I don't own Harry Potter. All rights belong to J. K. Rowling. The only thing I own is Ami.

Chapter Thirty Five

The Truth behind the Betrayal

To put things bluntly, Ami was not scared of the escaped prisoner; staring up back at him with her wide violet eyes made her even more certain that he was innocent. She wasn't sure if it was a rumour or not, but those who were not guilty of their crimes retained most of their sanity in terms of the Dementors, and it was clear that Sirius Black was mostly sane. Any insane qualities he may possess were merely consequence of being in the presence of the foul creatures for nearly thirteen years.

Admittedly though, the years had not been kind to him during his imprisonment. The man was covered with dirt and grime, the dark bags under his eyes showed a sunken, haunted look that could only be common within the walls of Azkaban; old prison tattoos covered his chest and arms while his clothes hung loosely around him, skeletal and grossly underweight were her only conclusions for such a reason. Underneath all the muck, it was clear that he was a good-looking man, despite the fact that his teeth were yellowing and that he was in desperate need of a bath.

Ami backed away until she was firmly planted beside Harry, she knew that he would go after him given the chance; her hand rested on his arm, prepared to hold him back when the time came. Harry was already glaring at him, almost ready to kill. Hermione made sure to push them both behind her, hoping to do the same as her friend in holding the boy back.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too."

Sirius shook his head.

"No, only one will die tonight."

Harry burst past the two girls and lunged for the man's throat.

"Then it will be you!"

His hands wrapped around the collar of his shirt and threw him to the dust covered floor, his wand was then aimed between his eyes. Ami recovered from her shock and immediately grabbed hold of Harry's arm, holding him back from doing anything stupid.

"Harry, listen to me! Don't kill an innocent man!"

Harry glared up at her with glaring green eyes.

"Innocent?! How can you say that?! He killed your mother!" he snapped.

The Elemental tightened her grip, eyes burning dangerously.

"I was there. Do you think I wouldn't know the identity of my mother's murderer? It. Wasn't. Him." She growled.

Just then the door was flung open and Lupin came through, casting an Expelliamus to knock Harry's wand out of his hand. Harry stumbled back over to his friend and left Ami on the floor, who was glaring at the rat who had caused this encounter; Scabbers seemed on edge about the whole thing. The professor helped the convict off the floor.

"It seems the flesh reflects the madness." Remus said calmly.

"But you would know about the madness within, wouldn't you, Remus?" Sirius laughed.

Ami and Hermione shared a look, that little implication proved their suspicions; although it looked like Hermione was leaning more towards confusion about their teacher's friendly behaviour rather than Ami's confession about the identity of the true killer in their midst.

They watched the two men embrace like old friends.

"I found him! Let's kill him!" Sirius whispered gleefully.

"NO!" Hermione cried. "I trusted you! And all this time, you've been his friend!"

"Has anyone been listening to me? Or have I just turned invisible?" Ami asked.

"He's a Werewolf!" Hermione continued. "That's why he's been missing classes!"

Lupin looked at them curiously.

"How long have you known?" he asked.

"It was easy enough to figure out once all the pieces were put together. Snape talked about Werewolves when he was covering your lesson and set us an essay, and Ami pointed out that you always seemed to fall ill when the full moon was coming around. Snape would also know about you because he would be giving you a wolfsbane potion to calm you during your transformations." Hermione explained.

"And Animaguses are the only people who would be able to be around a Werewolf without having to worry about being turned, because when they're animals, they can't be affected. That's why Sirius is one, and why..." Ami's eyes widened and she whipped her head towards the rat. "Why Pettigrew is one..."

Slowly she made her way over to Ron and Scabbers, keeping her eyes trained on the rodent who was writhing in his owner's grip.

Meanwhile Lupin was smiling at the girls' observations, he'd even caught Ami's whispered input, and realised that she was the only one who didn't need an explanation, since she had witnessed the truth with her own two eyes.

"Hermione, you certainly are the brightest witch of your year." He complimented.

"Enough talk, Remus!" Sirius snapped. "Let's just kill him! Enough waiting! I've done twelve years of waiting in Azkaban!"

Remus sighed heavily.

"I understand, but wait one more minute. Harry has a right to know why."

Harry growled and came forward again, stopping Ami in her tracks as she was inching towards the rat.

"I know why! You betrayed my parents! You're the reason they're dead!"

That was it. Ami had had just about enough. She sprang to her feet and slapped Harry's chest.

