Whispers in the Night

by Jean11089

Words have more power than we think. Thoughts & dreams can be revealed to those closest to us, to those we want to know more of, & to our greatest enemies. A single act of kindness, a single word can change someone's entire world. Join Harry on another adventure through his time at Hogwarts where even the quietest whispers can make a difference. Harry/Multi. Mature for a reason.

21. Chapter 21: Marauders' End

Whispers in the Night

Disclaimer: I'm just playing in JKR's sandbox and make no money from this. Please enjoy the story and feel free to leave comments and critiques, it's the only way to get better at this. I'm writing this story for my own enjoyment.

Content Warning: This story will contain mentions of abuse and scenes containing but not limited to swearing, violence, smut and other Adult Content.

Author's Note: 1. I couldn't help myself and decided to get this chapter up on schedule. A lot of this chapter was entirely rewritten or added in this weekend because I had so many ideas. What started at 12,000 words became 21,000. So if there are some mistakes here and there, sorry. 2. Big thanks to all of my readers, reviewers, followers and favorites as always. I love hearing what people think and what they liked most about certain chapters and scenes. 3. As always, enjoy!

Ahh… Ahah. Ahahaha. Ahahahahahahaha!

Edit: I made some reaction edits among a few characters later on in the chapter. I felt this was a more realistic avenue and something that actually needed a change.

Chapter Twenty-One: Marauders' End

"I still can't believe it's only two weeks until summer."

Harry wasn't sure which of his friends had said it but he couldn't agree more. Even now he smiled as he walked out of the castle with his friends to enjoy the rest of the day while they still could. The last few months had been refreshing for the green-eyed wizard for a number of reasons. Remus and Minerva had taught him a lot of dueling tactics and Poppy had tutored harry on how to deal with his own wounds from time to time.

Flitwick had offered to teach Harry how to duel in order to protect himself, though Harry had instead suggested he teach Susan and Daphne since he was already learning so much. Both girls had accepted the professor's offer in a heartbeat. After all of their progress in school without a single Dementor attack and absolutely no random encounters with supposed mass murderers, it had been nice. In fact Harry had been able to focus on schooling and strengthening his relationships more than he ever had before. It was a relaxing thing, not being constantly threatened by enemies numerous and unknown, or known as the case might be this year.

"I just can't wait to get home," Harry sighed as he took the chance to slip into his usual nook in-between the beech tree that overlooked the Black Lake.

Susan smiled as she slipped in next to him and leaned against him, her head on his shoulder as she let out a long, relaxing breath. "I'm glad you think of Bones Manor as home. Auntie will be pleased."

"And you are too I'm sure," Daphne teased as she eased into Harry's lap with a smirk and wriggled closer to him as she took his other shoulder when she laid her head upon it. "A whole summer with the best guy around every day? Kind of hard to beat that kind of summer."

"Oi! We are right here you know," Blaise piped up as he sat down with Hermione on one of the large roots surrounding the threesome.

"Oh I know," the dark-haired Slytherin shot back with a smirk. "But it's true for me."

Blaise would have pursued the point but Hermione had caught his attention with a whisper in his ear. The Italian grinned and held her tight to his side as he kissed her cheek. Theo and Tracey sat across from them on another of the large roots while Neville and Hannah sat at the end of the opening between the roots, content to lean against each-other as they joined their friends.

"At least we'll all be able to visit each-other often after our initial trips" Hannah chipped in with a smile. "We all have the floo, even Hermione, so getting together shouldn't be a problem."

"I dunno Hannah, I'm kinda tired of seeing some of these lousy gits." Theo laughed as he dodged a few thrown bits of spare parchment from the rest of the group until he fell over the other side of the root.

"Shows how good of a friend you are," Harry snickered as Tracey helped the tallest among them back into place. "But honestly I'll just be glad I'm not in prison," he continued as he wrapped an arm tight around Susan and Daphne and pulled them tighter to him. "Actually having a summer worth talking about will be a first."

"We'll have to make sure to give you some good memories then," Susan whispered to him as the others nodded appreciatively at Harry's statement.

"Are you really sure we should be thinking about summer already? I mean we have a week of review and preparation for summer homework and next year left to us," Hermione pointed out as she leaned into Blaise. "We should be studying."

"Relax, Hermione, we'll have time," Neville said as he leaned back on his elbows. "You've kept us all studying for a month in preparation for the exams. I think we all deserve a little downtime."

A wave of agreement spread through the group and finding no support, Hermione huffed until Blaise kissed her neck. Quickly she blushed and nudged him in the ribs. "Fine, I'll ease off. Just know that over the summer I definitely want to get together and compare homework."

"Yes Hermione," they eight of them chimed together and laughed.

Hermione, defeated once again by her friends, shortly joined in the laughter as they all enjoyed the afternoon and let themselves relax. Everyone discussed possible summer plans and speculation on how well they did on exams. It was some time later when they finally went back in for dinner. Harry, upon seeing Remus get up from the staff table, quickly excused himself and made his way after his honorary uncle.

"Professor Lupin!" Harry called as he chased the man out into the main hall. Some rules remained in place, socially at least. Harry never called Remus anything but Professor Lupin in public to avoid any ideas of favoritism, and the same went for all of his other close relationships with the elder witches and wizards around him. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Certainly Harry. Mind following me though? It's a full moon tonight and I need to take my wolfsbane," he explained in a quiet whisper as he pointed up the stairs.

With a brief nod Harry followed the werewolf, glad for once to not have his defense professor not try to harm him in some way this year. Of course, the dueling and spell practice was entirely exempt from that thought. In fact the practice surprise attempts Remus occasionally used on him had done more for Harry's defenses and readiness than anything any formal training might have offered.

Those thoughts were cut short, however, as the pair entered the werewolf's office. It was instantly clear that the room was had systematically been emptied. Every cage, jar, and pen that had held a creature was conspicuously empty and the shelves that had nearly overflowed with books were now stark and bare. A glance over in the corner showed Harry a magical trunk full to the brim with books and clothes. A small sense of dread settled in Harry's stomach as he watched Remus round his desk and grab the smoking goblet that Snape had left there. Harry had nothing against werewolves, far from it since he knew no others besides Remus, but something was wrong with this room that had something to do with that aspect of his honorary uncle.

"Why is it... emptier in here?" Harry asked suspiciously as he gestured around the room.

"Ahh, I'm afraid that my year is almost up," Remus said as he sipped at his potion with a grimace. "I agreed to teach for one year and one year only. I've been lucky enough not to put anyone in danger with my condition but I don't want to chance it any further."

"But you're the best we've ever had," Harry insisted as he nearly slammed his hands on the desk, indignant anger rushed to the fore of his mind. "You can't just leave. We still need you here. I still need you here."

Remus smiled through the disgusting taste of his potion as he drained it and beamed at Harry when he had finished. The solemn smile was one Harry burned in his mind as he heard the man's answer. "You don't know how good it is to hear that I am wanted around, Harry, especially by someone I consider family. I'm truly glad you think so highly of me, Harry, but it's time for me to leave Hogwarts."

Harry's breath caught in his throat briefly as Remus busied himself with what few knickknacks and bits of clothing remained around the room. Harry's fists clenched on the table as he stared at the defense professor. "So you're just going to abandon me then?"

"Never!" the werewolf shouted quickly as he instantly rounded on Harry and gazed intently into his eyes. As swift as Remus had ever been he moved to the young man's side and took hold of his shoulders. "I'm not abandoning you, Harry. I'll always be just a letter away. I promise you, I'm not leaving you behind, not again, not ever."

Remus sighed as he saw the anger simmering in Harry's eyes soften before he continued. "But I've risked enough taking this job. Dumbledore has risked enough in letting me teach. I know you're not fond of Headmaster because of what the part he played in your life until now, but he did let me learn magic in the first place and it would be a poor way to repay him the same kindness by getting him in trouble if my secret were to ever be discovered."

"But you've taught us so much," Harry pleaded as the werewolf straightened a few more things up. "You've taught me so much about my family and magic. Are you sure you won't stay?"

"I'm sure," Remus said as he took the Marauder's Map off of the wall. "My time here has run its course and I'm sure Severus will want a chance at the position of Defense Teacher as soon as I'm gone. But while I may not be here, part of me will be left with you." The werewolf eased the folded parchment into Harry's hands as he looked the teen in the eye. "It's been a dream to teach here, Harry. It truly has been a wondrous experience that I never thought I could accomplish, a lifetime's work, as it were. But I've done quite enough and I'd rather not risk more danger to you or anyone else I care about by remaining here."

Harry's shoulder slumped as he nodded in resignation. He knew there was no convincing Remus at this point, especially when the man was even giving him the map. The teen struggled to smile at the thought of what trouble he and his friends might get into before he paused. Something wasn't right, and on closer inspection the teen had to do a double take. Harry forced his eyes shut, shook his head, then opened them again as he opened up the map a little more for a better look.

"Moony... Is the map ever wrong?"

Confused and a little amused, Remus shook his head. "No, it never lies about who is where. All of us tried to hide ourselves from it but with all of the enchantments at work we failed. Only the invisibility cloak you possess will hide you from it. The map is foolproof otherwise and always speaks the truth. Why?"

A ball of rage settled in Harry's stomach as he read the words on the page again and again before a dark certainty settled within him.

"Because there's a dot with Peter Pettigrew's name on it in Hagrid's hut."

The werewolf practically leaped to Harry's side to get a better look. As soon as his eyes locked on the name a low growl rolled through the defense professor. "That's not possible... Not unless-"

"Sirius is innocent," Harry finished for him as he revealed the conclusion he himself had reached some time ago. "I don't know about you, Moony, but I want answers."

The minute Harry turned toward the door he was stopped by the older wizard. The tight grip on his shoulder, like an iron vice, held Harry in place as Remus kept him from rushing off. Pain, anger and rage suffused both men as they looked to one another. Neither one wanted to put the other in danger but neither wanted to miss out on the opportunity to learn a truth that had been kept from them for so long.

"Let me handle this," Remus tried to insist as he stared at Harry.

"Whether it's Sirius or Peter, one of them betrayed my parents and I'm leaning toward the latter now that we know he's alive. I'm not waiting anymore, Moony. If Peter is alive, then I want to have a long talk with the bastard to figure out what happened and where he's been," Harry told him, his breathing even and his eyes hard as he glanced at the map again. "I'm going, Remus. You'll have to stun me to stop me."

The werewolf considered that course of action for a moment but as he released Harry's shoulder and drew his own wand with sudden conviction, Remus nodded toward the door.

"Then let's get moving. We will settle this as family should; together."

The pair shared a grim nod before they finished preparing themselves for a confrontation over a decade in the making. Neither wasted any time in their rush out of the office and down the hall. Three silver werewolves erupted from Remus' wand and dashed off at a whispered word as he kept pace with Harry. The green-eyed wizard stopped for nothing and no-one, eager and determined to learn the truth at all costs. Even those that congratulated him on Gryffindor's recent Quidditch Cup win over Slytherin were blown off as Harry held his wand in one hand and the map in the other in his mad rush through the castle.

"Harry!"

"No time, Daphne," Harry shouted as they rushed past his friends.

Not once did he look back, otherwise he would have seen each of his friends begin to follow him, each as concerned as the next. Rarely had they seen Harry so enraged and none of them wanted to leave Harry to deal with whatever had angered him on his own. The entire procession sprinted out of the castle and across the grounds, sewing confusion in their wake until they slowed just outside of Hagrid's hut. As soon as Harry was certain Pettigrew was still inside he knocked. When there was no answer he quickly began to bang on the door with his fist until the half-giant opened the door.

"Harry!" the friendly half-giant greeted amiably. "Bit impatient today are ye? I was just about to set up some tea for meself when I heard ye trying to break me door down. What're ye doing here?"

"Hagrid, is Peter Pettigrew in your house?" Harry asked quickly, unaware how insane he might sound in his determination to learn the truth.

"'Course he's not! He's dead isn't he?" Hagrid looked concernedly from Harry to Remus, and he wasn't the only one. Each of his friends wondered just what had gotten into the teen for him to ask such a question. "Remus, what's going on? Why's Harry asking for a dead man?"

"I'm sorry, Hagrid, but we need to search your house. Pettigrew may be hiding inside in his animagus form," Remus said as he made to move forward, only to be stopped by the half giant.

"Now ye just hold on righ' there!" Hagrid yelled as he held both Remus and Harry at bay as they attempted to enter his home. "Tell me what's going on and why ye think ye need to search me house!"

"Hagrid, have you seen a rat lurking in your house somewhere?" Daphne stepped in as she realized what was going on when she managed to look at the map in Harry's hand.

