease the psychotic mass-murderer!"
"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared, and with a huge effort he broke free of Draco's restraint and lunged forward -
His wand was out, Harry lunging at Black, his wand letting out a curse that bounced onto the ground next to Black harmlessly… But Black's free hand had found Harry's throat
"No," he hissed, "I've waited too long -"
The fingers tightened, Harry choked, his glasses askew.
Then he saw Lyra's foot swing out of nowhere. Black let go of Harry with a grunt of pain; Draco had shot out an Incarcerous that missed Black and wrapped the ground next to him in ropes.
Harry fought free of the tangle of bodies and saw his own wand rolling across the floor; he threw himself toward it but
"Argh!"
Crookshanks had joined the fray; both sets of front claws had sunk themselves deep into Harry's arm; Harry threw him off, but Crookshanks now darted toward Harry's wand -
"NO YOU DON'T!" roared Harry, and he aimed a kick at Crookshanks that made the cat leap aside, spitting; Harry snatched up his wand and turned -
"Get out of the way!" he shouted at Draco and Lyra. Luna was sitting on a chair, her wand pointed at Black.
Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. His thin chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched Harry walking slowly nearer, his wand pointing straight at Black's heart.
"Going to kill me, Harry?" he whispered.
Harry stopped right above him, his wand still pointing at Black's chest, looking down at him. A livid bruise was rising around Black's left eye and his nose was bleeding.
"You killed my parents," said Harry, his voice shaking slightly, but his wand hand quite steady.
Black stared up at him out of those sunken eyes.
"I don't deny it," he said very quietly. "But if you knew the whole story."
"The whole story?" Harry repeated, a furious pounding in his ears. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."
"You've got to listen to me," Black said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now. "You'll regret it if you don't...You don't understand..."
"I understand a lot better than you think," said Harry, and his voice shook more than ever. "You never heard her, did you? My mum...trying to stop Voldemort killing me...and you did that...you did it..."
Before either of them could say another word, something ginger streaked past Harry; Crookshanks leapt onto Black's chest and settled himself there, right over Black's heart. Black blinked and looked down at the cat.
"Get off," he murmured, trying to push Crookshanks off him.
But Crookshanks sank his claws into Black's robes and wouldn't shift. He turned his ugly, squashed face to Harry and looked up at him with those great yellow eyes.
Harry stared down at Black and Crookshanks, his grip tightening on the wand. So what if he had to kill the cat too? It was in league with Black...If it was prepared to die, trying to protect Black, that wasn't Harry's business... If Black wanted to save it, that only proved he cared more for Crookshanks than for Harry's parents...
Harry raised the wand. Now was the moment to do it. Now was the moment to avenge his mother and father. He was going to kill Black. He had to kill Black. This was his chance...
The seconds lengthened. And still Harry stood frozen there, wand poised, Black staring up at him, Crookshanks on his chest. Draco's ragged breathing came from near the bed; Lyra was quite silent.
And then came a new sound -
Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor - someone was moving downstairs.
"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE - SIRIUS BLACK - QUICK!"
Black made a startled movement that almost dislodged Crookshanks; Harry gripped his wand convulsively - Do it now! said a voice in his head - but the footsteps were thundering up the stairs and Harry still hadn't done it.
The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Harry wheeled around as Fred, George, and Ginny came hurtling into the room, their faces bloodless, their wand raised and ready. Their eyes flickered over Draco, his wand out, to Lyra, her bruised eye still healing, to Luna, her wand pointed serenely at Black, to Harry, standing there with his wand covering Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet.
"Expelliarmus!" Ginny shouted.
Harry's wand flew once more out of his hand (he was caught off guard); so did Draco, Luna, and Lyra's. Ginny caught them all deftly, then moved into the room, staring at Black, who still had Crookshanks lying protectively across his chest.
Harry stood there, feeling suddenly empty. He hadn't done it. His nerve had failed him. Black was going to be handed back to the Dementors.
"What the hell are you doing Ginny?" Draco yelped.
Then Fred spoke, in a very tense voice, so unlike his own. "We saw you guys on the Map, but you weren't alone."
"You saw Wormtail." Black gave a raspy laugh.
"How does he know about the Marauders?" Lyra asked.
"We made the map." Black gave a laugh again. "I was Padfoot, you see. James was Prongs, Remus was Moony, and Peter was Wormtail."
