Disclaimer: I do not own or claim any part of the Harry Potter characters or universe as crafted by JK Rowling. Anything recognizable in this chapter is taken from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Chapter 21: Collateral Damage

Kaelix walked through the castle halls, trying to release some of the pent up restlessness from too many days spent hunched over books. Many of the other students were doing the same and she found the corridors almost crowded since they still weren't permitted to freely wander the grounds. Part of her couldn't believe that the year was over already, an entire school year had passed since she'd first set eyes on the monumental castle elevation towering into the sky. It seemed like just yesterday that she'd climbed into that carriage that took her past the dementors guarding the gates to the grounds. With Divination having been her final exam earlier that afternoon, she was done for the summer. It would be three long months until she returned to the castle and it was both heartbreaking and relieving. She didn't exactly want to be here, but she didn't want to be anywhere else either.

She thought back to that day, almost a year ago now, when the Old Man had just shown up at her appointment and told her about his magical school. Objectively it still seemed absurd from the perspective of her previous life. But after nine months immersed in this school, this world, she was having a hard time thinking about packing up to return to that life. The idea of sitting in that waiting room at Dr. Hadley's or tagging along for bring-your-token-daughter-to-work-day seemed mundane and bland. Her eyes trailed the moving portraits lining the corridors and the floating candlesticks that never seemed to quite burn themselves out. The moving staircases and other casual magic of the castle is what she would miss the most. The feather quills however? She scoffed to herself, already planning to smuggle a few ballpoints back in with her next school year. Why being wizards meant they couldn't use proper paper and writing utensils was beyond her, probably a result of having such an eclectic Old Man in charge.

A candle flame flickered and flared ahead of her and she instantly remembered that day in the corridor when she'd snuffed them out. And she remembered Hogsmeade. And the locket. And her parents. And Malfoy. And the boggart. And the boy. How could you? The hollowness in her stomach yawned open wider as she was caught between wanting to stay and wanting to disappear and never come back. So much of Hogwarts was so simple and magical and exactly what she wanted it to be, and in some ways that was the worst part of it. She didn't want to be here alone, but she didn't want to be anywhere else either.

Shaking her head she halted in the middle of the corridor trying to push those thoughts away. When she looked around to get her bearings, she smiled to herself, instantly recognizing the corridor. The door of the classroom was slightly ajar and she raised a slender hand to knock lightly. No answer. Typical, she thought and smiled to herself again. Gently, she pushed the door open and found the room completely empty. Though a sliver of light cut across the floor from the next door so she knew he was here. She took a moment to look around the room that she'd spent so much of her time in during the year. Her stomach rolled a bit at the thought of going three months without setting foot in this familiar place. And then it dropped completely when she realized that she wouldn't be returning here nearly as frequently next year.

She shook her head again and crossed the room, she didn't want to be sad right now. Her footsteps echoing through the emptiness. As she neared the doorway she could see him through that sliver of open door, leaning forward in his chair, brow furrowed, looking over a piece of parchment or the like. The door swung open silently and she leaned casually against the doorframe.

"Last I heard exams were over," she said.

He looked up quickly, his expression puzzled for the briefest of moments before a smile crept onto his face. "What are you doing here?" he asked, leaning back in his chair. "Aren't you supposed to be off enjoying yourself somewhere? Cursing your professors and celebrating summer break?"

Kaelix looked around his office and shrugged, "It just didn't feel right, you know? The thought of not heading here tomorrow evening for Lessons with Lupin."

He chuckled at the alliterated pet name that she had given their sessions. "Are you saying that you're actually going to miss our lessons? I was under the impression that you couldn't wait until this horrible year at this hell of a school was over." He raised an eyebrow at her.

Kaelix laughed lightly and a twinkle played in Remus' eyes. "I think you're putting words in my mouth."

"You put them there first," he countered.

She conceded with a shrug, "To be fair, I was having a particularly dreadful go of it the day I said that and I believe I took it back eventually."

"I suppose your attitude did improve with time," he teased.

"My attitude was always impeccable. What is that by the way?" she asked pushing away from the doorframe and gesturing to the old parchment on the desk he'd been folded over a moment ago.

"This old thing?" he said leaning forward again, his eyes moving quickly over it. "Just a-" he paused and Kaelix didn't miss the bemused expression that passed quickly over his face. "A map," he finished staring intently at the parchment.

"Just a map?" she asked.

But he was so engrossed in it that he didn't seem to hear her question.

"A map of what?" she asked a bit louder, her curiosity increasing at what could be captivating his attention. But Remus was so fixated on the map that he seemed to have forgotten she was even in the room. His expression turned from confusion to utter disbelief, she saw his lips move and thought she heard him whisper 'impossible' but wasn't sure.

"Remus?" Kaelix tried.

His head jerked up from the map and he looked at her with an unseeing gaze; his mind was somewhere else entirely.

"Hogwarts," he said. "It's a map of Hogwarts. Will you excuse me, please, Kaelix," he said, looking at the map once more, eyes widening. "I have to go." He shot up from his desk and made for the door.

"What?" she asked again. But he didn't even acknowledge she'd spoken as he blew by. "Remus?" she said as he nearly knocked her over in his rush for the door.

Now she was offended, what could possibly warrant that kind of dismissal?

"Remus?" she called after him across the classroom, but he'd broken into run and already disappeared out the door.