"A rat? Well no- wait..." Hagrid paused for a moment as he looked over his shoulder. The odd moment notwithstanding, the half-giant wondered just what might really be going on. "Scabbers. I caugh' him a week ago stealin' from me cupboards. I was gonna give him back to Ron at yer next Care lesson, Harry."

Harry went still and he wasn't the only one. Each of the students realized just what this might mean, especially if Pettigrew was in fact alive. Harry, however, was bothered by a different idea entirely. If Pettigrew had been so close all of this time, how had none of them ever noticed? A charm? A curse? No, who would ever suspect a rat? One extra dot on a map flooded with names and dots walking everywhere? Nobody would notice him even if he did become vulnerable to surveillance of the map, it's what made Sirius such a threat and it worked perfectly to hide Peter until now. They had all been deceived by their own ignorance and lack of proper paranoia.

"Bring him out," Harry told the half-giant quickly. "If we're wrong and Scabbers is just a rat then we'll take him right back up to Ron, I promise."

Although the half-giant hesitated, the plea in Harry's voice was enough to move the large man into action. Without another word Hagrid went back inside and grabbed a small pot. With a quick turn he dumped the rat into his hand and carefully held the creature up for them to see. Instantly it began to wriggle before them all until the rat suddenly lashed out and fell to the ground.

Where once a rat had been a full grown, rodent looking man appeared. His eyes feral and mouth drawn back in a screech, the man leaped on Harry and dragged him to the ground without warning. Down the hill around Hagrid's hut they rolled until they came to a stop. Harry struggled against the frantic hold the man had on him until he went still. Harry's wand was against his own throat as he laid trapped in Pettigrew's desperate hold.

"Remus! Oh Remus old friend it's been too long!" Peter said with in a skittish voice laced with relief. "You believe me when I say I've been hiding, right? I didn't do anything wrong! The Dark Lord! The Death Eaters! They would have hunted me, Remus! You have to understand!"

"Let go of Harry, Peter," Lupin said in as even and calm a tone as he could muster. Harry's friends drew their wands and created a perimeter around them, unwilling to let this situation get beyond them as they glared at the man who looked made of squalor as he threatened Harry's life. "Give Harry back his wand and we can talk about this."

"Not until you hear my side of the story!" Peter yelled frantically. "They were going to kill me, Remus! The dark lord and his death eaters! Sirius was going to come for me! He still is! Sirius is out there! He's coming and I need to be kept safe!"

"You're wrong, you pathetic worm," a growling voice declared all around them. "I'm already here."

The dark, feral voice sent a shiver through the group. Before any of them could turn a wand in what they thought might be toward Sirius, he roared out a spell from his hiding place and the teens were sent sprawling away in a gust of wind unlike any they had felt before. Another burst of wind and Remus was thrown clear of the students as Peter and Harry were thrust deep into the nearby forest together. The pair tumbled through the air and rolled along the ground, each turn across the ground bruising their bodies until they came to a stop in a small clearing Harry recognized as the one he often visited Fluffy in.

With his own wand pressed firmly to his throat, Harry growled at the sniveling man behind him. Bruises like they'd just gotten were nothing compared to what he had gone through before but they still hurt like hell. Despite every desire to tear Peter limb from limb he wasn't going to get his chance, not yet at least. As soon as Harry was about to make his move, however, Sirius walked forward, his own wand trained on the pair. Pettigrew latched on even more tightly to his captive and Harry took a breath to remain as calm as he could while being a shield between two men that could be responsible for that Halloween night so long ago.

"You coward! Let go of Harry! Let go of my godson, you sniveling sack of shit!" Sirius roared as his wand glowed with an angry red spell. "Let him go and take what you deserve like the scummy bastard you are!"

"He's here to kill us, Harry! First me! Then you!" Peter screamed frantically as he held the boy between them. More and more the rodent-faced man seemed to sink beneath Harry, making himself as small a target behind the teen as he could as his breath panted hectically in Harry's ear. "He wants to finish what the Dark Lord started! He wants to kill us both and end the Potters once and for all! You can't let him get me! I swear I can get us out of here if you help me!"

"Stop lying!" Black screamed as he shot the ground next to them. Peter screeched in fear as Harry growled at the pressure on his neck as dirt cascaded all around them from the explosion. "I would have died for Lily and James! Just like you should have, Peter! You should have died instead of betraying your friends!"

"Who are you going to believe, Harry? A mass murderer everyone knows killed your parents, or your best friend's rat?" Peter chattered away in Harry's ear as his grip tightened on the teen. "Oh I know you and Ron have been in a rough spot this year but you'll get past it! You did last year, didn't you! You even solved arguments with me! You did! I was as good a friend to you as I was to your parents, Harry. Don't give me to him and I can keep you safe!"

"I'll be the one keeping Harry safe if you let him go you rat bastard!"

"Then answer me this," Harry gasped. Only then did the wand at his neck ease off slightly and Harry breathed deep as he prepared himself. "You were my parents' friend. You promised to help them, right? To keep them safe? To avenge them?" Harry could feel Pettigrew nod in increasingly panicked urgency as he waited for the real question to come.

"Fourteen years." Harry's voice had gone cold as he spoke the words. "When it was all over and there was no more threat, there were fourteen years to be had with me, their son. If I mattered so much to you, if they mattered that much to you, then where were you when I needed you? Where were you when I needed a family?"

The breathing behind him stilled and Harry's eyes hardened as the knot in his stomach was torn asunder by a knife of hatred.

"I thought so."

With a great heave Harry pulled his back off of Peter's chest only to snap his body around with a quick jerk. Within a split second Harry slammed his elbow into Pettigrew's side. The sudden rush of air and pain from the animagus' lungs loosened the rodent's grip on him and Harry twisted again. When his elbow struck the other side, he wrenched himself free and grasped the hand the hand that held his wand.

Fury took control and pale fire roared to life around their hands. The wand shone bright as silver energy coalesced around it. Pale viridian flames circled the length and drove down upon Peter's hand. Harry roared at Peter as the man wailed and screamed in agony as his hand was burnt from the searing flames. The scent of burnt flesh and burning hair flooded the clearing as Harry intensified the heat and made the man suffer as they struggled for control of Harry's wand.

Unable to take it anymore, Peter's fingers, charred, bleeding and scorched nearly beyond recognition dropped the wand. As soon as it hit the ground Harry snapped it up in his right hand as he finally released Peter's own with his left. The feeling of boiling flesh beneath his fingers had nearly sickened the teen before he held back any disgust as he turned toward the enraged convict nearby.

When he saw a rush of movement from Sirius as he dove toward the screaming rat animagus with a spell on his lips, Harry swiftly reacted.

"Immobulus!"

The entire clearing stilled and the angry form of Sirius lunging through the air with a spell at the ready froze with eyes wide in surprise. It wasn't just Sirius that had frozen on the spot either. Peter's sniveling came to an abrupt end as he cradled his hand, his mouth contorted in preparation to scream until crazed, desperate eyes widened at the sight of an improbable savior. The trees and grass remained in place, their sigh in the brief wind absent as Harry panted with rage as he glanced from one man to the other. One of the two men was responsible for what happened and Harry was going to get the truth, one way or another.

"Deprimo."

The whispered spell slammed everything frozen around Harry to the ground. Immobile, bleeding, and nearly broken, both men seemed to growl and whimper in pain as Harry let the pressure of his spell rise higher and higher to nearly breaking both men apart before he lifted it. With a flick of his wand, Harry summoned wands from both men and looked at the magical instruments. Sirius' was the same as he had seen before, black with runes etched into it. Pettigrew's looked in need of polishing, its finish chipping away as it seemed to fester in the presence of the man that bore it. With a glare, Harry banished both wands as far away as he possibly could before he lifted the freezing charm he had cast earlier.

"Don't even think about it," Harry stated in a deadly calm tone when Sirius got to his knees as if he was about to dash for his wand or to try and strangle Wormtail. The man froze and looked up at him only to glance back in hatred and fury at Pettigrew before he looked back at Harry in sorrow and wonder.

"I want answers," the furious teen continued as he heard footsteps rushing toward them. "From both of you and none of us are leaving this clearing until I get them."

"Harry!" Susan cried as she rushed into the clearing with Daphne, Remus Hagrid and the rest of their friends.

"Stay back, Sue," Harry said in a tone so cold it sent shivers through everyone present as he kept his eyes trained on the two men at his mercy. "They're going to give me answers I've waited fourteen years for."

Nobody dared get any closer, not when they could clearly see Harry wasn't in the mood to take things easy. In fact it was the most intense any of them had ever seen the green-eyed wizard and none of them wanted to end up on the wrong side of his wand in his currently compromised state. Instead of moving toward him, each of his friends fanned out and formed a circle around the entire scene just as they had before. Each stood with their wand at the ready, half of them had their wand pointed toward Pettigrew, and half were aimed toward Black as they waited for any sort of prompt from the green-eyed teen before them to act on. Thankful that his friends were giving him a chance to learn more about what had happened all those years ago, Harry returned his attention to the two bedraggled men in the clearing.

"Believe me when I say I have no problem making you tell me one way or another," Harry spoke smoothly at them both. He was just loud enough to be heard by them all and a feeling of dread washed over the clearing as Harry's magic wrapped around him. Silver wisps coiled about Harry's wand and slipped up his arm as the fire in his left hand flared even brighter for a moment. "I spent fourteen years in Hell and right now I'm ready to give you both a taste of it for betraying my parents in your own way. Now, Remus told me my parents used the Fidelius Charm to keep my all of us safe. Who was the secret keeper?"

"Sirius!" Peter yelled quickly in obvious panic. "Sirius was the secret keeper! Everyone knew that! He practically yelled it from the street-tops when your parents went into hiding!"

"I told them to use Peter," Sirius said more slowly as he glared at the sniveling man. The barely restrained desire to kill Pettigrew could practically be felt in the man's magic as he glared at the paling and increasingly pained rat animagus. "Your parents wanted to use me and I knew everyone would come looking for me because I was always around them. I was the obvious choice as their best friend. Because of that, I told them to pick Peter while I drew al attention toward myself. Wormtail was the best option at the time, or so I thought. He was good at hiding, good at learning things and spying, keeping himself out of trouble."

Sirius paused, his hands shaking in unsatisfied rage as he sat upright to get a better look at the man he was hunting. "When your parents made him the secret keeper I thought our victory was assured, that your parents would survive and we would find a way to stop Voldemort once and for all… But that didn't happen. Instead of being the friend he should have been, Peter handed your parents over to Voldemort within weeks."

Harry looked between the two for any sort of tell that they might be lying and couldn't quite find one that satisfied him. Instead, Harry turned to logic and what best fit the situation. He knew there was doubt about Sirius' involvement in his parents' deaths ever since speaking with Minnie all of those months ago. His grandmother had been fond of Sirius, as had Minerva, and Harry knew in his bones neither would ever love someone that would betray those they loved so easily.

Harry knew next to nothing of Peter besides a few anecdotes from Remus. He was a fringe player mostly, someone that grouped toward the powerful and influential. His pranks were often mean-spirited and the fearful little man always left his fellows behind in a tough spot so he wouldn't get punished. Each had their own story and Sirius had the advantage of detail, though sometimes the best lie was one riddled with details and truth.

For all Harry knew, however, the two men before him could have lied about everything to try and earn mercy.

"When you learned my parents died," Harry moved on quickly, "where were you? What did you do when you found out?"

"I was on the run!" Peter suddenly said, eager to clear himself. "I ran because I knew if Sirius had told the secret that Voldemort would go after your parents and then the rest of us. The Order would be destroyed if your parents died and Sirius would help make sure of that! When I heard the dark lord had died attempting to kill you I ran so Sirius couldn't find me in a mad bid for revenge but he did! He tried to kill me with a blasting curse and he killed twelve muggles trying to get me!"

Harry stared long and hard at the sniveling, cowardly man. He wasn't sure if he believed him but the pattern fit what he knew. With a glance to Remus, Harry saw the werewolf shrug in response. Even he wasn't sure but they could both tell something was off. They needed to hear more, and Harry was willing to get it as he turned his wand toward Sirius and gave him a nod to answer the question.