"Control yourself for one minute! Have you forgotten everything I said in Hogsmeade? Or did you just stop listening when you heard what the Ministry's view of it all was? I lied when I said I didn't remember who killed my mother that night! I know who did, but no one would or could believe it because the man was meant to be dead!"

She wasn't about to give up her chance to speak so she continued her ranting.

"Peter Pettigrew was a rat, just like his name! He cut off his own finger to make everyone believe he was dead, then turned into a rat and ran past my face while I lay under my mother's dead body before escaping down into the sewers! Why do you think I'm so terrified of rats? Because a rat killed my mother and practically destroyed my father! He can't even look at me in the eye without seeing my mother! More than once he's called me by her name!"

Her words were coming out faster and faster. Harry was staring at her with wide eyes, almost scared since her eyes had turned all of the Elemental colours and were swirling around her pupils, he had only seen her like that once before, when she'd gone through an Elemental Outburst in their first year. All of them had watched her immerse herself in the elements, but she'd never been this angry... Elements plus anger was never a good sign...

"Sirius Black wasn't even given a trial! He was just chucked into Azkaban because Crouch wanted to get a promotion! Ha! That went down the drain when his son turned out to be a Death Eater! They even had the audacity to give the traitor an Order of Merlin: First Class! I couldn't even give my witness account because I was a two-year-old who was clinically traumatised by the death of my mother! Ignorant quacks, the lot of them!"

Harry gripped her by the arms and held her there, staring into her eyes so she would stop.

"Ami, unless you want to have an Elemental Outburst in front of several witnesses, including the whole of Hogsmeade, I suggest you take a deep breath and calm down."

The Elemental breathed in and out a few times, not once taking her eyes off him. When they returned to their violet colouring he released her.

"Better?"

She laughed.

"Much. Merlin, I've wanted to say that for years!" She then poked him teasingly in the chest. "Looks like you've calmed down too. We don't want you strangling your godfather now, do we?"

It was safe to say that her... dramatic display had calmed most of the tension in the room, and had mostly removed the murdering intentions, although it was going to be interesting to see how she would react when Pettigrew was human again and standing in the room, because it was clear that she wanted some form of justice for what he did to her family. Maybe by wrapping her hands around his fat throat and squeezing... Possibly a bit of burning like she did with the table... That could work...

Snape came into the room once she had finished her rant and was pointing his wand at both Lupin and Sirius, having disarmed his fellow professor.

"Vengeance is sweet. I should have known that you would finally show up," he said. "I told Dumbledore that you were helping an old friend into the castle, and here is the evidence."

Sirius laughed.

"Well done. You've got the evidence but once again you've come to the wrong conclusion."

Ami rolled her eyes and leant up to whisper into Harry and Hermione's ears.

"Seriously? Why is it that they're all ignoring what I just said? I would have thought my rant just now had been heard all the way to Hogsmeade, and I've been ignored once again."

Harry patted her shoulder while reaching into Hermione's pocket for her wand, since his was still on the floor.

"I'll sort it. You get the rat."

The girl nodded her head and backed away slowly, watching the three men engage in some of the best banter she had ever seen; she almost laughed at Snape's comment about the two friends fighting like an old married couple (who knew he had a sense of humour? It was even funnier because it was true).

It was clear to Ami and the others that the argument between them was more than just about a convict being assisted by a professor of an esteemed education environment, and getting caught by another teacher; there was far deeper resentment that had been festering for years, it might have linked to why Snape hated Harry so much, and maybe Ami as well, since she was somehow on the receiving end of his hatred. What could her mother have possibly done to make his hate go down to the next generation?

She shook her head and focused her thoughts on getting Scabbers away from Ron, not an easy thing when she was meant to be absolutely terrified of rats. Kneeling down before the boy Ami extended her hands slowly.

"Can you give him to me, please?" she whispered.

"Why? You actually believe that he's this Pettigrew? That's insane! He's just a rat!" Ron retorted.

"A common garden rat that's been around since before Percy gave him to you? No normal rat can live that long! Please hand him over so we can clear this up?" she snapped.

He was hesitant, but he eventually gave her the rat squirming in his grasp.

Ami almost jumped out of her skin when she turned around because Harry had cast a spell with Hermione's wand to send Snape into the broken bed and knock him unconscious.

"What the Hell?!" she cried.

"Harry, what did you just do?" Ron asked.

"You attacked a teacher!" Hermione gasped.

Harry kept the wand between him and the two men. Ami's rant had made him more accepting, but he wasn't about to throw caution to the wind just yet.

"Tell me about Peter Pettigrew. How is he alive when he was meant to be dead?" he asked firmly.