She watched the spot where the last corner of his cloak had disappeared around the door frame with furrowed brow in complete confusion. A moment later she was around his desk examining the map that had him so captivated and scanned it for any sign of what he'd seen. She cursed whoever designed the map, it definitely showed all of Hogwarts but it didn't appear to be organized in any logical fashion. It briefly occurred to her that perhaps that aspect was intentional, but she couldn't imagine why. It took her a few solid minutes of scouring the map to orient herself and then she realized that not only did it show each and every corridor of the castle, including some she'd never seen before, and every square inch of the grounds, but it also had hundreds and hundreds of little black dots moving around like ants. Each dot was labeled with a name. She found herself.

Kaelix Holstein.

Somehow the map knew. Magic, obviously. But how? What was the deciding factor, how her name appeared on her birth certificate? She didn't have time to ponder the technicalities of this random magical object knowing her real name, she scoured the map for the dot labelled Remus Lupin. He was running judging by the speed of the dot, straight through the entrance hall to the castle grounds.

"Where on Earth…" she trailed off, the words dying in her throat as she saw what Remus had.

A long way off, quickly approaching the edge of the map, was a little black dot labelled 'Sirius Black'. Clustered with it were two more dots, 'Ron Weasley' and 'Peter Pettigrew'. The three of them disappeared off the edge of the map and she traced the path, no tunnel she realized, back to the entrance which was situated beneath the Whomping Willow. Kaelix didn't pause long enough to wonder what kind of magic it might take to create something this intricately powerful, but if she had she would have concluded that it was very advanced magic, perhaps bordering on dark. Nor did she contemplate in that moment how a man who was supposedly murdered over twelve years ago was appearing on the map. The only thing that went through her mind was the image of her mother in the Prophet that reported her death and the paralyzing fear over the slightest possibility of a similar image of Remus.

Kaelix flew around the desk and out of the office after him, crossing the classroom faster than she would have previously thought possible. Somehow she managed to sprint through the castle corridors after Remus without running into anyone, though she definitely attracted a look or two. When she reached the great oak doors at the entrance hall she nearly tumbled down the front steps, her feet flying. The sun was sinking quickly and technically it was already past curfew, but she didn't even hesitate. She tore across the grounds, her breathing heavy now and her legs burning. Worst case scenarios flashed in her mind one after another and she felt the heat rising within her.

Skidding to a halt in front of the tree she stood frozen for a moment as she realized she'd just run recklessly close to a tree with a very literal name. She didn't breathe while she waited for the impact that was sure to come. Until it didn't. Remus must have immobilized it, she thought as she circled the trunk slowly, praying it didn't wear off before she found the entrance. The problem was that she hadn't actually seen Remus disappear beneath the tree. Her hands started to shake as she realized she had no idea how to get to the tunnel beneath the tree. She circled the tree a second time, and then a third. On the fourth time around just as she was about to loose a scream of frustration she saw it. A gap in the roots near the base that was just big enough for a person to squeeze through. A small person.

As she slid between the roots the branches of the tree creaked above her and whole tree shuddered with a moan as whatever spell had held it wore off. She sent a silent thank you out into the universe for maintaining Remus' immobilization spell long enough, and then she seriously questioned how Black and Remus had fit through the gap that scraped her hip as she slid through. She landed with a muffled thump on the damp earthy ground inside the tunnel. It was low and Kaelix had to duck as she set off down the winding path. The passageway went on and on and on and she began to question whether she was headed in the right direction. She hadn't even looked to see if the tunnel split off at any point, she'd just gone on blindly forward. What if Remus- No, she wasn't even going to entertain those thoughts anymore. Eventually the tunnel began to rise, a moment later it twisted completely around, and then a patch of dim light shown through a small opening ahead of her.

She tried desperately to even out her still labored breathing as she edged forward to catch a glimpse of what she was about to barge in on.

"Expelliarmus!" she heard Remus' voice shout from somewhere above her.

She pulled herself up out of the hole and found herself in a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody has smashed it. The windows were all boarded up, even the fireplace was closed off. But the room was deserted. Her eyes swept over the room once more and landed on a chair that had been torn apart. There were claw marks and bite marks covering what remained. The walls, too, were covered in layers and layers of gouges.

Her lips formed an 'oh' as the realization dawned on her; she was inside the Shrieking Shack. Remus had told her ages ago that the entrance was guarded by the Whomping Willow. Even if she'd had time to, she wouldn't have been prepared for the weight of what she saw. Each claw mark, each broken fragment of furniture, each long dried and faded blood stain… It was all Remus.

"Where is he, Sirius?" she heard the tautness of Remus' voice even as it carried through the floor above her.

She snapped into action, taking the crumbling staircase as quickly and quietly as possible. The landing at the top was poorly lit, the only light source was from the half open door that revealed part of the room beyond. She slowed her approach, wary of the possibility that she might need surprise on her side. Through the door she could see Potter and Hermione flanking Weasley, who had collapsed on the floor against the foot of queen size bed. He clutched at his leg, a very raw wound peeking out from beneath his torn jeans. Kaelix shifted on her feet to get a look at the rest of the room. Black was crumpled to the floor not far from Potter's feet with Hermione's cat lying protectively over his chest. Blood trickled down his jaw and Crookshanks was hissing at Potter.

"But then…" Remus muttered as he stepped forward into her line of sight, his wand trained on Black and three others held aloft in his left hand. "... why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless-" he paused and Kaelix wished she could see his face, "unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?"