"James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew." George stated quietly. "All dead because of you."
"No." Luna shook her head. "Because of Wormtail."
Harry spun around. "What?" he asked her. Luna didn't respond, choosing to stare at him silently, her pale eyes glowing.
"You killed Pettigrew!" Harry scoffed in disgust at Black.
Black's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Harry's pocket. Mystified, Harry glanced around and pulled Scabbers out of his pocket.
"What does Scabbers have to do with anything?" Ginny asked.
Black was unable to answer, because in his struggling he had caused one of the ropes to maneuver around his groin area, and was wincing in pain. Luna silently got up and unbound him, helping him to his feet.
"Are you alright Mr Black?" Luna asked him dreamily.
"Yes thank you." Black replied, as though having a conversation with a second year while being threatened and on the run was a perfectly normal thing to do.
"Luna what are you doing?" Harry asked lowly. "I love you like a sister but there is a line, and that man is the reason I'm an orphan."
"No he's not." Luna replied calmly. "Would you like to explain Mr Black?" she asked him.
"Sirius please." Black grinned. "Mr Black is my father."
"Well?" Lyra demanded. "Hurry up, because I just learned about a hex that will pickle your bits for me."
All the men in the shack winced.
"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" Black said evenly.
"What?" said Harry. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"
"Everything," said Luna. "He is the key to his rise, and to the beginning of the end."
Harry hesitated, and then held Scabbers by his tail in front of Black. Scabbers chose that moment to wake up, and Harry promptly stunned him again.
Black moved closer to him. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers. Harry recoiled from the main, still not trusting him completely. He noticed something and backed away, glaring at the rat vehemently.
"Why are you glaring at Scabbers?" Fred asked.
"Lover's tiff?" George teased, having to add some levity to the situation.
"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly.
"What d'you mean - of course he's a rat -"
"No, he's not," said Black quietly. "He's a wizard. An Animagus, by the name of Peter Pettigrew."
It took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink in. Then Ginny voiced what Harry was thinking.
"You're mental."
"Ridiculous!" said Lyra faintly.
"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" said Harry. "He killed him twelve years ago!" He pointed at Black, whose face twitched convulsively.
"I meant to," he growled, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me...not this time, though!"
And Crookshanks was thrown to the floor as Black lunged at Scabbers; Ginny gave a shriek and blasted him away from them.
"Stop it." Luna said sharply, surprising them all. Luna was floaty and and a princess with the wisdom of one who had lived for a thousand years, but they had never seen her this way- all pointed edges and clipped letters, like a queen. "You must explain."
"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, trying to throw get off the ground.
"If not for yourself then for Harry." Luna told him, her voice still pointed and edged, as though one would bleed if they touched her. "You owe it to him."
Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Harry's hand, dangling as though he was dead.
"All right, then," Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat.
"Tell them." Luna prompted him.
"It all starts with Moony's bite." Black explained, pacing around the shack having freed himself. "He was bitten by Fenrir Greyback when he was 4, but was still allowed to go to Hogwarts. We were his best friends, and by this third year we found out that he was a werewolf. James, Peter, and I wanted to help him, and after research we decided to become Animagi."
"Damn." Draco whistled. "Animagi in third year."
"We accomplished it by 5th." Black gave a dark smile. "James was a stag, hence the nickname Prongs. I was a huge black dog, hence the name Padfoot. Peter was a rat, hence the name Wormtail. For the first time ever Moony was free, and able to be with us."
"But that's impossible." Lyra said.
"Why?" Black questioned.
"Because... because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework - the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things...and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list."
"Damn Lyra." Draco laughed. "You put so much effort into your homework."
Draco broke off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All five of them stared at it. Then she strode toward it and looked out into the landing.
"No one there..."
"This place is haunted!" said Fred.
"It's not,' said Black, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted...The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by Moony. The Whomping Willow was planted just for him- to stop others from entering the shack when he transformed."
"Learn something new every day." George hummed.
"His transformations were terrible." Black stated, his eyes dark. It was painful to hear him transform, and he would bite and scratch himself since he had no other option. But then the three of us joined him, and for once he had playmates. We couldn't accompany him as humans, so we did it as animals. Peter would touch the knot that freezes the tree as the smallest. Prongs and I were the biggest, and could keep him in control."
"Hurry up." Ginny snapped.
"Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did... And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames."