"I was heading to your house with three fat sacks of Halloween candy and some muggle gags," Sirius admitted with a barely-there smile. "James was going nuts that he couldn't play any Halloween pranks and Lily always loved chocolate and Halloween candy. I thought I could surprise them, and you, with some Halloween candy I managed to get by transfiguring myself and running around as a kid in bright red robes with a blue hat covered in stars that night…"

"I was on my motorbike when I saw a bright green and silver flash in the distance…" Sirius continued as he spoke in a clearly broken tone of voice. "I feared the worst and pushed that bike as hard as I could to get there but when I did… James was dead in the hallway, taken down by a killing curse. The hallway he died in was a warzone and he went down fighting to buy you and your mother time… I heard you crying upstairs and I had to step over my brother in all but blood to get to you…"

"When I saw Lily I…" Sirius choked out a sob as he looked to his hands. "She gave her life trying to protect you and we all were worse off without her. When I finally stopped staring at her you had that scar on your head and you were crying... I p-picked you up out of the crib and bundled you up in your favorite blankets as quickly as I could. I got us out of the burning house and I… I sang one of the songs Dorea taught me to get you to calm down. It was something she and Lily figured out early on before your grandparents passed away. You always loved to hear your gran and Lily singing."

Sirius slowly began to smile as he stared at his hands, as if reliving the moment. A low hum erupted from deep in the man's chest as he lost himself in memories of a time lost to all but him. He hummed a song Harry knew deep inside as if he had heard it just yesterday, because he had. Dorea had left some pages in her journal enchanted to sing songs or pronounce words, especially the pages that included spells. Harry had played that song for ten minutes before he stopped himself getting lost in the sound of his grandmother's singing.

"La Vie en Rose..." Harry whispered in awe.

"Yeah... English or French, it didn't matter which we sang it in. Never once did it fail to calm you down whenever Dorea hummed it," Sirius said with a light smile as he finally looked up at Harry. "It worked for me too."

"I remember," Hagrid breathed as he stepped forward with Remus, tears marring his cheeks as he recalled that fateful Halloween night. "He was humming tha' song, jus' like tha' when I came an' got ye fer Dumbledore."

"What about afterwards?" Harry pressed as he got back on track, his cold tone softened just barely as he looked from one man to the other. "What did you do?"

"I tracked down that useless lump of flesh and bones and tried to avenge your parents," Sirius barked dangerously as he turned to look back at Peter, all traces of the kindly man he had been mere moments ago replaced by the spirit of a mass murderer he had been called for so long. "I used every bit of magic I could but Peter was too fast. He dodged everything I could throw at him and used shields to deflect anything he couldn't. So I used a blasting hex and overpowered it, trying to destroy everywhere he might run away from my spells. I never thought for a moment that he might be strong enough to redirect it… Peter deflected it into a gas main and killed the muggles. I was blown away from the explosion and hit my head. When I came to I was laughing my head off, cursed to do so as I watched Pettigrew slice off his own finger and smile as he transformed and ran away. I was so caught up in my own guilt and rage I don't know half of the things I was saying when the aurors arrived."

The longer Sirius talked, the more Peter began to cower and cradle his burnt and mangled hand as he tried to hide his free unharmed hand. With a flick of his wand Harry dragged the hand out from under Pettigrew's armpit to reveal the hand with the severed digit. The place where the missing finger had been was untouched and Harry saw the scar from it was a precise cut and lump, not some tear caused by debris or an explosion. The pieces began to fit together more and more as Harry looked between them. Maybe Sirius hadn't betrayed his parents like everyone thought. With a glance between the two men, Harry's magic flared in anger as the silver wisps contorted in spirals around the teen's arm and the fire sent palpable heat throughout the entire clearing.

"Reveal your arms," Harry demanded finally.

"What?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"The Dark Mark, it would fade but it would never disappear, not until Voldemort is actually dead. Reveal your arms, both of you, and we can settle who is the traitor once and for all," Harry barked at them.

Without hesitation Sirius rolled up his sleeves. The grime of roughing it for a year, along with the poor conditions of Azkaban, did a lot to mar the flesh. But after a quick swipe of Harry's wand the dirt and grime was gone. No sign of the mark, faded, cut off, or otherwise, could be seen on either of Sirius' wrists, nor could Harry feel the subtle malignance of such a device that he always felt near someone with the Mark. Every eye in the clearing turned toward Pettigrew, though no-one took their wands off of their chosen targets as they watched the scene unfold before them.

"Harry," Peter pleaded desperately.

"Your arms, Peter," Harry growled, the flames on his hand quickly intensified with his anger. "Show me."

"Harry it... It wasn't my fault," Pettigrew wailed as he drew up the sleeve to show the barely visible dark mark on his arm. "He was going to kill me! Kill everyone! I didn't know what else I could do!"

"You could have died the Hero the world made you into!" Remus roared as a gout of flames incinerated the leaves on the ground next to Peter from the werewolf's wand. Everyone else in the clearing jumped at the sudden screams that erupted from Peter and Remus. "You could have died for your friends! You could have saved us all and lived throughout history as a legend that ended the war! Instead, because of what you've done, Harry's doesn't have parents and we were all left to suffer!"

Remus scorched the leaves to the other side of Peter before Harry moved into action. Three quick steps and a sudden jab carried Harry right to where he wanted to be, with a wand at Remus' throat. The werewolf's eyes widened and Sirius finally stood up, frozen to the spot as he watched the teen and werewolf lock eyes. Harry shook his head once slowly before Remus growled.

"What the hell are you doing, Harry?!" Moony roared. "Peter deserves to die! We know that now! He gave your parents up to Voldemort and he deserves a traitor's death!"

"Perhaps," Harry began coldly. "But not by your hand."

What should have come as a relief to them all instead stunned everyone. Dread washed over each and every person in the clearing as Harry's aura surrounded them. A deadly chill settled in before it vanished, a warmth all of them knew from whenever Harry was happy emanating from the teen. Harry's bright smile, however, seemed out of place in the moment which only disturbed everyone further.

"You see, I have use for him," Harry began as he lowered his wand and Remus's own with a gentle pat to the man's arm. "You see, Peter knows a lot more than he has let on and I want to know what he does."

"Ohh, oh thank you, Harry!" Peter sniveled as he tried to put the teen between himself and everyone that might hurt him, which seemed to be everyone in the clearing. "Thank you for Mercy! Lily would be so proud of you!"

Remus and Sirius snarled before both were silenced by a wave of Harry's wand. The teen shook his head so minutely they might have missed it before he shook his head even further, a smile upon his lips.

"She would be, wouldn't she?" Harry encouraged as he trained his wand on Sirius, Remus and Hagrid as he moved closer to Peter. The increasingly confident nods he got from the cowardly man sickened Harry, but he would have to live with them for just a while longer. "But I won't know if she is, will I? I'll never know my mother like you did, Peter."

"Harry, Harry, I'm so sorry-"

Harry held up a hand, his genial smile still in place as he crouched down to stare Peter in the eye. "It's okay, Peter. I know how sorry you are. But I think I know a way you can make it all up to me."

"Anything, Harry," Peter said as he tried to play on Harry's change of heart and emotions. "I'll do anything you need me to, to make up for my mistakes.

Although Harry couldn't see it, he sensed both Sirius and Remus tense and snarl under their breaths. Harry, however, pressed on, his smile all the more charming, all the more 'vulnerable' as he watched the rat animagus eagerly await Harry's request.

"Tell me why Voldemort wanted to kill me."

The eager-to-please look on Peter's face faltered as the question was asked. A pained, scared look shimmered across his face before a disappointed look settled on his features. "Harry, I can't. I'm sorry. He never told me."

"You don't have to lie, Peter," Harry urged the man in a comforting tone as the fire finally faded from his left hand. Harry gently set his hand upon the man's shoulder, an amiable smile upon his lips. "I know what it's like having to lie all of the time to protect your friends. You don't have to lie to protect me anymore. Wasn't fourteen years with this secret long enough?"

Peter eyed the young man and suddenly shivered. Something about all of this reminded him too much of someone else, someone that had felt just as powerful, even more, really, fourteen years ago. It unsettled the animagus and it took all of his acting skill not to give away that very fact.

"He never told me why, Harry. Just that he had to kill you and that I would die if I didn't join him, if I didn't follow his every word. He promised he would keep my friends safe if they survived the war! I promise, Harry, he never told me why he was after you."

"So he was after me, then," Harry nodded slowly with the confirmation. Wide eyes erupted from Peter's face as he found himself caught in his own words. Harry smiled pleasantly and held Peter's shoulder tighter, a comforting grip in an otherwise tumultuous event. In truth, Harry just wanted to keep hold of the man's shoulder so he didn't strangle him… and so he had a good chance of stabbing the man repeatedly with his wand before anyone could stop him if his rage overcame him.

"If you're worried about the Death Eaters, Peter, I can keep you safe," Harry offered with ease. The pleasant smile was affixed to his face and everyone could practically feel the sincerity in the young man's tone. "You know I was adopted by the Head of the DMLE, right? I'm sure I could put on some puppy dog eyes and crocodile tears to get her to listen. She could help us, Peter. We have a home, a huge manor full of luxury and food you could only dream of. No more nattering Mrs. Weasley to listen to and no more fear from anyone. With Amelia's help and a bit of gold from the Potter vaults I can keep you safe from everyone, Peter. Death Eaters, the Ministry, even Remus and Sirius won't be able to touch you… so long as you help me, Peter. Help me defeat them once and for all. Help me avenge my parents, your friends. Help me fix your mistake before it's too late."

The offer on display made everyone uncomfortable with the idea Harry might actually go through with it. Then again, knowing Harry as well as they did, perhaps their discomfort was born from seeing how easy and how well Harry could lie and manipulate others if he needed to. It was a tempting deal, very tempting, and all Peter would have to do is turn traitor once again. Harry played on the man's fears and desires. Fed him every temptation Harry could imagine a man like Peter wanting. The man seemed to mull it over before finally he shuddered and shook his head.

"No," Pettigrew answered finally. "I'm sorry, Harry. I can't! The Dark Lord, he's still out there! You said so yourself! While this Mark is on me, I can't leave his service or he will kill me!"

"No, Peter, he can't! Because I'm here to stop him!" Harry urged with all the emotion he could muster. "I stopped him before, didn't I? He couldn't kill me and if he can't kill me then he won't be able to get to you! Think of it, Peter. You could have your Order of Merlin, all the fame and fortune that goes with being a hero of the wizarding world! You could help me stop him once and for all! Help me, Peter. Help the son of your friends finish what they started."

Despite the charismatic speech, Peter continued to shiver and shake with his eyes closed in fear. Finally he opened his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I can't help you. He'll destroy us all! I have to keep his secrets."

Harry kept up a hopeful expression a moment longer before he hung his head. A sigh escaped the teen as he stood up, his face hidden by the darkness of the waning light and his growing hair. Nobody could read the young man but it was clear that was the answer he hadn't wanted to hear. Harry shook his head more vigorously before he looked up at the stars that peaked through the gaps in the canopy above them.

"A shame then, that you remain so loyal to him," Harry breathed as his head tilted to the right as he continued to stare up at the stars. "I must say that while I am disappointed, Peter… I'm hardly surprised."

The calm Harry displayed seemed to wash over the entire clearing once again. Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Well, everyone except Susan and Daphne. The line of sight they had on Harry's face revealed the intent in the teen's eyes as he turned back to face Peter. A dark glint in his green eyes was the last thing Susan and Daphne saw before hell devoured the clearing.

"Terrabindus."

Soil erupted from the ground and transformed into stone all around Harry and Peter to restrain the rat animagus as it bound him at every joint and tightly crushed everything in their path with slow, deliberate pressure. A scream of pain erupted from Peter's mouth as Harry's foot stomped onto the charred, broken hand that had nearly been destroyed earlier. The calm that lay upon Harry's face was tinged with a silent fury as he glared down upon the man that had helped destroy his family. The screams only pierced the sunset-bathed forest even higher as Harry twisted his foot along the fingers and ground his heal into the bloody, burnt palm of Peter's hand.

Harry chanted as quickly as he could and before anyone could stop him a shimmering blue ward formed a dome three feet in every direction surrounding the teen and his captive. Every breath was another dose of fear, every step to try and help or stop Harry was filled with dread, and every thought curdled by sickening surprise as Harry unleashed his hatred upon Peter Pettigrew.

"The longer you deny me answer, the more bones I begin to break, Peter," Harry warned the man in a deadly calm voice laced with dark anticipation. "I have ages of anger to unleash and you, fortunately for me, are now present to take your fair share of the punishment I suffered all of these years."

Harry leaned down, the weight on Peter's increasingly damaged hand rising with every scream the animagus offered until Harry asked his question again.

"Why was he after me, Peter?"

"I d-d-don't k-k-k-know, Harry!"

Harry raised his foot and brought it down as hard as he could on the hand again. Another series of small cracks and pops echoed into the clearing as Harry's friends watched in awe and fear at what was going on.

"What did I say about lying, Peter?" Harry asked as he ground his foot against the dislocated bones. "I don't what to hear lies. I want you to be honest with me, Peter. Why was Voldemort after me?!"