Kaelix looked to Black to see his reaction, he was looking up at Remus, his expression desperate but determined. He was uncertain but very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Remus' face, Black nodded.

Potter started to speak but never finished his question. Kaelix couldn't blame him because her own throat clamped shut at what she saw. Remus lowered his wand, his entire demeanor relaxing. He pocketed the extra wands, walked over to Black's side and seized his hand. Pulling him to his feet, they embraced like brothers. Kaelix's stomach plummeted and she felt the already pooled heat rising within her. Blinking repeatedly, her mind stuttered, trying to reason out what she was seeing unfold before her eyes. Remus, the man she'd grown to trust, was embracing the murderer who killed her mother. There was no explanation for this, nothing he could say to remedy this betrayal. Her anger was bubbling just below the surface, just about to spill over. She stepped cautiously into the room, no one heard her.

"Remus?" she said, her voice low.

Potter's gaze jumped from Remus to Kaelix and back again, bewilderment and anger plain on his face.

He let go of Black and turned toward her, his expression fell. "Kaelix, I ca-"

"I don't believe it!" Hermione screamed, her focus still entirely on Remus. Her eyes were wide and full of shock, she looked nearly as betrayed as Kaelix felt.

"Hermione-" he tried.

"-you and him!" she shouted. "All this time!"

"Hermione, calm down-"

Kaelix's stomach turned, "Remus."

He gave her a pleading look as Hermione continued to scream, near hysterical, "I didn't tell anyone! I've been covering for you-"

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Remus shouted over her, "I can explain-"

"I trusted you," now Potter was shouting too, "and all this time you've been a liar and a traitor!"

His words were a gut punch.

All this time.

Her breath was gone.

All this time.

Had he too laughed at her behind her back, the same way Malfoy had?

All. This. Time.

She clenched her jaw against her own outrage.

"All this time?" her voice was nearly a growl.

"No, Kaelix, I swear. I-"

"Liar!" Potter shouted. "You've been helping him, you've his friend!"

"No I haven't, Harry," Remus said with a slight edge. "I haven't been Sirius' friend all this time, but everything's changed. Just let me explain-"

"No!" Hermione screamed again. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too - he's a werewolf!"

The room fell silent as the revelation sunk in with Potter and Weasley, who clearly hadn't known. Kaelix had a visceral reaction to the way Hermione said the word werewolf, but a well of doubt had opened up within her and she wasn't sure which of them was the bigger fool. Everyone's gaze settled on Remus, who looked very calm, though rather pale. With the exception of Black, who was glaring at Hermione.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said quietly. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle, and I certainly don't want Harry dead…" An odd shiver passed over his face as though it physically pained him to continue, "but I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Weasley made a scrambled attempt to raise himself up off the floor but fell back down with a whimper of pain. Remus moved toward him, looking quite concerned, but Weasley gasped, "Get away from me, werewolf!"

Remus stopped dead in his tracks, a hurt expression crossing his features. If it weren't for the poisonous combination of anger and doubt currently roiling under her skin, she would have slapped Weasley clean across the face for the way spat out the word; like it was something vile. Like Remus was something vile.

He turned again to Hermione and said with some effort, "How long have you known?"

"Ages," she whispered. "Since Professor Snape's essay."

Remus nodded. "He'd be thrilled," he said coolly. "He set that essay hoping someone would figure it out and at least two of you managed it. Though he would have been more thrilled if I'd been fired over it, as I'm sure he was hoping."

"Wait, who else…?" Hermione started to ask.

Remus only looked toward Kaelix in response and Hermione's mouth emitted a soft 'ohhh'.

"You're very clever, both of you," he said.

"Apparently not clever enough," said Kaelix.

Remus' expression fell.

"We should have told everyone what you really are," Hermione whispered.

Something about the way she emphasized those last four words rubbed Kaelix's already raw nerves. Her words were taught and she wasn't sure whether they were meant to defend him or not. "They already know, the Old Man and the other teachers."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Weasley gasped. "Is he mad?"

"Some of the staff thought so," said Remus. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy-"

"And he was wrong!" Potter yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THIS TIME!" He was pointing at Black whose face was hidden in one shaking hand, Crookshanks weaving between his legs affectionately.

"I haven't been helping Sirius. Not until right now," said Remus. "I swear there's a good explanation for it. Look-" He grabbed the wands from his pocket, separated them and threw each back to its owner; Potter caught his with a stunned expression. "There," he said, sticking his own wand back into his belt. "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

Potter still looked skeptical, Weasley looked ready to vomit, and Hermione's wide eyes shone with fear. None of them looked particularly keen on listening to anything at the moment but none of them protested. Remus turned to face Kaelix where she stood across the room. Her throat was tight.

"Kaelix-" he tried.

She was already shaking her head, "You lied to me." Her words were well placed daggers and he flinched with each impact. "About. Everything."

"Please, Kaelix, I can explain-"

"No," she cut him off quietly. "I don't think you can."

"It's not what you think," he said.

"It doesn't matter what I think. You don't get to make excuses, you don't get to justify yourself."

"Please if you just listen, you'll understand what-"

"Understand?!" her voice nearly broke as she fought to keep it even. "You must be daft if you think that there is any explanation that would ever lead me to understand why you've been helping that monster all this time!"