Lyra was appalled. "That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"
"Moony worried about the same thing." Sirius gave a dark grin. "But it never happened."
"Yes it did." Draco scoffed. "Professor Snape was the victim?"
"Professor?" Black sneered. "Are you telling me Snivellus is a teacher?"
"And my godfather." Lyra snapped. "Frankly, all I can see you as is a bully."
"What happened?" Harry asked.
"Snape was very interested in where the four of us went every month." Black told them. "We hated each other, and one day he said something incredibly rude. I told him how to get into the Willow, and Moony attacked him. James saved Snape at his own risk."
"He could have died because of you!" Harry exclaimed.
"Why would you care?" Black asked. "It's just Snivellus."
"Yeah, well right now he's a damn bit better than you!" Harry sneered.
"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Ginny slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"
"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind them.
Severus Snape was slowly becoming visible after a disillusionment charm, his wand pointed straight at Black.
Ginny screamed. Black tripped in shock before getting back up. Harry felt a little relieved there was another teacher, and also worried that Snape would do something irrational.
"I knew you'd be here Black." Snape said breathlessly. "When I couldn't find my godchildren I went searching, and lo and behold I found the Miss Greengrasses and Mr Zabini hovering over a map that, to my surprise, showed Black and my godchildren along with their Gryffindor compatriotes in the Shack."
"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this… his precious golden boy with a murderer."
"Snape…" Black started, before being interrupted.
Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.
"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."
Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.
"Professor." Lyra started, stepping forward.
"Quiet Lyra."
"Sir…" Draco tried again, only to be ignored.
"But we really think that he's innocent!" Draco protested.
"Quiet Draco!" Snape snapped, before Lyra lost her temper.
"Hey!" she snapped, stepping forward with her wand. "I am your god daughter! Look at me! He was telling us a story before you so kindly interrupted, and we would appreciate it if he could continue!"
Sparks shot from the end of her wand, and Snape, surprised, stepped back.
"Lyra…" he started.
"No." she cut him off. "You were willing to see him die even though there is proof that he is innocent."
"I nearly died because of him." Snape hissed.
What little color there was in Black's face left it.
"And?" Harry said, stepping forward. "You need to stop holding grudges Professor."
Snape glared at him before putting his wand away and sitting down next to Crookshanks. "5 minutes Black." he stated curtly.
"Can I have Peter?" Black asked.
"Come off it," Harry said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean..." He looked up at the Twins for support, "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat - there are millions of rats - how's he supposed to know which one he is after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"
"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Luna, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"
Harry was momentarily surprised that Luna didn't know the answer, and she gave him a small smile. "The Nargles can't tell me everything Harry."
Black put one of his claw-like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others.
It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.
"How did you get this?" Professor Snape asked Black, thunderstruck.
"Fudge," said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder...I knew him at once...how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts...to where Harry was..."
"Our minister is an imbecile." Lyra sniffed.
"He's missing a finger." Harry whispered.
"Smart…" Fred noted.
"But unnoticeable." George concluded.
"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself - and sped down into the sewer with the other rats..."
"The biggest bit they found of Pettigrew was his finger." Snape pointed out.
"Scabbers might have been scared because of Crookshanks." Harry pointed out, still unwilling to believe that the man he has spent months hating might be innocent.
"This cat isn't mad," said Black hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me...Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me..."
"What do you mean?" breathed Ginny.
"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't...so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me...As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table..."
Harry's brain seemed to be sagging under the weight of what he was hearing. It was absurd...and yet…
"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it." croaked Black. "This cat - Crookshanks, did you call him? - told me Peter had left blood on the sheets...I supposed he bit himself...Well, faking his own death had worked once."
These words jolted Harry to his senses.
"And why did he fake his death?" he said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"No," said Black, "Harry-"
"And now you've come to finish him off!"
"Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers.
"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.
"Thank you." Snape muttered.
"Harry," said Black hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time you've thought I betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down - but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father - I tracked Peter down -"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"
He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly over bright.
"Harry...I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me...I'm to blame, I know it...The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies...I realized what Peter must've done...what I'd done..."
His voice broke. He turned away.
"Enough of this," said Luna, and there was the steely note in her voice Harry had never heard before. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Harry, give me the rat."
Mutely, Harry handed Luna the rat.
"What will you do to him?" Fred asked.
"Yeah. Scabbers has been in our family forever. Don't want him dead."
