Title: Old Scars and Future Hearts

AN: I apologise in advance for the ending. Also, if you want to read about the moment when Penny and Sirius reunited, head over to Outtakes.

Word Count: 2, 588

Chapter fourteen: Confronting the Past, Part I

Harry had, at the age of thirteen, been in many confrontations. Most of the time the confrontations had taken place because someone else had wanted them to. When he went to school, before Hogwarts, it was because the bullies wouldn't leave him alone. When he was at home then Dudley, his aunt and uncle wouldn't leave him alone. The first time that Harry ended up in a confrontation because of something he had done was when he was eleven years old. That was the first time that he came face to face with Voldemort. Or rather what was left of him. And even if Harry sometimes wished that he hadn't experienced what had happened that day, he couldn't deny that his choices had caused the confrontation. He was sure that Voldemort would have been much happier if Harty had stayed out of it. He had to take the blame for the second-year confrontation too. Again, Voldemort would have been much happier if Harry had decided to let Lockhart do the honours of facing him. Those moments, when Harry stood face to face with the man who had gone to such extreme measures to kill him, had been intense. But that was nothing compared to the moment when the door to Penny's flat opened and she saw three people standing outside.

Harry with his messy black hair, those emerald green eyes and a nervous facial expression. His hands were pushed down his pockets, probably because he didn't know what to do with them.

Draco with the blond curls, the icy blue eyes and pouting lips whom looked very grouchy with his arms crossed over his chest.

Then there was Remus Lupin. It was him Penny looked at. Harry didn't know what he had expected would happen when those two laid eyes on each other. One part of him believed that they would be screaming at each other. Unlike Penny, he didn't know that Remus expressed some types of anger silently. His sandy-blond hair was dirty, the boys assumed that he hadn't showered in a few days, he was out of breath and every few steps he would flinch and frown. His face was paler than normal and it felt like the boys could have gotten away from him if they had decided to try but for some reason they hadn't. Harry couldn't explain why. Maybe it was because of that little voice in the back of his head which told them not to underestimate Remus.

"What are you doing here?" Penny asked. It felt like the moment would never end but in reality, it probably only lasted for a few seconds.

Remus gritted his teeth and put one hand on each boy's shoulder. "These two tried to make a run for it. I decided to follow them. I assumed that they would be up to no good."

One corner of Penny's mouth raised but Harry barely noticed it before she looked down on the floor. It didn't matter that they were standing outside and there were plenty of oxygen. It felt like Harry couldn't breathe. The moment was tense, uncomfortable and he just waited for someone to say the wrong thing, or possibly the right thing, which would cause an explosion.

"You should probably come in," Penny walked inside the flat. Her hair was messy, as if she had been dragging her hand through repeatedly it in a short period of time, the colour of her highlights had changed and were now silvery, dark purple and bright pink. She wore a colourful t-shirt and a pair of thigh jeans. "Can I get you anything?"

Draco and Harry barely took two steps down the hallway before they felt someone take a firm grip on their collars and pull them backwards. Draco quickly got his balance back and didn't look like he was affected the slightest by the rough treatment. Harry on the other hand moved his hand and pushed Remus away. He didn't bother check if it was him. Harry assumed that it was. Remus grabbed his shoulder instead and ignored the way Harry glared at him.

"Where is he?"

Penny bent down to pick up things from the floor. Her flat wasn't dirty or messy per say but there were things that had probably fallen down from when someone had been in a rush. Pieces of clothing laid on the ground and Penny picked up a thick jacket among other things. Her face was turned away from them.

"Would you like some tea boys or maybe some water?"

Harry didn't know if it was that Penny blatantly ignored his question, if it was her tone of voice or something else that annoyed him. But he knew that Remus was annoyed. For a moment he believed that he heard his teacher growl at the woman but he quickly told himself that his imagination had played a trick on him. Remus was angry but that was it.

"Answer the question!"

Penny stood and the clothes laid forgotten on the floor. When she looked at Remus her eyes seemed to shoot lightning bolts and Harry got another image of what people must have meant when they spoke of looks that could kill. There was an anger, a viciousness which Harry was sure he had only seen a handful of times. He was thankful, very thankful even, that he wasn't on the receiving end of one of those.

"Why should I tell you?" she asked while gesturing wildly. "What are you going to do huh? Are you going to hand him back to the dementors? Is that what you were planning to do Remus? Just waltz back into the castle and hand him back?"

There was no missing the pain and the anger in Penny's voice. She wore her heart on her sleeve, and Harry could tell that she wasn't used to doing that. He could tell by the way she gestured, and sometimes put her arms around her body, that she was only doing it because she couldn't stop it from pouring out. It reminded Harry of when he was a child and he watched Dudley do an experiment for school. It had something to do with water. Dudley, of course, did it wrong and let the water run into the glass even after it was full. The water ran down the sides of the glass and Harry thought that it looked like it could continue forever. This reminded him of that because Penny in this case was the glass. She had carried these emotions around, the glass was full, and then this event took place, more water was added, and now the emotions came pouring out and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"He murdered my best friend. He needs to pay…"

Penny let out a loud groan which made Remus stop talking. Her fists went from being clenched and hanging passively by her side to resting against her cheeks. There was no missing the frustration that seeped through every fibre of her being.

"He didn't kill James. He didn't kill Lily," she let out a deep sigh and rested her fingers against her forehead while the other hand rested against her hips. "Sirius didn't do it. Remus, you know in your heart that he didn't do it. He loved James more than he loved anyone in his life. You know that there is no way in hell that he could have possibly betrayed him. He would have rather died than do anything remotely similar to what you are accusing him of."