"I can't tell you!" Peter whimpered as loudly as he could. "I can't, Harry! He'll kill me!"

"I'll kill you first if you don't answer my questions honestly," Harry countered as he slammed his foot down again, this time taking Peter's thumb off as he tore the burnt flesh away and popped the digit clean off. Screams pierced the entire forest as Harry continued his grizzly work, glad to see results from that particular stomp as he leaned down once again.

"Unlike Voldemort, I don't need a spell to torture you, Peter," Harry declared in a soft, casual voice. "No, Peter, I don't need any magic to make life hell for anyone that hurts me or mine. Believe me when I say you can sit in the lap of luxury and power, or rot and die a slow, painful death for fourteen years as I and anyone else that wants revenge on you takes it."

"You wouldn't!" Peter pleaded. "Your parents! What would they think, Harry?!"

"I don't know. I never got the chance to know them thanks to you," Harry stated clearly in icy tones as he conjured fire in his hand yet again. "But I know one thing, they would be damn proud I avenged them, wouldn't they? Oh and we mustn't forget Sirius and Remus. I'm sure they would love to claw and tear at you if I gave them the chance."

Cold shivers and dark fear settled into the core of everyone in the clearing. Susan had finally had enough and beat on the barrier Harry created with magic. "Harry! Stop this! You don't have to do this! Just stop!"

"He can't hear you, Sue," Daphne said as she rushed up next to her. "The ward, it's one from the list Bill sent him when Harry asked about wards. He can't hear us but we can hear him... And nobody can interfere as long as he still has magic."

"But we need to stop him!" Susan screamed at her girlfriend. "Can't you see what this is doing to him?!"

"We all can, but we can't do anything except wait!" Daphne yelled right back as she wrapped her arms around Susan. "All we can do is let him work it out on his own. I know you don't want to see this, I don't either, but we can't stop him! He needs this as much as anyone and as much as we want to deny that this isn't him, it is! This darkness is a part of him whether we like it or not and we have known all along that this was a part of him!"

"Dammit Daphne, he's torturing someone!" Susan cried as she looked at her best friend and girlfriend. "I care for him just as much as you do but this is going too far!"

"What would you do if it was Voldemort himself?" Daphne shot back at her, though even Daphne seemed uneasy with the prospect. "What if someone killed auntie, or Harry, or me? What would you do to them?"

Susan grit her teeth as she glanced from Daphne to the torture before them all. She was hardly the only one affected. Hermione looked on in almost abject horror while Blaise remained stoic, though looked slightly more pale. Hannah shivered in Neville's arms while the sandy-haired gryffindor watched with a hard look, one that seemed as if he was trying to decide whether he wanted to scream for Harry to stop, or tell Harry to hit him where it hurt, and they all knew why given his history. As Susan looked back to Peter on the ground, whimpering, disarmed, burnt and bleeding, she wondered if she could do that to Voldemort if she was given the option to avenge her parents, or avenge anyone she cared about.

"I..." Susan hesitated before she shook her head. "I don't know because I was taught to follow the law or kill them if I can't capture, just like auntie taught you. But this, what Harry's doing, isn't it wrong?!"

"It's as wrong as it is right, Sue, and I think we both know that," Daphne said as she pulled her girlfriend closer. "He's getting his revenge and it may be the only time he gets it. Even if its wrong and a weapon of war, he's not using an unforgiveable, just what he learned from his past. It's hard to say one way or another Sue, but if it comes to it, I'm sticking beside Harry, even if I don't want him to go this far... I can do more good at his side than I can from across the room, and you know that as well as I do."

While Susan trembled in the arms of Daphne as they tried to come to terms with this, the rest of the group watched in horror as Harry continued the torture. Peter shook his head and whimpered, again denying Harry before the teen reached down with his fiery hand and latched onto Peter's wrist. Instantly burning flesh bubbled and charred wherever Harry touched until the flames vanished. Harry slipped his wand away, reached down with both hands, and held tight to Peter's arm before he slammed his foot on the animagus' elbow. The sickening pop was accompanied by the sharp snick of bone piercing burnt flesh and the agonized cries of Wormtail as he resisted.

"Tell me, Peter! Tell me what I want to know and I'll make it all stop!" Harry roared over the man's screams. "Tell me why Voldemort was after me and I'll help heal everything! I can keep you safe where no-one else can!"

Peter whined in defeat before the words that would change all of their worlds slipped from his lips.

"A prophecy… it was… a prophecy…"

Peter's words did not go unheard and his pitiful cries were answered with what mercy Harry had to spare. The green-eyed wizard took out his wand once again and passed it over the arm, numbing it more and more with every touch of the tip until all the pain Peter had felt was gone. Breaths and sighs of relief left the man as he cradled his mangled arm as best he could to his chest. Still restrained on the ground, Peter looked pleadingly up at Harry.

"Please, that's all I know."

"No, it isn't," Harry said with unshakeable certainty. "You must know the prophecy, or a part of it, for Voldemort to have come to you to get to me."

"I swear, Harry, I don't know!"

"I promise to keep you safe from everyone, Peter! All of this pain can stop and you can live a long, peaceful life if you help me," Harry said, his charismatic charm back at full force. "Just tell me, Peter. Tell me what you know of the prophecy."

"I can't tell you!"

With a wave of his wand, the numbing charms faded and Harry's free hand punched the broken and dislocated bone in Peter's arm. Screams tore from Pettigrew's throat as the pain returned a hundred fold until finally he whimpered out an answer.

"The one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord Approaches... Born to Parents that thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…" Wormtail gasped in pain as he tried to shift his mangled limb and was only met with more pain. "I swear… I swear to you, Harry. That's all I know. That's all he told me. That's everything he knew… I swear, please. Please don't hurt me anymore."

Not entirely immune to the pleas for mercy, Harry crouched down next to the sniveling coward of a man and looked him in the eye. Harry almost felt disgusted with himself but instead he buried that deep. Peter deserved all of that a thousand times over and Harry was finally letting free all of his pent up rage and anger on someone that deserved it. With as calm and serious an expression as he could muster, Harry held his wand over the man's arm, a numbing charm shining at the tip of it.

"I believe you," Harry murmured kindly as he applied the spell liberally and eased Wormtail's suffering. "I believe that's all he told you about the prophecy, but not about who gave it to him." Peter stilled at that, his fear rising again as Harry stowed the wand away and eyed the rat animagus neutrally. "Who gave Voldemort the prophecy, Peter? Tell me, and I promise I will keep you safe from everyone and that the person who told Voldemort will suffer in your stead."

Peters was reluctant to give up the name. His eyes frantically sought help from all around him only to settle back on the frightening teenage wizard at the core of all of his suffering.

"Help me, Peter," Harry urged in a soft, soothing voice. "Help me and I will help you. Help me avenge my parents and I will keep you safe from everyone."

Unwilling to face more pain and all too eager to gain Harry's protection, even if it did mean fearing the Dark Lord and his followers, the rat animagus finally gave in.

"Severus Snape."

The moment the name was uttered Severus Snape was a man living on borrowed time in Harry's mind. If there was one person in the entirety of Hogwarts he would gladly kill, it was Severus Snape. All of the torment Harry had faced at that man's hands, barring this year when the man had been conspicuously quiet, had earned him pain in Harry's mind. Severus Snape was no better than Petunia, who encouraged Dudley and Vernon in their treatment of Harry. Now, however, Severus Snape was a marked man, one that wouldn't live to see midnight if Harry had his way.

With a kind and grateful smile, Harry set a gentle hand on Peter's uninjured shoulder.

"Thank you, Peter," Harry murmured as he took out his wand and stood up. "You've been a great help."

Harry pointed his wand at the stone restraints that held the whimpering form of Wormtail down.

"Animatus Constrictus."

"No! Harry! Stop!" Wormtail choked out as he struggled to speak as he was slowly strangled. "Show mercy! You promised you would keep me safe!"

"I said I would keep you safe from everyone… but not from me," Harry stated clearly as he aimed his wand right at between Wormtail's eyes as silver magic twisted about the length of the holly wand. "Goodbye, Peter."

Before Harry could spin his magic into a bolt that would bring death to Peter, the barrier around him shattered with a roar as Hagrid smashed against it with all his might and magic. Unsteady from the backlash of his ward breaking, Harry stumbled aside until he could take aim again and aimed at Peter. Fortunately or not, Harry's aim was pushed aside by two pairs of hands that dragged his wand away. The silver bolt fled from Harry's wand with such force that it sliced through the ground and dirt erupted all around them. The sound of stone breaking could be clearly heard as Harry was forced to the ground, two crying young women atop him.

"Don't…" Susan sobbed softly. "Don't let this ruin you."

"You've done enough, Harry… Just stop," Daphne whispered with a small croak. "We don't need to lose you to this…"

In that moment, terror shocked its way through Harry's system. Whether it was the tears, the heartfelt pleas, or the trembles in all of the magic he could barely sense around him, Harry knew that finishing Peter off would only end in pain: a pain he would never recover from because he would lose those most important to him. What he had done tonight, what he had allowed himself to do was beyond anything he had ever felt. It scared him, honestly, and it showed on his face as he stared upon two unsettled and obviously frightened young women.

Harry's grip on his wand vanished and the magical stick of holly rolled away from him as he attempted to hold Susan and Daphne close. His grip caused both to tense briefly before they held tightly onto him, afraid to let go lest he begin again. Tears aplenty were shed as the trio tried to cope, and those around them were hardly immune. All of his friends gathered around as Harry was dragged into a sitting position and held close by the girls, each of them unsettled and with tears in their eyes.

For his part, Remus quickly bound Peter in ropes and chains so tight he had no chance of changing into a rat. Sirius, of course, couldn't help but get at least one kick in for his trouble as he crushed Peter's nose repeatedly for good measure. Only the strong hand of Hagrid stopped the grim animagus and with a nod over to Harry, Sirius understood. A relapse could happen at any moment and Sirius certainly didn't want Harry becoming a murderer, even if it was driven by righteous vengeance.

"Harry?"

Sirius' voice broke through the tears and all of the teens quickly tried to compose themselves as they stood up. While Sirius certainly didn't look it, he was still the Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, and he had just been exonerated by the testimony he and Peter had provided. Harry had hated the man but as he looked between Sirius and Peter as he fully realized the truth, he couldn't help but nod.

"Padfoot…"

Sirius let a choked sob escape him, or perhaps it was a laugh? In either case, the animagus quickly moved forward and embraced his godson in a hug that was fourteen years in the making. The two held one another quietly for a moment before Sirius backed off, a watery smile upon his face as he looked his godson up and down.

"When I first saw you, you looked so much like James," the man began quietly. "But I see I was wrong. "You've got Lily in spades, and plenty of Black blood from Dorea… You're almost as handsome as me, I think."

Light chuckles broke out of the teens, glad to take in a moment of levity as they were. Harry, meanwhile, smiled at his godfather and nodded. "I've learned a lot from gran. Min- professor McGonagall gave me her journal… but I think I've got you beat in the looks department… and the smell. You reek of dog."

Sirius, for the first time in fourteen years, laughed loudly and proudly as he pulled his godson into another hug and cheekily mussed up the boy's hair. "Grim! I reek of grim and grime and bloody merlin knows what else after all of the trash I sifted through to survive."

"And it smells," Daphne chipped in with a smirk as she stepped up to their side again. "A pleasure to meet you, Lord Black. I'm Daphne Greengrass, Harry's girlfriend."

"And I'm Susan Bones," the redhead added from the other side. "Also Harry's girlfriend. I guess we have you to thank for making him Heir to two Houses."

Sirius' eyes widened as he looked between the two girls, then to Harry, then back to Susan and Daphne. "You're having me on."

"No, we're not," Daphne said clearly before she kissed Harry soundly for a few moments. When she ended the kiss, Susan picked up right where Daphne left off with the green-eyed wizard before they all parted and smiled at Sirius.

The dumbfounded look upon the man's face sent sprawling snickers through the other teens. Remus, quite used to the sight, couldn't help but break out in gales of laughter as someone finally did something to stun Sirius silent. The fact that the entire situation was true only sweetened the deal for the werewolf. Eventually the grim animagus threw up his hands and looked to the sky.

"Lily! Don't you dare kill me for this! You know he deserves it!" Sirius yelled up at the stars… "Lucky bastard…"

"Of course." "Definitely." "Naturally," Daphne, Susan and Harry chimed one after the other.

While Sirius went about laughing, Harry breathed a sigh of relief that the girls still considered themselves his girlfriends. He had rarely felt as vulnerable as he had mere moments ago when they begged him to stop. To see the fear in their eyes did more to spark terror in him than anything else. He didn't want them to be afraid of him or of anything else. It hurt even thinking about it. Watching them interact with his godfather, Harry couldn't help but smile until he noticed Remus twitch.