"He was at school with us, we thought he was our friend. I thought he was dead too until you saw him on the Map." Lupin explained.

"And the Map never lies. It was our creation after all. Pettigrew's alive, and he's right there." Sirius inputted while pointing to Scabbers as he continued to squirm in Ami's unrelenting grasp.

The Elemental made a point to keep his head away from her fingers, she wasn't about to let him bite her like he had Ron.

"He's missing a toe, isn't he? And all they found of Pettigrew was his finger, cut it off himself so everyone would think he was dead. Then he transformed into a rat to make his escape, and your friend witnessed the whole thing."

Ami then realised something about Crookshanks, something that explained his behaviour all year.

"That's why Crookshanks was so adamant about catching him, because he's part Kneazle, he can sense what untrustworthy people are near, and Pettigrew is the worst of the lot."

Harry gestured to the rat.

"Show me."

Sirius took Scabbers from Ami and placed him down on one of the nearby surfaces, both him and Remus tried to cast the counter spell, but the slippery rodent kept running away; he was making his way towards the exit until the two men caught him and he turned into a man. His escape was futile since he was wedged in the wood of the door like someone caught in a cat flap. Ami was shaking when they managed to pry him loose from the woodwork, she was held in place by Harry from behind, one hand on her wrist while the other stayed on her hip.

"Let me at him."

"Not happening. You stopped me, so I'll stop you."

"...Fine. But I'm not happy about it."

"Didn't expect you to be."

She relaxed against him and watched the interactions between the three Marauders unfold before her eyes.

The man looked just as she remembered, but spending so many years as a rat had taken its toll on his appearance; his teeth remained like a rat's and his nails were like little claws, his hair reminded her of his fur as a rodent and his skin was scabby and flaking. Dressed in a dirty black suit covered in dust, he looked worse for wear than Sirius.

"Remus? Sirius? My old friends!" Pettigrew greeted.

He tried to run past them between Lupin and Sirius stopped him. Instead he turned his attention to Harry and Ami.

"Harry! Look at you, you look so much like your father, like James! We were the best of friends!" he gushed.

Ami quickly stepped between them.

"Get away from him! Don't even think about touching him, you disgusting, lying rat!" she bellowed.

Lupin and Sirius were quick to join in.

"How dare you! Don't talk about James in front of him!"

Pettigrew scurried away and found himself trapped between the two men, both of them pointing their wands at him.

"You sold James and Lily to Voldemort, didn't you?" Lupin growled.

"I didn't mean to!" Pettigrew whimpered. "The Dark Lord, you have no idea of the power he possesses. Sirius, what would you have done? What would you have done in my place?"

"I would have died!" Sirius roared. "I would have died rather than betray my friends! Than betray my brother in all but blood!"

Peter made to scamper underneath the table he had been using as a blockade between his former best friends, but the Elemental quickly intercepted him by jumping onto him; her hands trembled as they rested around his throat in a choke hold, not enough pressure to physically hurt him, but enough to show that she meant business.

"But why? Why did you have to kill those Muggles while you left your best friend to take the blame? Why did you kill my mother?!" Ami shouted, tears threatening to spill from her red eyes.

Pettigrew whimpered when he felt the light burn on his fleshy neck, the slight hiss of burning skin echoed around the silent room.

"I had to! She had seen me! She was Lily's best friend, she would have known the truth! She had to be silenced before the truth came out! I never wanted to kill her!" he cried.

"You still killed her! She died in front of me! A two-year-old child! Would you have killed me too?" Ami yelled. "But I can't kill you... I'd be no better than you if I did..."

She got to her feet and fled into Harry's arms, finally allowing the tears to fall from her violet eyes.

Harry stroked her back tenderly, thinking about her words. He realised something in that moment; even though she had suffered the most at his hands, she had been able to be merciful. If she could give him mercy, he would do the same. He doubted that his father would have wanted his best friends to become killers in his name, even if it was for the right reasons. He watched as Lupin and Sirius cornered Pettigrew.

"If you didn't realise Peter, if Voldemort didn't kill you, then we would." Lupin told him.

"NO!" Harry shouted. Everyone looked at him in amazement before he continued. "I know he's a murderer, but we should take him to the castle. After that, the Dementors can have him."

Ami looked up at him and smiled through teary eyes. She was struck with the thought of kissing him, but she collected herself quickly before she accidentally acted on it. But she could admit one thing.

I've fallen for him... I've fallen in love with him. Oh Merlin, I'm doomed.

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