"What will you do to him?" Ginny asked.
"Force him to show himself," said Black. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."
Black handed Scabbers to Snape, his eyes dark. "I haven't used a wand in years." he gave a rough laugh. "Can you?"
Snape silently took the rat and pulled out his wand. He silently said the incantation, and Harry was shocked.
A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly - Fred yelled - the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then -
It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed; the hair on his back was standing up.
He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Lyra. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Harry saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.
"Well, hello, Peter," said Black pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."
"S-Sirius..." Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friend...my old friend..."
Black's wand arm rose, but Luna seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning took, then turned again to Pettigrew, her voice light and casual.
"Hello Wormtail." she said calmly. "You're scared right now."
"Preposterous!" Pettigrew bluffed, but Harry noticed his eyes kept going to the window.
"No, you're scared." Luna stated. "The Nargles told me. You think that Sirius is going to kill you for what you did."
"I'm innocent!" Pettigrew protested.
"You're not." Black snarled. "You served Voldemort."
Harry sneered as Pettigrew flinched away.
"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" said Black. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"
"Don't know what you mean, Sirius -" muttered Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat now.
"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," said Black. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter...They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them...I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information...and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter -"
"Don't know...what you're talking about..." said Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at them.
"They made me secret keeper!" Pettigrew trilled. "Above you because they trusted me more!"
"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan...a bluff...Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you...It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."
Pettigrew was muttering distractedly; Harry caught words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy," but he couldn't help paying more attention to the ashen color of Pettigrew's face and the way his eyes continued to dart toward the windows and door.
"Then why didn't he show himself?" Fred asked. "He's been living in Harry's dorm for years."
"I'll tell you why," said Black. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him..."
Pettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk.
"How did you escape Azkaban?" Draco asked. "I actually want to know."
"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me...but it kept me sane and knowing who I am...helped me keep my powers...so when it all became...too much...I could transform in my cell...become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know..." He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions...They could tell that my feelings were less - less human, less complex when I was a dog...but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand..."
"But then I saw Peter in that picture...I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry...perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again..."
Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though hypnotized.
"...ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies...and to deliver the last Potter to them. if he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors..."
"So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive..."
"It was as if someone had lit a fire In my head, and the Dementors couldn't destroy it...It wasn't a happy feeling...it was an obsession...but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog...It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused...I was thin, very thin...thin enough to slip through the bars...I swam as a dog back to the mainland ...I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry..."
He looked at Harry, who did not look away.
"Believe me," croaked Black. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."
And at long last, Harry believed him. Throat too tight to speak, he nodded.
"No!"
Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.
"Sirius - it's me...it's Peter...your friend...you wouldn't -"
Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.
"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," said Black.
Pettigrew turned to Snape and Snape sneered.
Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry.
"Harry...Harry...you look just like your father...just like him..."
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Black. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"
"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed...James would have understood, Harry...he would have shown me mercy..."
Black strode forward and pulled Pettigrew back, dumping him on the ground.
"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said Black, who was shaking too. "Do you deny it?"
Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.
"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord...you have no idea...he has weapons you can't imagine ...I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen...He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me -"
"DON'T LIE!" bellowed Black. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"
"He - he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"
"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"
"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"
"You should have realized that if he didn't kill you I would." Black sneered.
Snape wordlessly handed him the wand and Black glared down at him.
"NO!" Harry yelled, jumping forward.
"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Black snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."
"I know," Harry panted. "But you're innocent. Pettigrew and Veritaserum will mean that you get off scotch free. Kill him now and you'll always be a fugitive."
"Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You - thank you - it's more than I deserve - thank you -"
"Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because - I want Sirius free."
No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black lowered his wand.
"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Black. "But think... think what he did..."
"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does..."
Pettigrew was still wheezing behind him.
Silently Snape stepped forward and bound Pettigrew in ropes. With another flick of his wand Pettigrew was floating in midair.
Harry had never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; Lyra, Draco, Snape, and Pettigrew came next. Fred, George, Ginny, and Luna were behind them, while Black and Harry brought up the rear.
"You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Harry as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"
"You're free," said Harry.
"Yes..." said Black. "But I'm also - I don't know if anyone ever told you - I'm your godfather."
"Yeah, I knew that," said Harry.
"Well... your parents appointed me your guardian," said Black stiffly. "If anything happened to them..."
Harry waited. Did Black mean what he thought he meant?