Remus sighed and paled a shade or two, "I haven't been helping him. I haven't seen or spoken to him in thirteen years. But I am helping him now because I've just learned something that no one else realizes."

"What could possibly convince you to help him? How- knowing what he's done, how can you take his side?" she asked.

"Because it wasn't-"

"Remus, who is this girl?" Black interjected impatiently.

Kaelix's already shaking hands clenched at her sides, "You don't get to talk."

"I don't take orders from you, I don't even know you," he said without emotion.

"Sirius," Remus warned over his shoulder.

"You should," Kaelix shot at Black.

"Don't, Kaelix, not like this," Remus warned.

"And why is that?" asked Black, as if there couldn't possibly be an answer. "What is this great wrong that I've done to you?"

"Sirius, please," Remus pressed.

"I've made a lot of mistakes in my lifetime, girl, but I've never even met-" He stopped mid-sentence.

"Sirius? What happened?" Remus asked, his concern growing quickly.

His mouth was gaping and his eyes were growing wide, his hand went to his throat; he couldn't speak. It had only taken one small thought. A sharp, pointed wave of heat and a silent wish and his throat had closed right up. If she'd stopped to think about how easy it was, how the magic spilled over and acted on her thoughts before she really even thought them, it would have scared her, but she didn't. She held onto his silence as his expression turned to panic.

Remus' attention flew back to her, "Kaelix, what are you doing? Stop this," he ordered.

Black's eyes glazed and he stumbled to his knees. He couldn't breathe. Remus dropped to his knees beside Black, grabbing an arm to support him with concern etched into every feature.

"Kaelix," he snapped. "Stop this, please. You'll kill him.

How could you?! The image flashed in her mind.

She tried to pull back, panic rising within her. The magic protested. She'd just wanted him to shut up, she hadn't meant to cut off his entire air supply. But there was too much, and she realized too late. It lashed out toward both Black and Remus in a wave of pulsing heat and cold that swept through the room, carrying an unseen force with it. Kaelix strained with the force of it, attempting with all her might to direct it away from everyone else in the room. Black and Remus were both thrown hard against the wall of the shack and there was a loud crack accompanying the collision.

The entire structure moaned with the effort of withstanding the blow. The heat dissipated, leaving Kaelix hollow and cold. A shiver ran down her spine and her labored breaths ghosted away from her body. She fought to remain standing on her shaky legs. Black gasped air back into his lungs, coughing and then drawing several deep ragged breaths. Remus was crumpled at the base of the wall, his own labored breathing not entirely masked by Black's. Potter, Weasley, and Hermione looked on from where they stood across the room, eyes wide.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Weasley demanded.

Kaelix didn't meet his gaze, or anyone's.

"Sirius?" Remus gasped.

"Fine," he grunted. "You?"

"Fine," he said, relieved. He winced, "Well, mostly fine."

He let his head fall back against the wall behind him, his eyes falling closed. He looked so tired, more tired than Kaelix had ever seen him before. Her stomach turned.

"Now will you hear us out?" he asked, though his eyes remained closed.

"I'd rather see the dementors suck out whatever's left of his soul," she snapped.

What little blood that had returned to Black's face, drained at her comment.

"We both know you don't mean that," Remus said, opening his eyes again to meet her gaze.

"You lied to me," she said.

"I know," he agreed.

"Again."

"I know," he repeated.

"I'm starting to see a pattern," she said through clenched teeth.

He pushed himself up to a sitting position against the wall with a wince, "I know."

"Is that all you can say?" she snapped.

An aftershock swept through the room, radiating from her. More than one sharp intake of breath told her that she wasn't the only one that felt it. She clenched her fists against her frustration and against the cold that was creeping into her bones. Sharp pain she'd never experienced before radiated through her head and settled between her eyes. She closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose to lessen the throbbing. But her eyes snapped open again at the sound of a scuffle.

"Don't you dare!" Potter snapped.

His wand was trained on Black, who'd climbed to his feet and managed more than one step toward Kaelix before

"Sirius, don't," Remus said, quiet but forcefully.

"She hasn't even drawn her wand, Remus. We should restrain her," he said, his voice near a snarl.

"Let's see you try," Kaelix snarled back.

"If you take another step toward her I'll hex you all the way back to Azkaban," Potter threatened.

"Piss off, Potter, I can hex him myself."

"That's enough, all of you," said Remus.

He made to get up but slipped back to his knee with a sharp intake of breath. Black was there in an instant, offering a hand to help him up.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, concern etched into every feature.

Remus' breaths were shallow but he managed a reply, "I'll be fine, Sirius. We both know I've thrown myself against the wall harder than that."

"You're getting too old for this," Black said, pulling Remus to his feet.

"Thanks, you look like hell too," Remus said with a weak smile, grabbing the back of a mostly intact armchair for support.

Tears threatened to well up in Kaelix's eyes at the sight of Remus in pain, at his joke about hurting himself. Images of him as a werewolf ripping apart the shack flashed in her mind. No wonder he was always so exhausted. But she pushed the images and tears away and clenched her jaw. He had lied to her, all this time he must have known the truth of who she was, who her parents were, and he hadn't told her. All this time he'd been Black's friend. All this time she'd been playing the fool. Again. And now to add insult to injury he was defending the man who murdered her mother. Her heart sank at the gulf that had opened between them, it was so wide she could hardly see him, hardly even recognize him. Was anyone who she thought they were?

