AN: Holy Hufflepuffs I am on one hell of a roll. I don't know what it is but the chapters are flowing like wine today. I think this is the seventh chapter today? Wow! Kind of shocking. I think that's the most I've ever done. Once again anything you recognize is JK Rowling's anything you don't is mine.
Remus POV
"Well, hello, Peter," I said pleasantly to Peter. My stomach was rolling horribly but I ignored it. "Long time, no see."
Peter was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry or Hermione. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers' fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. His eyes darted to the door and back.
"S - Sirius... R - Remus..." Peter's voice was squeakier than it had been. His eyes darted toward the door again. "My friends... my old friends..."
Sirius' wand arm rose, but I seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning took, then turned again to Peter, my voice light and casual.
"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed —"
"Remus," gasped Peter, and I could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "you don't believe him, do you...? He tried to kill me, Remus..."
"So we've heard," I said, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'll be so —"
"He's come to try and kill me again!" Peter squeaked suddenly, pointing at Sirius with his middle finger since his index finger was missing. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too... You've got to help me, Remus..."
Sirius' face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Peter with his fathomless eyes.
"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," I said.
"Sorted things out?" squealed Peter, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again' the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"
"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" I said, my brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"
"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Peter shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"
Sirius started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room.
"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said. Peter flinched as though Sirius had brandished a whip at him.
"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" said Sirius. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"
"Don't know what you mean, Sirius —" muttered Peter, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat now.
"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," said Black. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter... They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them... I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information... and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter —"
"Don't know... what you're talking about...," said Peter again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at me. "You don't believe this — this madness, Remus —"
"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," I said evenly.
"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Peter. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban — the spy, Sirius Black!"
Sirius' face contorted.
"How dare you," he growled, sounding like his younger self. "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter – I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us... me and Remus... and James..."
Peter wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath. "Me, a spy... must be out of your mind... never... don't know how you can say such a -"
"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Sirius hissed, so venomously that Peter took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan... a bluff... Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing
like you... It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."
Peter's mouth moved silently.
"Professor Lupin?" said Hermione timidly. "Can - can I say something?"
"Certainly, Hermione," I said turning to smile at her.
"Well - Scabbers - I mean, this - this man - he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"
"There!" said Peter shrilly, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"
"I'll tell you why," said Black. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't YOU, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him..."
Peter opened his mouth and closed it several times. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk.
"Er - Mr. Black - Sirius?" said Hermione.
Sirius jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though he had never seen anything quite like her. His eyebrow furrowed and he nodded for her to continue.
"If you don't mind me asking, how - how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"
"Thank you!" gasped Peter, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I -"
I gave him a dark look and he stopped. Sirius was frowning slightly at Hermione, but not as though he were annoyed with her. He seemed to be pondering his answer.
"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me... but it kept me sane and knowing who I am... helped me keep my powers... so when it all became ... too much... I could transform in my cell... become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know..." He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions... They could tell that my
feelings were less - less human, less complex when I was a dog... but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand...
"But then I saw Peter in that picture... I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry... perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again..."
Peter was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Sirius as though hypnotized.
"... ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies... and to deliver the last Potter to them. if he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors...
"So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive. It was as if someone had lit a fire In my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it... It wasn't a happy feeling... it was an obsession... but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog... It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused... I was thin, very thin... thin enough to slip through the bars... I swam as a dog back to the mainland... I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry..."
He looked at Harry, who did not look away.
"Believe me," croaked Sirius. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James
and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."
And at long last, Harry nodded. I let put a breath and felt myself relax.
"No!" Peter had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.
"Sirius - it's me... it's Peter... your friend... you wouldn't —" Sirius kicked out and Peter recoiled.
"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," said Sirius.
"Remus!" Peter squeaked, turning to me instead, writhing imploringly in front of me. "You don't believe this wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"
"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," I said softly. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" I said casually over Peter's head.
"Forgive me, Remus," said Sirius.
"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," I said rolling up my sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"
"Of course," said Sirius, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"
"Yes, I think so," I said grimly standing at my full height.
"You wouldn't... you won't...," gasped Peter. And he scrambled around to Ron.
"Ron... haven't I been a good friend... a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you... you're on my side, aren't you?"
But Ron was staring at Peter with the utmost revulsion.
"I let you sleep in my bed!" he said with the utmost disgust. I could hardly blame him.
"Kind boy... kind master..." Peter crawled toward Ron "You won't let them do it... I was your rat... I was a good pet..."
"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," said Sirius harshly. Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Peter's reach. Peter turned on his knees,
staggered forward, and seized the hem of my Mate's robes.
"Sweet girl... clever girl... beautiful girl... you - you won't let them... Help me..."
I snarled and watched Hermione pulled her robes out of Peter's clutching hands and backed
away against the wall, looking horrified, tears shimmering in her eyes. "GINNY AND I CHANGED IN FRONT OF YOU!"
"WHAT?!" Ron and I roared at the same time. Peter trembled and darted towards Harry. I took a step but Sirius grabbed my arm to hold me back. He gave me a look and shook his head.
"Harry... Harry... you look just like your father... just like him..."
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Sirius letting me go. "HOW DARE YOU
FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"
"Harry," whispered Peter, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched.
"Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed... James would have understood, Harry... he would have shown me mercy..."
Both Sirius and I strode forward, seized Peter's shoulders, and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at us. I could gleefully rip his throat out! What the hell was wrong with him?!
"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said Sirius, who was shaking too. "Do you deny it?"
Peter burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor. Disgusting old man.
"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord... you have no idea... he has weapons you can't imagine... I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen... He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me -"
"DON'T LIE!" bellowed Sirius. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO
HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"
"He - he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Peter. "Wh - what was there to be gained by refusing him?"
"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Sirius, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"
"You don't understand!" whined Peter. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"
Sirius and I stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.
"You should have realized," I said quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."
Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall. Good. I didn't want my Mate to see me kill him.
"NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front Peter, facing our wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."
My mouth dropped open in shock.
"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Sirius snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."
"I know," Harry panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors... He can go to Azkaban... but don't kill him."
"Harry!" gasped Peter, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You - thank you - it's more than I deserve - thank you -"
"Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Peter's hands off him in disgust.
"I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because - I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers - just for you."
No one moved or made a sound except Peter, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Sirius and I were looking at each other. After a long moment we both lowered our wands.
"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Sirius. "But think... think what he did..."
"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does..."
AN: Please Review! Reviews make me happy, when I'm happy I update more, when I update more you're happy. In the end everyone wins.