"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle," said Black. "But... well... think about it. Once my name's cleared... if you wanted a... a different home..."
Some sort of explosion took place in the pit of Harry's stomach.
"What - live with you?" he said, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"
"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," said Black quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd -"
"Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Black's. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"
Black turned right around to look at him.
"You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"
"Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry.
Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding, as seen in Harry's picture album.
They did not speak again until they had reached the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw to the knot on the trunk, because the rest of them climbed up to encounter silent branches.
Black saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for Harry to pass. At last, all of them were out.
The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. Harry's mind was buzzing. He was going to leave the Dursleys. He was going to live with Sirius Black, his parents' best friend... He felt dazed... What would happen when he told the Dursleys he was going to live with the convict they'd seen on television...!
Suddenly Harry saw two dark silhouettes approaching, and as they neared Harry saw that it was Ron and Hermione. When they saw Black they both paled before pulling out their wands. Seeing Harry with Snape and the other Slytherins only added fire to the flame.
"Expelliarmus!" Hermione shouted, her wand out. "Petrificus Totalus!"
Black, who was unarmed was hit with the curse, and in the fracas Harry saw Pettigrew transform and run away.
"Damn it." he cursed, un-petrifying Black before spinning after Pettigrew.
"I already tried." Lyra told him, appearing next to him. "He's gone."
Harry rounded furiously on Ron and Hermione only to see Fred, George, and Ginny already screaming at them.
"Run," Black whispered suddenly. "Run. Now."
A cold had enveloped them all, and Harry felt the cold stinging of a dementor. Without a second thought he dashed into the forest, pausing to see Black running the other direction in the form of a black dog. Snape, Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione had gone somewhere, leaving Harry with Luna, Draco, and Lyra.
Harry stopped deep in the forest, panting for breath.
"Harry!" Lyra said. "We have to find Black! He's wandless and weak."
"This way." Luna said, her voice serious as it had been all that evening. They all followed her before the noise of yelping bombarded their ears. They followed the voice, only for the yelping to stop abruptly. As they reached the lakeshore, they saw why - Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.
"Nooo," he moaned. "Nooo... please..."
And then Harry saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. He spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them...
"Think of something happy!" Harry yelled, raising his wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision, shaking his head to rid it of the faint screaming that had started inside it -
I'm going to live with my godfather. I'm leaving the Dursleys.
He forced himself to think of Black, and only Black, and began to chant: "Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!"
Black gave a shudder, rolled over, and lay motionless on the ground, pale as death.
He'll be all right. I'm going to go and live with him.
"Expecto patronum! Lyra, help me! Expecto patronum!"
"Expecto -" Lyra whispered, "expecto - expecto -"
But she couldn't do it. The Dementors were closing in, barely ten feet from them. They formed a solid wall around Harry the group, and were getting closer... Draco and Luna had already fainted.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry yelled, trying to blot the screaming from his ears. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
A thin wisp of silver escaped his wand and hovered like mist before him. At the same moment, Harry felt Lyra collapse next to him. He was alone... completely alone...
"Expecto - expecto patronum -"
Harry felt his knees hit the cold grass. Fog was clouding his eyes. With a huge effort, he fought to remember - Sirius was innocent - innocent - We'll be okay - I'm going to live with him -
"Expecto patronum!" he gasped.
By the feeble light of his formless Patronus, he saw a Dementor halt, very close to him. It couldn't walk through the cloud of silver mist Harry had conjured. A dead, slimy hand slid out from under the cloak. It made a gesture as though to sweep the Patronus aside.
"No - no -" Harry gasped. "He's innocent... expecto expecto patronum -"
He could feet them watching him, hear their rattling breath like an evil wind around him. The nearest Dementor seemed to be considering him. Then it raised both its rotting hands - and lowered its hood.
Where there should have been eyes, there was only thin, gray scabbed skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was a mouth... a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death rattle.
A paralyzing terror filled Harry so that he couldn't move or speak. He saw one of them move towards Lyra and felt a clench of anger in his gut.
"No." he bit out, feeling a rush in his magic as he tried one last time. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he yelled, concentrating on his friendships and how he would never have to see the Dursley's again.
This time it worked. White mist shot out of his wand and exploded into a shape that pushed the dementors away, but Harry was too tired to care. His wand dropped out of his limp hands and he surrendered to the white fog, having faith in his patronus.