Black turned to her with an icy glare and for the first time since she entered the room she got a really good look at him. He looked worse than the previous times she'd seen him, though in the adrenaline fuelled corridor and low light of the common room maybe she just hadn't really seen him. He was a skeleton, impossibly thin with limp shaggy hair hanging around his face. Only the gleam of life that shone in his eyes betrayed the fact that he wasn't already a corpse. The photos on the wanted posters were unsettling, but they had nothing on the real thing. He was haunted, inside and out.

"Kaelix, I-we can explain everything. Just give us an hour, that's all I'm asking. One hour and if you're not convinced by then…" he sighed, "then I'll hand Sirius to the dementors myself."

Black choked, "Excuse me?" His expression incredulous.

"What's the matter? Not so confident in your story telling now?" she asked.

"Hardly," Black sneered. Then he added to Remus, "I can't help but notice you're not confident enough to offer your own soul to the dementors as well."

"Well, no one thinks I've killed anyone, Sirius. Allegedly aided and abetted you, but that's hardly worth the Kiss. And, anyway, it doesn't matter. After an hour or so no one in this room will want to hand you over. So, do we have a deal?" he asked.

Kaelix hesitated. She had no desire to listen to half baked explanations or justifications that would further infuriate her. He'd lied, the damage was done, there was no way to repair that. But something somewhere deep in her gut nagged at her, telling her to listen. There was a chance, however small, that the truth might not be what she fearing it was.

"I promise you won't regret it," Remus said.

Kaelix tensed, "I told you not to do that." She spoke without meeting his gaze.

"I know," he said. "But I can keep this one, I swear it."

She shook her head slightly, "You can't know that."

"I can," he said softly.

"How?" She hated the way her voice cracked through the word.

"Because I know what I have to tell you and I know you," he said.

She finally met his gaze and wanted to melt into the floor. It was exhausting, fighting with him. Not trusting her voice to hold, she nodded her consent. His expression relaxed and he gave a small nod in return, as if to say thank you.

"Remus," Black said, drawing his attention almost impatiently.

"Yes, Sirius, I know," he said, looking very tired.

"You owe us an explanation," Potter said, still holding his wand half raised toward Black. "If you haven't been helping him," he gestured to Black, "how did you know he was here?"

"The same way Kaelix did, the map," Remus said, glancing to her for confirmation. "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it-"

"You know how it works?" Potter asked suspiciously.

"It's a map, Potter," Kaelix said flatly.

"Yes, Harry, I know how it works, I helped create it. I'm-" he faltered a moment as if reconsidering his words, "I'm one of the authors."

"How did you make something like that?" Hermione piped up, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Research, patience, and a great deal of brazen teenage obstinance," he said with a hint of a smile. "Though it was actually quite complex, it took us ages to figure out the locater portion. For the longest time the dots would just slide around the map randomly creating different patterns, it was quite frustrating, and then of course James figured out that we needed to-"

"Remus," Black interrupted.

"Right, sorry. Point is, I was watching the map this evening because I thought that you, Ron, and Hermione might try to sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?" He shifted on his feet with a stiff wince before continuing. "That's how you managed to follow us here as well, I gather," he directed the comment to Kaelix. "I left so quickly that I forgot to wipe it clean, and you saw where I was headed."

Potter also looked to her for confirmation and she gave a silent nod.

Remus sighed, "Map or not, I should have known you'd follow. But I wasn't really thinking straight at that moment."

"But how'd you see us if we were under-" Weasley started.

"Ron," Potter snapped.

"Under your father's old cloak, Harry?" Remus asked.

Potter's gaze snapped around, "How'd you know about the cloak?"

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it…" said Remus, waving an impatient hand. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map, that was the whole point. No one can fool the map. So I watched you cross the grounds to visit Hagrid and twenty minutes later I watched the four of you leave. Which is when Kaelix dropped by my office."

"Four? Is he mental?" asked Weasley.

"There were only three of us," Potter insisted.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Remus, ignoring the both of them. "I thought the map must have been malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"He's gone mental, right off his rocker," said Weasley.

"And then I saw another dot," he continued, "it was moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black… I saw him collide with you and then I watched as he pulled two of you toward the Whomping Willow-"

"One of us!" Weasley interjected.

"No, Ron, two of you. Kaelix can confirm what the map revealed," said Remus.

"I don't care what the map said, I was there. I was the only one that he dragged down here!"

"No, Weasley, he's right. The map showed three dots travelling down the tunnel when I saw it," said Kaelix.

"Oh, suddenly you're on his side now?" Weasley's voice cracked. "Harry, can we stop trusting her now?"

Potter gave Weasley a warning look.

"What are you saying, someone else has an invisibility cloak?" Potter asked.

Remus shook his head, "No, Harry. There's more than one way for a wizard to disappear. But this particular wizard should have known that he couldn't fool the map."

"Who is it then?" Potter demanded.

"Peter Pettigrew," Kaelix answered.

Potter's eyes flashed, "Peter Pettigrew is dead. He killed him," he jerked his wand toward Black and several red spark shot out the end, sizzling briefly on the floor before going out.

Black's lip twitched, "I tried."

"And you failed?" Kaelix asked. "So you're not even a successful mass murderer?"

Black opened his mouth to retort but Remus leaned toward Weasley and cut him off.

"Do you think I could have a look at that rat?" he asked as though it were a perfectly normal request.