"Moony?"

Remus grimaced, his eyes trailing high as a ray of pale light fell upon his face from the canopy above.

"Stay back!" Sirius barked as he moved everyone away from the changing werewolf.

Hagrid rushed to get Peter away from the possibly feral professor as the change was finally undertaken. Once he had, he turned about and drew a large knife, practically a sword in anyone else's hands, from his belt and prepared to fight. Nobody could stop the sudden transformation as the defense professor froze and fur began to pour out of his skin. Bones snapped and lengthened only to pop back into place as razor sharp claws and teeth tore from his flesh with an agonized scream. Where fur didn't sprout directly from the skin, it was peeled away by razor sharp claws to make way for the beast within.

The stirring, chilling howl that erupted from the werewolf had everyone on edge until they realized the chill wasn't coming from the werewolf. Icy fog, low to the ground and as quiet as death itself crept along the forest floor. Whispers of their greatest fears and worst memories seeped into blood, flesh, bone, and mind until there was no mistaking it. Drawn by the cacophonous storm of emotions that had passed within the clearing, the entire swarm of dementors rushed to meet the prey they had sought for so long, whether it was Sirius or not didn't matter to the beasts of agony and despair.

"No, I'm not going back!" Sirius roared as he reached for his wand. When he found none, his eyes widened and realization struck. As he glanced to the frantic and frightened teens, Sirius knew what had to be done. As quickly as he could he latched onto Harry. "Speak the oath to gryffindor's grim. I love you, Harry, and nothing will ever change that. I'm sorry for leaving you… I'm so sorry…"

Before Harry could do or say anything, Sirius rushed over to Wormtail and dragged the man to his feet. With all the might he could muster, the grim animagus forced the man ahead of him and mad for the edge of the clearing.

"Come here you bastards! Come and get me! Come and give old Padfoot and Wormtail and big old kiss!"

"No! Sirius!"

Harry leaped to try and stop him but was quickly pushed back by Hagrid and pulled away by Susan and Daphne. The dementors quickly followed the convict as he intended, a wide smile upon his face despite the despair all around him. At that moment, Sirius Black was his own patronus, smiling in the face of death and despair as he awaited the end. With a laugh he tossed Wormtail to the nearest dementor and kept moving away, trying more and more to draw the Dementors away from Harry and his friends.

Before any of the black creatures could reach Sirius, a long howl erupted from the silver werewolf in the midst of the clearing as it finally came to its full senses. Remus Lupin, Werewolf of Britain, launched himself into a furious assault on any and all dementors. Tooth and claw dug long furrows into cloaks and bony hands. Again and again the beast tried to cut down his enemies only for them to flow right through and around his every attempt.

Wormtail's final scream finally broke through to Harry. Everything he had fought so hard for today was about to be lost to soul-sucking monsters. In a panic he looked around for his wand, praying it hadn't been stepped on and destroyed in the heat of the moment. When a glint of moonlight along polished holly caught his eye, Harry dove for the wand and quickly rolled to his feet. By the time he raised his wand it was already too late.

"Mischief Managed!"

With a final laugh upon his lips, Sirius smiled as his soul, once and for all, was torn asunder and devoured by darkness.

"No…"

The word, breathed upon Harry's lips, couldn't stop the agony that built in his chest. Wormtail's body was tossed aside by the dementor that had devour his soul. Sirius, however, was laid upon the ground by the dementor, as if its final kiss was to be the cherished moment of a lover as it stole his soul forever. The anguished howl of a werewolf was cut short as a swarm of dementors descended upon it. Fur of silver and cloaks of implacable black rose and fell in a roiling, bubbling mound. Screeches and howls pierced the icy night until only the hideous whispers of their deepest fears and darkest moments were left to everyone in the clearing.

"Expecto… Expecto Patronum!"

One after another the cries of Harry's friends went up. Again and again they tried to summon their ethereal guardians to defend themselves, to defend each-other as the Azkaban's Host finally turned its deadly gaze upon them. Hundreds of cloaks washed through the forest in waves, ever moving, every shifting, ever flowing toward the prey they had waited to feast upon for months. Silvers wisps and shields of light defended against the onslaught. Again and again they beat back the horde as with each step the teens tried to drag one another away from danger, to keep one another safe.

"No…" Harry growled as he tried to conjure up his most treasured memories, his most cherished emotions.

"Expecto Patronum!" "Expecto Patronum!" "Expecto Patronum!"

Again and again his friends chanted the words, praying, hoping, and striving to keep one another alive amidst a sea of dark despair. But with every step they took, with every moment they chanted and struggled to find their happiness, their love, their light, the Dementors hit harder, rammed themselves against pale shields until they faded again, faster than ever before. Harry, struggling to find his memories amidst the anguish of losing his honorary uncle and his godfather, held his wand fast until he heard the screams.

"Harry!"

Daphne was hoisted into the air, her throat in the gnarled grasp of a frigid Dementor as it clung to her. Its hood began to lower and its mouth slowly descended toward hers. Susan's cry of despair shot through the night as she too was torn from the ground. Another cry, another scream, a shout of hatred and fear went up as one by one the teens were forced off of their feet and drawn towards their end.

Harry could hardly move at the sight. As he watched each friend get pulled from the ground and raised for the Dementor's Kiss, Harry felt another piece of his heart slowly get torn away as the screams of his family and friends echoed the cries around him for help. He couldn't live with himself if they were all taken away. They had all been so happy together mere moments ago and if they were taken now he would never have that again.

Harry could never forgive or live with himself if he let a Dementor take their souls and steal everything they were from him, from their families. Harry thought back to all of the times he had been with them, times when he felt a glimmer of the life he always wanted. He built upon the sensations within him and gripped everything he needed to fight the screeches in his own mind. Faster and faster his brain worked until he saw in his mind's eye as much as he felt what he wanted above all else; the picture he prayed would become reality instead of fantasy, the picture he kept closest to his heart.

"You will not take them from me! Expecto Patronum!"

Light so bright it burned to look upon burst forth from the teen's wand. Silver mist formed the core of an explosion of magic so great none of the dementors could withstand it. Cries of alarm and relief surrounded Harry as all at once his friends were dropped to the ground, the Dementors' prey forgotten in their haste to retreat.

But the dementors never had a chance.

A howl emerged from the core of silver light than rang throughout the entire forest. A herald of doom was upon them all and the silver patronus intended to find its first prey. The silver wolf rushed through the clearing and with each dementor it touched, pale flames tore at them. Its teeth and claws devoured darkness at every turn and the dementors screeched in pain and fear of the only thing they had ever known to harm and kill them. Black mist fell upon the ground wherever the patronus assaulted the sea of darkness until with a final howl the rest of the Dementors were banished.

Its light hardly touched by the darkness, the wolf paced as it ensured the safety of its charges. The ethereal wolf prowled about the clearing before it approached Harry with gentle, confident steps. Waves of comfort and emotion rolled off of the conjured beast unlike anything Harry had ever felt before and it was all he could do to stare into it as it stared into him. The feeling of home flooded the teens as Harry reached out and felt the wolf as he had before.

"You changed," Harry whispered to the beast. The patronus tilted its head, an expression upon its distinguishing features that may as well have asked him "and why shouldn't I have?" as it nuzzled further into the touch of its creator.

"Bloody hell," Tracey whispered in awe as she stepped closer to the beast as she was suffused with its power. "So this is a patronus… I thought you said it was a stag?"

"A patronus can change with the person that conjures it," Hermione informed them as if answering questions in class. "With what just happened… Is this Lupin?"

"No, we saw Lupin as a werewolf, this isn't anything like him," Daphne surmised as her hand brushed along the lifelike fur of the ethereal beast as if it were real. "Morgana, it feels so…"

"Alive?" Susan supplied. A round of nods met her response as Hannah, Neville, Theo and Blaise closed in around the Patronus as well. Susan moved beside Harry, and Daphne shortly joined them as they examined the silver wolf. "My guess is this is pure Harry… An alpha wolf defending his most beloved pack."

"Anything for you," Harry murmured to the redhead and brunette at his sides. The pair smiled brilliantly at him before they turned their gazes back to the patronus. "Patronus aren't supposed to destroy dementors, just ward against them…"

"Well apparently you broke that rule of magic, much like all of the other rules you tend to break all of the time," Hermione teased with some annoyance, to the light laughter of everyone around them.

"Blimey, I've never seen anything like that," Hagrid breathed as he approached from the trees. A wave of relief shocked through Harry before the giant picked Harry up in a tremendous hug. Harry could have sworn then and there that he heard his own bones groan at the intensity of the hug before the half-giant let Harry down and looked at the Patronus. "Well bloody done, Harry! You really are the next great wizard of our age! Mind keepin' that up 'til we're back at the castle? We may need it if they decide to try again… Not that I would after seeing a score o' dementors destroyed."

Harry nodded in response before he felt his knees nearly buckle under the weight of the tall man's hand. A frown marred Hagrid's face as he leaned down to look Harry in the eye. "Harry… I'm sorry we couldn't save 'em… But they went out the way they wanted to. Keepin' ye alive."

A cold touch of death made Harry shiver as he looked away from Hagrid and everyone else toward the still bodies that laid some yards away. Harry's feet carried him without thought over to them. Not once did the boy stagger until he saw how they had fallen. Remus, even as a werewolf, had curled around Sirius in a final attempt to keep his best friend safe from the clutches of the dementors. The soulless pair seemed to hold onto one another for comfort while Wormtail's body cast aside and broken beneath the dementors' power, stared blankly at the sky.

"I could have saved them…"

"No," Susan whispered in Harry's ear as she wrapped her hand around his wand-hand. "They bought you time so you could save us. You could never have saved them, Harry, because they were already saving you."

"They loved you enough to give their lives for you," Daphne murmured as she joined them and took his free hand. "Honor their sacrifice by accepting it, just as you've done before… They would want to see you happy, to live a life worth living, even if they can't be a part of it anymore."

Harry nodded in silence as he held their hands as best he could. The effort of getting information out of Peter and the toll the Dementors and his patronus took on him were finally getting to him. A shaky breath left Harry as he knelt next to the empty husks that were his godfather and uncle.

"I'm sorry you left as well," Harry murmured to them, knowing only that this would help him move forward. "Thank you… for giving me a chance at life… I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

Hagrid choked out a sob at the sight before he blew his nose in a rag he always carried. Harry watched the half-giant a moment longer before he conjured a large stretcher for the pair of men he could have called family, given time. With as much care as possible, Hagrid helped Harry move the men onto the stretcher before he grabbed the tether on Pettigrew's chains and began drag the man away as he carried two men he had known since their teens back to one of the few places the pair called home.

Harry watched Hagrid go for a few moments as Susan and Daphne kept close to his sides. He knew an important conversation needed to happen soon but right then wasn't the time. Instead the teens followed Hagrid in quiet as they marched around the silver wolf that guarded them. The patronus began to weave around them, shielding them from any residual effect the dementors had on the environment until they reached the edge of the forbidden forest.

Upon their exit, the wolf moved next to Harry. Despite the tumultuous emotions that coursed through him, Harry was glad for the comfort the patronus offered him as they walked. The feelings it continued to suffuse his senses with to combat the lingering doubts and feelings in his mind were a boon to them all. As they rounded Hagrid's hut, however, they came upon a flustered pair of witches and a very relieved headmaster.

"Harry James Potter, you have a lot of explaining to do," Minerva McGonagall began before she stopped in her tracks.

The sight of Hagrid with a soulless man and werewolf in his arms was shocking enough, but to be dragging the form of a dead man who was instead soulless, if alive by necessity only, was something else entirely. Poppy's eyes trailed on the living husks with sorrow before she turned her eyes to the teens. Bright blue eyes widened with horror as she rushed forward, her wand in hand.

"What in the world happened?" Poppy asked as she began to cast diagnostic charms on all of them.

"I believe that would be best answered in the infirmary, Poppy," Dumbledore stated with a small gesture to an approaching group of students.

"Yes, of course," Poppy agreed cordially before she looked back to the teens. "Up to the infirmary, now. No arguments from any of you."

"You won't get any," Blaise chimed with the barest hint of a smirk he had ever worn. "I don't even think Hermione has it in her to argue with anyone."

"Prat," the bookworm muttered affectionately as she curled up under his arm.

Despite the few chuckles their reprieve offered them, the procession of students marched their way quietly through Hogwarts up to the infirmary. When they finally reached the hospital wing, Hagrid quickly laid Remus and Sirius down on a bed Poppy enlarged for the pair before he pushed Wormtail as far from them as he could. Harry moved quickly to his reserved bed, which bore a bronze plaque at this point, and settled onto it with Susan and Daphne at his side. The rest of the teens quickly took up nearby beds or pulled chairs over, despite Poppy's desires for them to each have their own beds.