Remus had let go of Draco and Harry. He went from smiling to looking as if he was in pain. Harry didn't know what to make of that but he did know that Penny didn't react. Draco gestured towards the door, just barely visible for Harry to notice. But the raven-haired boy shook his head and turned his attention to Remus. They couldn't just leave and go back to the castle. If they were going to leave then they needed to know some things first. Because even if Harry was sure that they had figured out a lot, there were probably a lot in the story that they had missed and needed to know to help Sirius.

"You were in love with…"

Penny shook her head and raised a finger to stop him from saying anything more – "…I am not were. I am in love with him."

Remus shook his head as if it didn't matter and although Harry was sure that Penny thought otherwise, she didn't say anything about it. "Fine. You are in love with him. I used to think that you two were beautiful. I cheered you on and I wanted your relationship to last because you made him so damn happy. Those emotions used to benefit you, both of you, but right now it's not. Those emotions are just making you blind to the truth."

"Stop, just stop it," Penny shook her head and then she laughed. Not loud. And she didn't sound happy. It didn't even sound like a real laughter but at the same time it couldn't be described as anything else. "My emotions are not making me blind. But your guilt, Remus, is doing that to you. It's making you completely unable to see what is right in front of you."

Remus looked at Harry. For a moment the boy thought he saw something that looked like nostalgia. A smile flashed across his teachers face but it disappeared a moment later. Harry didn't know what to expect. More anger, more accusations, more tension increasing words? Anything could happen and that was not necessarily a good thing. Then Remus looked at Penny again. His hands were intertwined and there were no emotions on his face.

"I see James' son," he began. "I see Lily's son and I am reminded by how important it is that Sirius pay for what he did."

Harry didn't think before he spoke. But then again, that was hardly something new. In tense moments, in confrontations, he rarely gave much thought to the words that first appeared in his head and then was spoken out loud. "I don't think he did it."

His words rarely carried any weight. It felt like people didn't listen too carefully. His words went in through one ear and then out the other. People heard him but they didn't listen to him. There was a difference. Normally, it didn't bother him. This time that did not happen. He was given all the attention. Remus was the only one who looked shocked at what Harry had just said.

"See Remus," Penny said. There was a certain desperation in her voice that Harry hadn't heard before. "Harry doesn't believe that Sirius did it. Please, if you can't listen to me then listen to him. Listen to Draco."

Remus glanced to the side and for a moment looked as if he was reminded of Draco's presence. The blond didn't seem to take offence even if Harry rolled his eyes and scoffed. He was not fine with having his friend being forgotten after everything he had done.

"Malfoy," Remus glanced at Penny whom nodded. He turned his attention back to Draco. "You believe that Sirius Black is innocent?"

That famous snarky expression appeared on Draco's face. Harry had never been so grateful to see it before. "With all due respect professor, the answer to your question should be quite obvious but I am going to answer anyway by saying that I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe that to be the truth."

The tension changed. It became more alive. It felt like a breathing, living, being which could explode at any moment.

"Look professor," Harry said and efficiently earned Remus attention. "We can tell you about what happened. We can guide you through every event that led to my parents being betrayed and… murdered." – Harry's throat closed up when realisation hit him. He rarely thought about the fact that his parents had actually been murdered – "But I don't think that we need to. Because you know, you know in your heart that Sirius would never have betrayed my parents, or you or Peter. Sirius wasn't that kind of person, he wouldn't do that to you. It was Peter all along."

"Peter? Peter betrayed Lily and James?" Remus looked dazed and Harry almost questioned if his teacher understood what he was being told. "But if Sirius is innocent, why did he break into Hogwarts?"

Harry wanted to tell Remus that Sirius hadn't done that when Penny began speaking again. There was an urgency in her voice, in her gestures but she looked more in control than she had been moments ago.

"Because Peter is at Hogwarts," her smile grew as she moved her head to look him in the eyes. Remus didn't try to avoid her but his movements had become slower and she had no patience. "Peter cut his finger off. He faked his own death and somehow got to Hogwarts. He's been living in his animagus-form for twelve years."

Remus closed his eyes for a few seconds. He scrunched his face together as if he was experiencing a particularly bad headache. Harry would understand if he did but the seconds felt more like hours and the longer it took the more he felt like doing something to wake Remus from this paralysation. He couldn't even enjoy the fact that he and Draco had been right.

"You need to prove it," he eventually spoke. Somehow it sounded as if he had aged several years in the past few seconds. When Remus opened his eyes, he looked at Penny. "You know where he is. Take me to him and let him prove it."

Penny clenched her fists. "What are you going to do if he can't prove it?"

"Hand him over to the dementors," Harry took a step back. He ignored the hurt expression on Remus face. All he could hear in the moment that followed was the sigh that came from Penny. It said more than words ever could and it appeared to leave her body in slow motion. "If it comes down to that, can you please do me a favour and promise not stop me?"

Penny looked like she was about to laugh. She didn't. But she did smile at him as if he was the biggest idiot on the planet. "Of course, I can't promise you that, I won't."

"You know that you can go into Azkaban for aiding and abetting a wanted criminal?" Remus paused. "Are you really willing to risk going to Azkaban for him?"

Penny had grabbed her jacket. Harry could see her the wand in her pocket and was sure that Remus had too. There was a determination and a strength in the way she slid into her short, black leather booths. It reminded Harry of Hermione and of McGonagall. Both strong women he wouldn't want to get on his bad side. They had the ability to make anything look dangerous. Penny could obviously do that too. Because her smile, although it didn't make her look dangerous per say, made Harry sure of the fact that Remus was at a serious disadvantage. Not the other way around.

"I can guarantee you that it won't come down to that. But yes, Remus, I am willing to go to Azkaban for him," she fixed her collar and brushed of some dust. "Let's go boys, time to confront the past."