"What?" said Weasley. "What's Scabbers got to do with anything?"

"Everything," said Remus. "Could I see him, please?"

Weasley hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Weasley had to seize his long bald tail to stop him from escaping. Crookshanks shook up and wove around Black's leg with a soft hiss. And Kaelix could tell, she wasn't sure how but she could; that rat wasn't a rat, not really.

Remus released his grip on the armchair and took a few stiff steps toward Weasley. He seemed to be holding his breath as he scrutinized Scabbers.

"What?" Weasley asked again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"Bloody hell, Weasley, didn't you ever notice that your rat wasn't really a rat?" asked Kaelix, not missing the small smile that played at the corner of Remus' lips.

"Wha- what d'you mean—of course he's a rat—"

"Kaelix is right, Ron, he's not a rat," said Remus quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," Black chimed in bitterly, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

"You're both mental," Weasley said.

"Ridiculous!" Hermione cried.

"How?" Kaelix asked.

"Try again," snapped Potter. "Peter Pettigrew is dead. He-" Potter gestured unceremoniously toward Black, "-killed him twelve years ago."

Black's face was twitching.

"His name was on the map, Potter, I saw it myself," she said.

"Then the map isn't working. Professor McGonagall said Pettigrew died. And she said you killed him the day after you betrayed my parents," he snarled.

"I meant to," Black growled, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me… not this time, though!"

Black lunged through the air toward Scabbers; Weasley yelled in pain as Black's weight fell on his injured leg.

"Sirius, NO!" Remus yelled, launching himself forward to drag Black off of Weasley, "wait! You can't do it just like that-they need to understand-we've got to explain-"

"We can explain after," snarled Black, trying desperately to throw Remus off.

If it weren't for the somber undertone to the evening, it would have been rather amusing, watching two grown men squabbling over a teenager's rat. But Kaelix didn't have any patience left for amusement.

"Can't you just hex him already?" she asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

Black landed a well placed shove that sent Remus to the ground with a grunt of pain.

"Of course, piss off the only person in the room that's on your side," she muttered, more to herself than the room.

Black had ceased his struggle for the rat, however briefly, to ensure he hadn't hurt his friend.

Remus waved him off, "They deserve to understand, Sirius, I deserve to understand. You owe us all an explanation. Don't worry, we won't let Peter sneak off in the meantime, alright?"

"Fine," he resigned, stepping off to lean against the wall. "Tell them whatever you like, Remus, and I'll fill in when you need it. But make it quick. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for." His eyes locked on Scabbers' squirming form, holding all the crazed malice you might expect from a mass murderer.

"You were imprisoned for the other twelve as well, or did none of them matter to you?" Kaelix growled.

Black's expression fell and he didn't meet her gaze.

"Just collateral damage, huh?"

"I never intended for anyone else-"

"It doesn't matter what you intended, does it. Even if Pettigrew is still alive, it doesn't change the fact that you're a murderer," she snapped.

"Kaelix, you agreed to hear us out," Remus said from where he'd hauled himself up into the tattered armchair.

"Never agreed to be quiet about it," she retorted.

He gave her a disapproving look and she scowled back at him.

"You're all nutters, the whole lot of you," Weasley looked to Potter and Hermione for support, but neither of them seemed to know what to do either. "I've had enough of this, I'm off." He tried to heave himself up onto his good leg, but Remus pulled out his wand and pointed it straight at Scabbers-Peter.

"No, Ron," he said quietly but firmly. "You're going to hear us out. Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."

"He's not Peter, he's Scabbers!" Weasley yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket, but Scabbers-Peter was fighting too hard; Weasley swayed and overbalanced. Potter caught him and pushed him down onto the bed.

Potter turned to face Remus and seemed to struggle to keep his voice level as he countered, "There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die, a whole street full of them."

"They didn't see what they thought they saw," said Black simply. His eyes were trained on Scabbers-Peter struggling in Weasley's hands like a bloodhound.

Kaelix scoffed, "What, because no one realized that you missed the only person you were aiming at?"

"I didn't miss," Black snapped.

"Then how did he survive?" she asked.

"Because he's a coward," said Black.

Kaelix's brow furrowed at the non-answer.

"If he's alive then why not show himself before now?" Potter asked. "You were in Azkaban, he had no reason to hide."

Black barked a laugh that was somehow more chilling than his menacing stare.

"It was the perfect cover, the perfect way to hide," said Remus. "Everyone thought Sirius had killed Peter, I believed it myself until I saw the map today. Because the Marauder's Map never lies. Peter Pettigrew is alive, Harry, and he's been hiding all these years in plain sight, because he's the real traitor. That's why he's struggling so hard to get free of Ron's hold on him."

Potter glanced down at Weasley and then across to Hermione, none of them looked any less skeptical.

"And we're just supposed to take your word for it, that the map can't be fooled? We don't really have a way to test that," said Kaelix.

"We all signed it, James, Sirius, Peter, and I, with our nicknames. Harry has seen that part of the map and can confirm that it's true," Remus said.

Kaelix looked to Potter, who nodded. "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs."

Her stomach lurched. Moony. The letter. She had told him. He had known.

"Just because you created it doesn't mean you're telling the truth about not being able to fool it," Weasley gasped. "Or maybe- maybe someone's messed with it. Changed it into thinking my rat is- is-"

"You've lied about plenty else," Kaelix added. "Why should we believe you're telling the truth about the map."