As the patronus sat down near Harry, the teen smiled before he gave it one last pat on the head and let it vanish in silver mist all around him.

"That was quite a powerful patronus, Harry," Poppy told him as she began to examine the bruises on Susan and Daphne. "You should be proud of it."

"As much as I can be, I am," he whispered in return with a mournful look across the infirmary at Remus and Sirius.

"Shall we start from the beginning, then?" asked the headmaster in a calming tone.

"Wouldn't it be better if we contacted my aunt, Headmaster?" Susan said as she looked from him to McGonagall. "This is a matter for the DMLE to handle, considering the Dementors attacked us, again."

"Ah, a fair point, Miss Bones. Tonight, however, I believe we can manage the situation without her aid for a while longer," Dumbledore explained in a proud grandfatherly voice. "We need to understand what happened properly before it can be divulged to the government. We can continue as necessary."

"No, we can't," Daphne insisted coldly before she turned her stare toward Professor McGonagall. "As you're Harry's head of House, Professor, it's your duty to contact a student's parents should they undergo possibly traumatic experiences." At that Daphne undid the tie and collar of her shirt to reveal more of the grip inflicted on her by the dementors. Cold burns and bruises had formed where the creature had grabbed her, and soon enough each of the teens bared their own necks or arms to show the same. "It would be best to contact Madame Bones first, so she can investigate, then the rest of our parents."

"Agreed," the deputy headmistress assented instantly before Dumbledore could get a word in. As she turned toward Poppy's office to take care of it, Harry couldn't help but smirk as he noticed the slightly irked expression in Dumbledore's face. It was small, hidden mostly by his beard and age, but Harry could tell the man was irritated that Amelia would again be here to handle questioning and the situation as a whole. The entire room was quite for a time, except for Poppy's muttering as she documented everyone's wounds and prepared the necessary potions in a few racks she wheeled over to them.

"And here I thought we were done with emergency visits for the year," Amelia huffed as she advanced on the group from Poppy's office where the floo was located a few minutes later. With only a hint of urgency in her walk she quickly made her way over to Harry and Susan to wrap them tightly in her arms. "Are you two alright?"

"A couple of bruises," Harry answered before he nodded his head back to Pettigrew and Black next to Hagrid. "Overwhelming rage, some Dementor exposure, and… guilt."

"Same here," Susan said as she rubbed her neck slightly and eased herself closer to Harry as Daphne did the same on his other side. "Except for the last bits. I was mostly afraid. I never want to be that close to a Dementor again."

"And if I have my way they'll be tossed into the deepest, darkest pit unable to escape for eternity," the Bones Matriarch growled before she glanced over at the rest of the teens. There was a story to be had and she wanted to hear it from them while it was still fresh. It would be hard for them, she was certain, but it was necessary if she was going to do her job. With a swift flick of her hand she retrieved her recording notebook from her satchel and set it out on the bed in the midst of all of the students. "I'm glad you're all alright but I need to know what happened. Can you walk me through it?"

"Well, it started when I followed Remus to his office to ask him a few questions…" Harry began softly.

From there it was hard not to listen intently to every word the teenagers spoke. Everyone contributed to the tale of what had happened as Poppy treated them all. In the midst divulging about the initial interrogation of Sirius and Peter the other teens' parents arrived led by professor Snape. The man looked positively gleeful as he stared at the empty husks of his old adversaries. Harry tensed at the sight of the man while everyone around him was greeted by their family and fussed over by much relieved parents.

Amelia kept her eyes trained on Harry and after a few moments brought his attention back to the conversation at hand as the parents asked to be filled in. After a brief overview of what the parents had missed, the teens continued to tell the tragic tale of that night. Harry had initially wanted to gloss over what happened between himself and Peter after learning the truth but with some hard stares from his friends he told Amelia the truth. The woman asked only for more details as they went until finally she was certain they had divulged everything they knew of what happened.

Amelia kept her face as neutral as possible when Harry spoke of how he had tortured information out of Pettigrew. All of Harry's friends shivered as they remembered those moments and Harry's gaze met the floor as he admitted what he did. Was he proud of it? No, but it had felt so necessary at the time, and that's what mattered. In fact he had learned more of the truth surrounding what happened that night in an hour than anyone else had in fourteen years. When the story passed onto the dementor attack, everyone in the room looked to Harry with grateful expressions, mixed with a healthy dose of awe from the parents. Amelia couldn't help but feel proud of her adopted son for his accomplishments, despite everything that happened.

As the story ended, Amelia let out a long low sigh before she moved in front of Harry. Gentle hands cupped his chin and Harry slowly looked up at his guardian, anxiety and concern in his gaze as he worried over what might happened.

"Before I ask exactly what you learned from Peter, I want to make one thing perfectly clear," Amelia started gently as she tapped the notebook to keep it from recording what came next. "I don't blame you. I may not be pleased with what you did but I understand why. You wanted answers and you wanted someone to answer for everything you've been through. I understand that feeling all too well and I'm sure many in this room would agree with me."

Cyrus Greengrass and Isabella Zabini were the first among the group of parents to nod in agreement. Everyone else followed shortly, though Hannah's mother looked green at the idea of torture and the Grangers looked a bit unsettled by the entire ordeal as they clung to Hermione and the amulets they wore which allowed them to see Hogwarts. Harry hardly looked at them all. He had eyes only for the reactions of his friends, who all seemed to mull things over, and for Amelia, who seemed to understand where he was coming from. It was a comfort he wasn't sure how to deal with but Harry was grateful for it nonetheless.

"However," Harry winced at the stern tone that escaped Amelia but listened intently to what she had to say. "You could have done things differently without reverting to torture. I understand the need to know and the knowledge of how to get it but there are other, far better ways to get it, Harry."

"Harry was almost successful with one of those ways too," Daphne chipped in from her mother's arms before Amelia could continue. "He tried to manipulate Peter into giving him the truth before he started in on him."

Amelia raised her eyebrows and gave a thankful nod to the girl. She was glad to know that Harry at least used torture as a secondary method. It would hopefully be easier to steer him away from it. Of course, by the grateful look in the young man's eye as he looked to Daphne, Amelia figured he was already learning not to cut into prisoners first and ask questions later.

"Despite your successful retrieval of information, torture isn't the best method," Amelia continued more gently than she had before. "Veritaserum applied by myself or other law enforcement officials is the best option, with interrogation and manipulation following that. Torture is only ever a last resort, Harry. Do you understand?"

"I do," Harry breathed as he looked up at her. "I just... I couldn't help myself. I was so close to an answer that I just couldn't stop."

"I know, and it's the most infuriating feeling in the world but if you keep indulging that then I won't be able to help you move on and grow beyond it all. Do you understand?" Harry nodded awaited more as Amelia took a breath before she continued. "Now I'm sure your information is reliable but it isn't always. So I want to ask you one question before we get to the real issue: Why isn't torture acceptable as a be-all-end-all in information gathering?"

Harry thought that over as he looked into her silver eyes. He knew why, he knew exactly why, even if he was uncomfortable admitting it. "Because it never worked on me. Disinformation and lies, saying something, anything, is the easiest way to end the pain... Or you hand them spiteful comments to egg them on and make them earn their place in hell."

"Exactly, you've been through it, you know what it does to both sides of the equation now. Will you do it again?" Harry bit his lip, uncertain of his answer before he shook his head.

"Not unless there's no other option available," he answered quickly.

"Good," Amelia sighed gratefully as she knew he would seek out every other option before even entertaining the idea of torture again. "But you can bet your anxiety-inducing arse that we are going to have a tremendously long talk about proper methods of information gathering after this is all over. And if you think for a moment there aren't repercussions for what you did tonight then you're living in a world of fantasy. Are we clear?"

Harry winced at the stern implications in Amelia's voice but kept his eyes locked firmly on hers. "Yes auntie."

"Alright," Amelia responded quietly before she stood tall among the group once again. With another tap on the notebook the enchanted device glowed as it signaled it was prepared to record everything once again. "What did you learn from Peter Pettigrew?"

"He told me that Voldemort hunted me and my parents down because of a prophecy," Harry began, his eyes trying not to wander over to the suddenly still Potions Master. "He told me the fragment of the prophecy that voldemort knew and that it had to do with me."

"Amelia I believe that's all we need to know," Dumbledore cut in urgently as he tapped the notebook to keep it from recording. "It would be irresponsible for many people to know exactly why Voldemort was going after Harry and his family. This is not the place or time to divulge such information."

"On the contrary, I believe we all need to hear why Voldemort went after Harry that night," Amelia argued easily. Snape shifted uncomfortably and subtly moved closer to the infirmary entrance. Wards sprung up at a few words from Poppy and the potions master's eyes narrowed briefly.

"There, no-one outside this room will learn what Peter told Harry," Poppy said, playing hardball with the Headmaster. "We deserve to know, especially those who had children involved with this incident."

"Madame Longbottom especially," Harry finally said.

Neville tensed and the dowager looked between Harry and Neville. The boys new something no-one else did, or rather, they realized what everyone else had yet to. The older widow was not to be left out, however. "I wish to hear what drove Voldemort to hunt down Harry's parents. Frank and Alice were being hunted at the same time, possibly for the same reason."

Harry nodded, as did Neville, before everyone else began to come to the same conclusion. Hannah gasped first, then Susan and Daphne as they looked between the two boys in realization.

"We are going no further with this!" Dumbledore insisted as he began to radiate power.

"And who's going to stop me, Headmaster," Harry growled as he gazed at the elder wizard. "It's not their choice, nor is it yours. It's mine."

"Harry, you don't understand!" the headmaster urged the teenager. "This isn't knowledge that anyone should have!"

"But you seem to know an awful lot, don't you?" Susan asked as she began to glare at the Headmaster.

"Yes, he does know a great deal more about what any of this might be besides you kids," Amelia postulated as her wand slipped into her hand. "Tell me why, Albus? You have no authority in the government anymore except as Headmaster of Hogwarts and even that cannot stop us from learning the truth."

"I am the Grand Sorcerer of Britain-"

"Until someone else comes along to steal the pointy hat by being better at magic than you," Tracey pointed out gleefully. "My bet's on Harry with how his patronus actually killed dementors."

Everyone in the room froze at that, including Dumbledore while Snape actually stilled with fear. Amelia, her eyes wide in astonishment, looked to harry who smiled sheepishly. "You didn't reveal that little tidbit, Harry."

"You… didn't ask?" Harry attempted to placate.

"Smartass," Amelia grumbled before she looked at him with something akin to pride. "But you killed a dementor?"

"A score of 'em," Hagrid supplied as he finally eased out of the chair Minerva conjured for him with a large mug of tea. "I saw it meself. Harry's wolf patronus devoured the damn things and set fire to any of 'em that its claws touched."

"Give him an inch of knowledge and he'll take it a mile further, as always," Minerva jabbed at the teen with a teasing lilt in her Scottish brogue.

"As impressive as that is, this is not about Harry's abilities!" Dumbledore stated in a commanding tone, which drew everyone's attention and ire once again. "We cannot allow the information Pettigrew knew to get out."

"Why is that, Headmaster?!" Poppy barked suddenly. "So you can hold all of the important cards and knowledge, hmm? So you can tell us what is or isn't for our own good? We deserve to know! We are Harry's family, not you!"

Harry smiled shyly at that as Poppy stood proudly next to Amelia while Minerva joined them. Amelia smiled, as did every teen in the room as they saw the reaction the Healer got out of the young man. Amelia, however, continued with Poppy's train of thought.

"He is my child and my responsibility, Albus, not yours!" Amelia argued quickly with as confident and charismatic a voice as the Headmaster. "I deserve to know what Peter told him so I can best help Harry. We all do, and there's nothing you can do to stop us." With that Amelia quickly tapped the notebook to reactivate it and pointed her wand at Dumbledore to ensure he didn't interfere. "Harry, whenever you're ready."

"Peter told me this fragment of the prophecy," Harry began, gaining confidence with the support of everyone's presence. "The one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord Approaches... Born to Parents that thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… That's all Voldemort apparently learned of it… and it implicates me and one other person."

Augusta gasped as she realized what that fragment of prophecy meant. "All this time… Frank and Alice were hunted because of this?"

Neville nodded, his confidence rising as he realized what it meant. "Yes, gran. We were attacked because we were the other family that might be a threat to Voldemort. That's why the Lestranges and Barty Crouch Jr. came for us."

"So does that mean Neville is-"

"Enough!" Dumbledore boomed over any further explanation. "You have heard this much of the prophecy and that is too much as it is. No-one else must learn or speculate on what this prophecy means!"

"You'll have a hard time accomplishing that," Amelia began coldly, "especially because the Department of Mysteries has to give access to anyone the prophecy is about. Harry can get the prophecy as easily as turning assignments in to professors."

"Don't make this mistake, Amelia, it will only doom us all further if more people know about it," Dumbledore urged her to reconsider. With a shake of her head, Amelia looked to Harry, clearly aware she had taken on a young man that would need all of her help, care, support, and more as time went on. She smiled at him, proud that he had taken to this knowledge so easily before she decided to move on rather than listen to Dumbledore argue any further.

"Fine, we will discuss this in our own homes," Amelia began as she erased the knowledge from the recording notebook and kept it paused as she looked to her teenagers as they sighed in relief. "What else did Pettigrew tell you?"

Harry's hand slipped to his wand as he thought over the question. Even the comforting touch of Susan and Daphne's hands on his arms wasn't enough to stop the well of emotions inside him from bubbling over.

"He told me who told the prophecy to Voldemort."

"Harry, Stop!" Dumbledore roared.

"Where are you-" Minerva started to say as a dark-clad figure passed her.

"Who was it Harry?" Amelia pressed.

A bolt of silver light shot through the air and right into the chest of a certain professor. Concerned cries broke through the infirmary as the potions master was frozen in place and the angry teen stood up, his wand bleeding silver magic.

"Severus Snape," Harry intoned in a voice that so deadly calm it sent shivers down every spine as he walked toward the acidic professor. "The man at the center of it all, the man responsible for Voldemort hunting down the Potter and Longbottom families, was Severus Tobias Snape; one time Death Eater, now the pet Potions Master of Hogwarts."

Harry circled his wand in the air and the hooked-nose professor was slowly turned around by the magic that held him. It was no normal spell that held him, of that Snape was certain. Harry held him with the sheer force of his magic and mind as he gazed with hatred upon the professor that had systematically helped heap abuse and bullies upon him for the past three years. Before all of that, he had been a part of the reason that doomed Harry to a fate many considered worse than death because of his actions.

"Did you really think you were going to leave this room alive when I learned the truth?" Harry wondered aloud as he kept his wand trained on the immobile professor. Indignant anger entered the man's eyes before the magic pulsed around him and real fire stirred within his beady black orbs. "All of this time, it was you. You're responsible for the death of my parents, just like Wormtail, just like Voldemort. You're responsible for the destruction of Frank and Alice Longbottom's minds. Who else are you responsible for, Snape?! Did you really think I wouldn't find out?!"

Snape shook in silent fury and fear within the enchantment but didn't look away. Instead he eyed the wand aimed at him and glanced to Dumbledore, expecting more of his patron than to stand there waiting. Harry, for his part, never took his eyes off of his most hated professor. Even when he heard the approach of Amelia and his friends to comfort and stop him.

"Harry! Enough of this! You will not harm or accuse professor Snape! He didn't even hear the full prophecy!" Dumbledore barked as he erected a shield around Severus to try and prevent further magical incidents.

"I'm not accusing. I'm judging. The evidence is clear, Dumbledore. Your forgiveness of his sins is no longer necessary now that he can pay for his crimes against me, against Neville, and against every witch or wizard he has ever tormented for his own gain or the gain of his allies. He is responsible for dozens, if not hundreds of lives being harmed because of his actions." The quietly furious teen declared as his magic brightened around his wand and formed a sharp, twisting spiral. "He told Voldemort about the prophecy and… you knew all along. You, professor, should be joining him. You've known all of this time and you refused to tell me."

What calm composure Harry had held onto vanish in a flash of pale viridian flame. The fire crackled to life around Harry's left hand while the shield around Snape cracked and shattered as it was devoured pale flames Harry tossed upon it as he looked from the professor to the Headmaster. Wands were being drawn all throughout the room, ready to intervene in a moments' notice. They had chosen their side long before this ever came to drawn wands. They had chosen Harry's side but they weren't about to let him destroy his life by committing murder, not if they could help it, not if they could keep him off of that path.

"You weren't ready," the headmaster said, his own wand pointed defensively away from everyone, but ready to cast another shield all the same. "Prophecy is not to be taken lightly and you had so many years ahead of you still. I just wanted to give you a childhood before laying such a burden on your shoulders, if it even had to be set upon them."

Harry shook with anger and rage, the flames on his hand only grew as his friends slowly approached the unfolding drama, having heard every word. "What childhood?" Harry asked in a voice that sent shivers down everyone's spine. "I didn't have one, or do you need a reminder of how badly your greater good bent me over a barrel?"

"Harry, I never thought-"

"I don't care," Harry snapped at the headmaster. "As far as I'm concerned, headmaster, you're just as responsible as anyone else now. Tell me the whole prophecy, now, and maybe I won't try to kill Snape."

The collective breath around the room seemed to suck all of the air out of the moment. The tense stillness extended forever as headmaster and student looked upon one another. Just as it seemed the tension was about to reach its peak, the headmaster spoke.

"No."

"Harry!" Amelia's shout stilled Harry as he went to yell back. Everything about it screamed for him to stop and he could do nothing but obey. If there was one adult he would let boss him around right now, it was the woman that had given him the things he needed most, the things he had wanted above all else. "We can find out other ways. We don't need him to tell us. Leave him be, let them both be. They're not worth you getting in trouble."

"But they earned this," Harry growled in return.

"And they will pay dearly for it, I promise you. But you shouldn't be the one to pay for letting them twist you into a cold-blooded murder," Amelia urged as she moved forward and gently set a hand on his shoulder. "Let them dig their own graves and let someone else bury them alive in them."

Indignant rage lined the potion professor's face as he glared daggers at Amelia. Albus, for his part, remained silent as Harry held wand and fire at the ready to try and destroy both men. The righteously angry teen wanted to curse the pair of professors with every fiber of his being, but one look at Amelia and his shoulders sagged as the fire and magic faded from him with a soft whisper. A sigh of relief flooded the room as the teen stowed his wand away. His look of pure loathing pierced the two professors as Harry moved into the crook of Amelia's arm as she wrapped it around his shoulder.

Unwilling to commit murder but certain that they weren't just going to let these men get away with what they had done to their boyfriend, Susan and Daphne marched up to Snape right as Harry's spell wore off. The professor almost seemed ready to shirk off any help the two girls were about to offer when a solid fist cracked into his nose and sent him reeling backwards.

"Holy shit," Harry breathed in awe.

Susan had gotten to Snape first and her fist rammed into his face with all of the force of an angry bludger, shattering his nose and bruising his face extensively. She wasn't the only one to deal him a blow, of course. Daphne swiftly quick-stepped forward and brought her knee crashing into the man's crotch with an almighty heave. Unable to defend himself, the professor doubled over with a squawking groan from the second blow as the first bled freely. Susan's fist, bloodied already from the first blow, crashed down upon the professor's head before Daphne again rammed her knee into the professor, this time forcing the air from his lungs as she struck his gut. In an instant the professor fell over and was quickly set upon by the furious feet of two young women as they began to berate him.

"This is for Harry you son of a bitch!" Susan screamed as she kicked him in the ribs.

"You complete arsehole! If Harry's not allowed to kill you then I'll make sure your life is hell you fucking cunt!" Daphne echoed a moment later as she rammed her feet into the man's spine.

"No! Don't! Stop!" Blaise called out sarcastically as Harry got caught up in the awe of witnessing the two teenage girls take out their fury on the potions professor.

"Break his bollocks!" Hannah cheered with a furious blush when Neville looked at her in astonishment.

"Stop this at once!" Dumbledore roared over everyone as a pulse of magic flared from the formidable wizard.

Only reluctantly did Amelia grumble a quick spell to pull the pair of girls away from the object of their ire. As Susan reached her, Amelia quickly let go of Harry and wrapped her arms around her niece to physically restrain the girl as she struggled to get at the moaning potions professor on the ground. Cyrus hesitated to grab Daphne just a few seconds longer until Amelia and Diana shot him dirty looks and he wrapped his arms around his vivacious daughter as she violently tried to get back at professor Snape.

"Miss Bones and Greengrass, how dare you assault a professor in such a manner!" Dumbledore rounded them suddenly. "You have detention until the end of year and a hundred points from both of your houses!"

"Pfft, you call that punishment? Fine. It was completely worth it!" Daphne spat at the old man as she glared daggers at professor Snape. "I'd hex him to bits if I wasn't so tempted to kill him like Harry is."

"That's the least I'm gonna do if I ever come across him outside school," Susan promised coldly before she relented to her aunt's reassuring grip.

Poppy looked between the girls and the almost whimpering professor before she made her way to the young ladies' side, a container of bruise balm and her wand at the ready. "Do you need any healing, girls? That looked like it might have hurt."

Susan and Daphne smirked at Poppy then to one another before they checked themselves over. Despite the bruises on her knuckles, Susan shook her head. "No ma'am that was too satisfying to hurt us any."

"Fucking insolent whores!" Snape barked weakly as he struggled to even get to his knees. "I'll see you expelled for this!"

"No, professor, tell us how you really feel," Amelia responded sarcastically before her own wand shimmered with heat as she pointed it at the potions' master. "But call my niece a whore again and I'll make sure you spend the time you earned in Azkaban that you were supposed to serve by bearing the Dark Mark in the first place."

"And that's before I bring defamation charges against him," Cyrus Greengrass added quickly. "I'm sure I could get plenty of truth out of these students right here as to how well he treats all of his charges, and that's before we get to the insults."

"And of course, there's everything I could tell the press," Harry put in quickly.

"This is not-"

"I'm talking, Headmaster, not you," Harry growled with a wave of his wand to silence the elder wizard. Eyes widened around the room that Harry would actually use magic on the man. Albus, however, seemed most surprised and concerned when he saw Harry's wand at the ready and the silence spell in effect.

"Now, I don't believe Susan, Daphne or myself are going to be punished and there's a very simple reason why," Harry stated with a low drawl as he eyed the pair of professors. "I can go to any press outlet and tell them everything that happened tonight and everything I learned. I can tell them who is responsible for the deaths of Lily and James Potter, for the torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom, and no doubt cast suspicion on both of your heads for the countless others in the Order of the Phoenix that died. How many of their relatives still live? Their friends? How many people did Snape hand over to Voldemort so you could 'keep others safe' for just a little longer?"

Despite being silenced, the Headmaster seemed to quiver at the statements that came from Harry. All the while, Snape grew pale and his eyes frantically went from one person to the next. Augusta Longbottom's magic frayed at the edges and everyone could tell she wished to curse and tear both men apart if she were allowed. Harry, however, had a different plan in mind. As he looked from one professor to the other, he let his clever tactics and cunning mind roam free with ideas.

"A few words in the right ears is all it would take to see both of you hunted down, or at least, to see one of you chased to the edge of the world," Harry said as his cold gaze landed upon Snape. "Unlike Dumbledore, I believe forgiveness is earned… What have you done to earn it, Snape? Nothing. You have tormented the minds of children since you first stepped foot into this castle as a professor. You have lied, cheated, stolen what wasn't yours and turned siblings, friends, associates against each-other to continue this idiotic rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor, to isolate all of those clever, cunning individuals from the rest of the world…

"And don't even get me started on how many people despise potions because of you. I bet if we look, enrollment to become a healer, auror, or to take any job that requires high OWL or NEWT requirements would have dropped dramatically ever since the year you became a professor. I wonder how long you would last, with the world knowing a Death Eater that is sabotaging the education of countless wizards and witches, that could be responsible for a litany of deaths in the Blood War, is the protected pet of Albus Dumbledore? I wonder how long you would last if anyone knew what we know," Harry suggested quietly before he shifted his gaze to the old man that had caused so many problems with his lapses in judgment.

"And you, Headmaster, how long do you think you would remain in this school or maintain any decent reputation once the truth is revealed?" Harry wondered aloud. "'Albus Dumbledore Harbors Criminal Responsible for the Deaths of Dozens' would be a headline with a lot of pull, I think. That, of course, is just getting started. How long would you last if word got out you left me with those filthy mongrels that enslaved and tortured me?"

"Enough."

"How long, Headmaster?!" Harry barked over the old man who had finally rid himself of the silencing charm. "How long would you last if I put every shred of knowledge, every cunning thought in my mind to work against you both?"

"I am older and far wiser than you, Harry," the elder wizard answered more calmly. "I can weather far more than you believe, especially with what I have learned this night."

"Perhaps, but how many people would willingly send their children to be supervised by a man that put one of their heroes in hell and never did a thing to help him?"

"That is enough!"