"Didn't you already agree that the rat was Peter?" said Black.

"Didn't we already agree that you weren't supposed to talk?" Kaelix glared daggers into him.

"Professor Lupin, Scabbers can't be Pettigrew… it just can't be true, you know it can't..." Hermione squeaked, trying to get him to see reason.

"Why can't it be true?" Remus asked calmly, as though they were in class and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with grindylows.

"Because… well, people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We went over Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall, and I looked up the registry when I did my homework assignment. The Ministry of Magic keeps close tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals, when they started training, when they first managed a successful transformation, and even their markings and things. I went to find Professor McGonagall on the registry, and there have only been seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list-"

Remus began to laugh and Hermione looked alarmed. Kaelix was impressed but not the least bit surprised by the thoroughness with which Hermione took to her homework, but-

"You can't honestly believe that no one's tried to become an Animagus without registering with the Ministry?" she said flatly.

Hermione did a double take, looking horrified by the thought.

"You're right, Hermione. As is Kaelix. Peter's name isn't on that list," Remus said. "Neither is Sirius' or James'. All three of them were unregistered Animagi, running around Hogwarts and the Ministry didn't have a clue. They still don't."

"If you're going to tell them the whole story, get a move on, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers-Peter's every desperate move. "I've already waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."

"You'll wait for as long as we tell you to wait," Kaelix snarled.

Black opened his mouth to retort but Remus cut him off.

"Settle down, both of you," he said. "I'll need your help, Sirius, I only know up to a point-" He broke off.

There had been a loud creak behind them, the bedroom door slowly swinging open of its own accord. The six of them stared at it. Remus rose cautiously and crossed the room to examine the landing beyond the door.

"No one there…" he said, lingering as though he wasn't quite convinced.

Kaelix wasn't either. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but something in the room had shifted just then. Maybe it was just a draft of wind, but the hairs standing up at the base of her neck suggested otherwise.

"This place is haunted!" said Weasley.

Kaelix's eyes rolled full circle as she turned back to Weasley, "You don't believe a lick of what Professor Trelawney is teaching, but you believe this place is really haunted?"

"It's not the same," Weasley snapped.

"Hardly," she countered.

"It's not," confirmed Remus, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "Though Ron's right, ghosts and hauntings are a wholly different subject matter than divination. Regardless, this place was never haunted. The screams and howls that the villagers used to hear were made by me."

He ran a hand through his graying hair, thought for a moment and then said, "That's where all of this starts really- with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten… and if I hadn't been so foolhardy…" He looked somber and tired.

"You're saying, the reason that you think my rat is Pettigrew is because you're a- a-" Weasley struggled to connect the dots that seemed so very far apart.

"The reason I know that your rat is Pettigrew is because I know Peter was an animagus, and I know when and why he became one. The story is a bit long, I'd give you the short version but I'm afraid it's rather confusing without the rest," said Remus.

"I'd much prefer the short version," Black grumbled.

"You're more than welcome to jump in anytime, Sirius, provided it's to explain things and not to strangle Peter," Remus said shortly.

"You were a werewolf, we became animagi to help you, Peter's animagus is a rat, which adds a bit of poetic irony in hindsight, he betrayed us, I tracked him down but he managed to get away, then he kept hidden as a rat for twelve years until I realized he was still alive," Black said flatly.

There was a moment of silence and then everyone at once.

"How did you become animagi without the Ministry finding out?"

"My dad was an animagi too?"

"How did you realize he was still alive from Azkaban?"

"How d'you know he's hiding as my rat?"

"How do we even know you're telling the truth?"

"How did Pettigrew get away?"

"This is why," Remus said over all the questions, "I was starting from the beginning."

Black crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, "Get on with it then."

"I was young, when I received the bite, too young to remember ever not being a werewolf. In those days there was no cure, nothing to even help with… any of it. Once a month I became a fully fledged monster, no awareness, and certainly no control over myself. It seemed unfathomable that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. No one would accept their children being exposed to me."

He paused and Kaelix didn't like the way his words held the implication that he was something diseased, something that needed to be quarantined.

"But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He insisted that I attend, so long as I was willing to take certain precautions…" Remus sighed and looked directly at Potter, "I told you months ago that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The whole truth is that it was planted here that year because I came to Hogwarts. This house-" he looked around the miserable room, "-the tunnel that leads to it, they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone from coming across me accidentally while I was dangerous."

Everyone was listening with rapt attention to Remus' story. The only sound apart from his voice was Scabbers-Peter's frightened squeaking.

"In those days my transformations were…" he let out a low sigh, "terrible. I still shudder just thinking back on it. It's very painful to turn into a werewolf, and on top of that I was secluded from anyone to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noises and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor… Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it…"

Kaelix had known something of this before today, but it was different here. Surrounded by the claw marks on the walls and the broken and torn furniture, the holes in the floor and the long dried blood stains. This was Remus' childhood. Sure, he'd gone to class and taken exams just like his classmates, but he'd also been here, in this place, all alone. The thought of him in so much pain made her soul ache.

"But apart from the transformations, I was happier than I had ever been. I had friends for the first time in my life; James, Sirius, and Peter. Between the three of them they couldn't fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories about my absences: I told them my mother was ill, my father was ill, that I was ill… I wasn't terribly creative. I was terrified they would desert me the second they found out. But of course, they, like the both of you-" he gestured between Hermione and Kaelix "-worked out the truth and they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."