Jolted from his argument, Harry looked to Minerva as the stern professor stepped between them all. The regal air of the transfiguration professor and Deputy Headmistress was on display and if there was a professor here Harry respected completely, it was her, aside from Hagrid and Poppy of course.

"You have made your point, Harry," Minerva answered as she looked from the teen to the young women beside him. "Your punishments are rescinded and this incident will not leave this room, are we clear?"

"…Yes ma'am," Daphne answered slowly.

"Of course," Susan echoed a moment later as she glanced from Daphne and Amelia to Harry and Minerva.

"Good, then it is settled," the Scotswoman declared as she looked throughout the room. "I believe these students are beyond your touch, Severus, Albus. Should either of you deign to interfere with their schooling or antagonize them, I believe you will quickly realize the consequences."

Trapped like a rat, Snape snarled as he attempted to get up until he slipped in his own blood and only damaged his face even further. Growls of pain and rage coursed out of the greasy-haired professor's lips before he rolled away a few feet and made to stand. The wobbly professor tried to access Madame Pomfrey's office only to run into a ward. The frustrated, pained scream that escaped him was one of the most satisfying things any of the parents and students ever heard. Snape, however, finally managed to stumble and stagger his way out of the room, promising retribution in his snarls as he left with the indignity he had suffered.

Dumbledore, however, remained rooted to the spot with a quiet dignity. The parents in the room had all witnessed arguments and events they should not have. There was no way for magic to solve his problems, not with careful, suspicious people like those present nearby. Instead, he accepted the situation for what it was: unwinnable. He had lost his control over Harry completely, and likely all of those within the room were now beyond his reach. With a gentle nod to Minerva, the Headmaster turned around and walked away with what quiet dignity remained to him.

"Ye shouldna done that, Harry," Hagrid grumbled as he watched the teen. "Dumbledore is a great man-"

"He makes mistakes, and I won't have him making anymore when my life is on the line, Hagrid," Harry cut in quickly before his expression softened as he watched his first real friend. "You understand that, don't you? I can't trust him, not after everything he's done."

With a great, heaving sigh, the creature-crazed professor sadly shook his head. "No, I suppose I can't hold that against ye. I understand, Harry, even if I may not like it. But eh, not to umm… speak badly of the headmaster but could we ehh… keep this to ourselves? I'd rather he not try and get anything outta me and I care about ye too much just to let ye outta me life so easily."

"Hagrid, it would take a horde of dragons to keep me away," the teenager replied as he hugged the half-giant.

With a hearty breath and a slap on Harry's back, Hagrid parted from the young man and went to check on the rest of his beasts. Before he reached the door, however, Hagrid turned about and trained his eyes on his favorite student once again. "I may not have liked what ye did to Wormtail… but it was the right thing for ye to do when it needed to be done… No regrets, Harry. Remember that. Sirius and Remus would be proud."

Once Harry had recovered from the unintentionally heavy blow to his back, he smiled after the man until he spoke of what happened to Pettigrew. When the giant of a man finally left the infirmary, Harry looked to the soulless forms of Sirius and Remus before he turned his gaze to Amelia, Susan and Daphne. The three awaited him with wistful smiles that, while comforting, worried him. A concerning thought slipped through Harry's mind and it must have showed on his face because Susan and Daphne quickly rushed forward and hugged him.

"You must think I'm a monster."

"Never," Susan whispered in reply to Harry as she held him all the tighter. "You're never a monster, Harry. You couldn't be, not to me."

"Nor me," Daphne cooed in his ear as she felt the intensity of Harry relax and his guard lower with them in his arms. "You did what had to be done and we understand that… as long as you know you can and will be better in the future."

"I swear it," Harry answered instantly. "I just… I know this darkness won't go away and I'm afraid I'll…"

"Lose us because of it?" Daphne assumed. When Harry nodded, she smiled and leaned in close so only Harry and Susan could hear her. "All the best men have a darkness that makes them infinitely sexier. I gotta admit, despite how afraid I might have felt at the time you were damn sexy when you're letting your dark side show..." The trio snickered briefly before Daphne continued. "You aren't going to lose us, Harry."

"The darkness is a part of you, and we both knew that when we got involved with you, Harry," Susan picked up the train of thought quickly. "After everything you have been through, of course there is darkness in you, and we will be there with you every step of the way to handle it, to hone it into a weapon of choice as needed… But you will always be our Harry if you let us keep being yours."

Harry smiled into the mixture of their hair over Susan's shoulder. The smell of honey and chocolate flooded him as he held them closer and it was all he could do not to let his emotions get the better of him.

"Always."

Susan seemed content with that before her smile fell. Daphne caught it and with a slow nod, she let the other girl voice their mutual concern.

"Don't let us see that again," Susan murmured to him. Harry's eyes widened but before h could say anything, the redhead pressed on. "I didn't like everything I saw, Harry, and I know Daphne and the others didn't either. You scared us, and you know that. I know you were doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, but this isn't something I can keep living with, Harry, not if you enjoy it, not if you pursue it."

Harry stared at her for a while and came to the realization that yes, there was fear in Susan of what might happen i he persisted down this path. He peered at Daphne and although her fear was less, he could tell there was an uncertainty wavering inside her that could go either way. He couldn't get away with this, not again, not intentionally and never if he did it without a reason. He could feel the minor tension in both girls and knew it would take time for them to recover. Time, Harry decided, he would spend on trying to better himself, on restraining himself from courses of action like this... With help, perhaps he could get better.

"I'll try. I promise I'll try to never let this happen again if I can help it..." Harry swore to them. Before either could say a thing, he continued in a soft tone. "But if someone killed either of you, if someone took anyone I care about from me, I wouldn't hesitate to make their life hell before I put them down for good."

Susan bit her lip but she had to admit that if she lost everyone she loved, or even one person, she would also pursue someone with dogged determination until she ended their life. If Snape was any indication, she was at the very least willing to do harm to others that harmed her loved ones.

"I understand."

Beside her, Daphne let out a sigh of relief. The brunette was more comfortable with the idea of an eye for an eye but then she had grown up with a smuggling father who had plenty of advice about the way of life, business, and how to keep your family safe. Despite Amelia's lawful influence on Susan, Tracey, hannah and herself, Daphne was much more easily drawn to a less than legal option.

"As do I, as I always have... Just be careful, alright?"

Harry nodded quickly, clearly aware he could lose them if he made the wrong move as he tried to hold them tighter. The trio remained close for a time until Amelia stepped forward. The smile on her face was bright, but a glint in her eye belied some of her uncertainty. "I'm sorry, about Sirius. I know he was a good man and with everything you revealed, he sounded like he still was. I understand if you want to be emancipated."

Amelia never got a chance to finish her thought as Harry broke free from Susan and Daphne to pull Amelia into a solid, tight hug that felt like she was holding a patronus in her arms.

"I belong with you," Harry breathed in her ear. "I belong with you, Susan, Buckbeak and the elves in at that too big manor, sharing Christmas breakfast and whispering about nightmares." Harry held her tighter, glad to feel at home in her arms. "Because that's what saved my life, what saved all of our lives when I conjured that patronus; Christmas at Bones Manor with all of our friends and family."

"You're a damn scoundrel, stealing our hearts so quickly," Amelia chuckled softly as she kissed his head and let him out of the hug.

"He does that anymore and we will have to watch out for a third girlfriend someday," Isabella Zabini teased.

Despite the laughter and comfort such levity offered them all, the infirmary soon settled into a murmur of whispers passed between children and parents as Poppy treated the teens. Harry, for his part, moved to the bed where a soulless pair of good men laid still. Amelia watched him move toward the bodies and quietly held the girls back. Coming to terms with death was never easy, but sometimes you needed to do it alone before others could help then Amelia knew that Harry desired privacy to mourn the men as much as he could.

In life they were separated long ago but in death they can be together forever. The thought was little comfort to Harry, though it made him smile to imagine the reunion they might have with his parents.

Harry finally noticed that the Marauder's Map had been left with the two men. Hagrid must have picked it up and brought it with him before everything happened in the chaos of Pettigrew's reveal. The teen gently smoothed out the ruffled paper and restored it to its almost pristine condition, despite its age. Careful hands slipped a sliver of the map aside to reveal the hospital wing. Despite their lack of souls, Remus J. Lupin and Sirius Orion Black laid quietly in the infirmary as if they were merely being treated, instead of awaiting a blade of mercy to send their bodies where their souls waited for them.

Harry caressed the names for a few moments and wondered what it might have been like, had things been different. Wishfully thinking he might have been raised by them was easily cast aside, but not the image of a pair of loving uncles teaching him all of their tricks and teasing him at every opportunity. Harry's gaze shifted from the map, the one thing left with a shred of their personality in it, before he turned his gaze to the men before him on the bed. A curious thought passed through Harry's mind as he looked at the disturbingly peaceful look on Sirius' face.

"Speak the oath to gryffindor's grim…"

Harry wracked his brain for an answer until the simplicity of it struck him like thunder after lightning. The teen quickly opened his satchel and jammed his hand inside until he felt the book slide between his fingers. With a quick pull he took out the journal and eyed the red grim upon a book he had wondered about for some time. It was incomplete, missing entire entries and a name to go with it, though harry knew who it belonged to.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The red grim seemed to smile and laugh upon the cover and Harry instantly opened the book to the first page. Upon it was written a name but it wasn't the one he expected.

Harry

Confusion ran rampant through the teen before his name faded and a stream of words replaced it. For a time, Harry didn't dare read what was there until the page had been filled with neat, elegant handwriting of a pureblood heir. The green-eyed wizard swallowed down his emotions as he steadied himself for what might be a difficult one-sided conversation.

If you're reading this then it's likely I've told you how to read the hidden contents of this journal to prepare you for life as an Heir and future Lord to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black… and honorary Marauder. If I'm not sitting beside you explaining all of this, then I'm afraid I'm gone and these are the last words I'm able to impart to you aside from what you're about to learn.

I lived a very full life Harry, one littered with as much regret as it was satisfaction. I regret not trying harder to make my family see the truth, to help them be a better Black Family. I regret letting my brother fall into a world where he ended up on the wrong side of a war and died because of it. I regret not being able to spend as much time with you as I would like. I regret never finding a good woman to try and settle down with while I still had the chance. I regret never taking a chance when an opportunity I could never have dreamed of was given to me.

These are regrets I hope you never have to deal with.

If one thing is certain, Harry, it's that I cared for you as my own son, which is why I'm making you my Heir. Within this journal you will learn of my life and how I lived, how I hope you live, and how to be a true Heir to the Black Family. More than that, consider this a grimoire of everything I have ever known. Everything from Hogwarts curriculum and my extracurricular studies to Marauder spells and secrets, Hit Wizard Training, and what fragments of the Black Family Magic I embraced… Not to mention how to make a good woman beg and scream for more if you know what I mean…

Which I sincerely hope you do! Otherwise I'm going to have to take you out to a brothel and get you an orgy to make a man out of you.

I suppose I've rambled on long enough and gotten away from the point of all of this… Harry, there's nothing I wouldn't do to keep you safe and happy. That is one of my dreams and I pray to any deities that are watching me write this that I achieve it, that you achieve your dreams when the time comes. I'm telling you right here and now, listen to your heart and the hearts of others. Pursue your dreams with everything you are and never back down, never give up, and always stand your ground. You are Harry James Potter, my godson, and I just know you can shake the very foundations of the world if you try hard enough.

When the time comes; be The Raven I could never be.

I guess that's all I have to say for now. As you read the rest of this journal, know that I'm not proud of everything, but sometimes you need to dirty your hands and take on a bit of darkness to do what's right. When you're finished reading, know that I gave this to you with the best of intentions, and that I hope it's as useful to you as it has been to me. When you're ready, merely whisper the Marauders' End so this can be our little secret… You'll figure it out.

Eternally Your Loving Godfather,

Sirius Orion Black, Padfoot of the Marauders, Shield and Raven of the House of Black.

Despite hardly knowing the man, Harry couldn't help the tear that slipped down his cheek and dripped from his jaw. The loss of someone that had cared for him for fourteen years while trapped in a prison worse than his own struck Harry to his core. What little of the family he might have originally had was finally extinguished. However, he was left in the loving care of a family he had found in the darkness that surrounded him. If there was anything Sirius and Remus would have been proud of, it was that.

With a quiet steadying breath, Harry closed the journal and set it on the bed. His hand rested on the grim, traced its laughing features gently as he watched the bodies of his family rest until mercy came to claim them for death's door. His eyes closed in remembrance of these fine men as he placed his hand more firmly on the journal. Harry mourned them their lost dreams and stolen moments, the time they might have had, before he realized the truth and mourned the reality of the Marauders' End with a Whisper in the Night.

"Mischief Managed."