"My dad was a…?" said Potter, astounded.

"Yes, he was," Remus confirmed. "It took them the better part of three years to work out how to do it, but Sirius and your father were the cleverest students in the school. There's a reason that the Ministry keeps such a close watch on those attempting to become Animagi, the transformations can go horribly wrong. It was our fifth year before they managed to do it successfully. Each of them could turn into a different animal at will."

"And how did this selfless act help you?" Kaelix asked.

"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals," said Remus. "A werewolf is only a danger to people. After they became full fledged animagi, they started sneaking out of the castle every month under James' invisibility cloak. Peter was the smallest, so that he could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. Then they'd slip down the tunnel and join me, as animals. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. I still had transformed into a werewolf, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."

"Remus," Black growled. "Hurry. Up."

"I don't see what any of this has to do with whether or not Pettigrew is still alive or whether he deserves to keep his soul?" Kaelix said.

"I'm getting there, Kaelix. It'll help you understand how Peter escaped."

"He can turn into a rat, we get it. That's how he hid for twelve years. What does their being animagi have to do with him-" she jerked a hand at Black "-blowing an entire street apart and getting Potter's parents killed?"

"I asked for an hour, remember?" said Remus.

Kaelix drew her arms across her chest and clenched her jaw. She didn't want to hear about his time at school, she didn't want to hear about his friends, she didn't care. He had lied to her, kept the truth from her, didn't want her.

She didn't care.

She didn't care.

She just kept repeating it to herself: she didn't care.

"Sirius and James transformed into such large animals that they could keep me in check, even as a werewolf. Before long we were sneaking out of the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village every month by the light of the full moon. That's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, we learned so much about the castle, explored every inch of the grounds."

"What sort of animal-" Potter began but Hermione cut him off.

"That was really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the other's the slip? What if you'd bitten someone?"

"Believe me, Hermione, that thought haunts me every day," he said heavily. "We were too you, too foolish to think about the danger. There were near misses, too many of them. But we'd always laugh about them afterward. Young, thoughtless teenagers who were carried away with their own cleverness. Looking back…" he sighed and shook his head. "Sometimes I can hardly believe it. Dumbledore had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have and I betrayed his trust in the worst possible way, breaking every one of the safety precautions he'd put in place. He had no idea that in addition to flaunting the privilege he'd afforded me, I also led three fellow students into becoming illegal Animagi. I remember worrying about it now and again, but somehow those guilty feelings always dissipated when we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And even now…"

Remus' face hardened and there was a note of self-disgust in his voice when he continued. "All this year, I've been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I haven't. Because I'm too much of a coward. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust all those years ago, admitting that I'd enabled others to do the same… And Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He not only let me attend Hogwarts, he actively pursued my enrollment, and then went on to offer me this job when I've been shunned by nearly everyone else for my entire life, unable to find paid work because of what I am." His jaw clenched. "And so I convinced myself that if Sirius had escaped Azkaban using dark magic, then that's how he must have been getting into the school as well. I convinced myself that Voldemort had taught him things to pass through the castle's defenses and that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it… so, in a way, I suppose Snape has been right about me all along."

"Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers-Peter for the first time in minutes to look up at Remus. "What's he got to do with anything?"

"He's here, Sirius," Remus said heavily, and for a split second Kaelix thought he meant that Snape was in the room with them, but then he continued, "He's teaching here as well. He's been making the Wolfsbane Potion for me each month, in fact."

"How does he know Snape?" Kaelix asked.

"We were all in school together and he knew how close Sirius and I were back then. So you can imagine how hard he fought against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He's been telling Dumbledore all year that I'm not to be trusted, which… All things considered…"

Black made a derisive noise and Remus shot him a look.

"It served him right," Black sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to figure out what we were doing all the time. Hoping to get us expelled…"

"Severus was keenly interested in where I disappeared to every month, he was convinced that we were… up to something," Remus elaborated. "We were in the same year, you see, and we - er - didn't exactly get along. He especially disliked James. He was rather popular, your father, being so talented on the Quidditch field did wonders for his… confidence."

Kaelix sniggered, "So he was arrogant bastard? Sounds familiar."

Potter glared daggers at her, "My dad was not arrogant."

"No objections to the bastard part though?" Kaelix quipped.

"He wasn't a bastard either," he ground out.

"How would you know?"

"Kaelix," Remus scolded.

"It's a fair question," she countered.

"It was unnecessary."

She did feel a twinge of guilt over the insensitive question but she refused to back down from Remus' gaze at the moment. He and Black were the ones on trial.

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," she asked, "why he tried to get you sacked? Because he was jealous of Potter's dad?"

"I have never and never will be jealous of his pathetic father," his cold voice sneered from behind Remus and Kaelix.

They both turned to see Snape pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointed directly at Remus' chest. Hermione screamed. Black leapt away from the wall, looking ready to fight. Potter looked like he'd seen a ghost, if that weren't such a normal occurrence around Hogwarts.

"I found this at the base of the Whomping WIllow," said Snape, throwing the cloak aside.

"Bloody hell, Potter," Kaelix muttered under her breath.

Snape kept his wand trained at Remus' heart and he had an unsettling glint in his eyes. The tiny hairs at the base of Kaelix's neck stood up. She'd grown somewhat fond of Professor Snape over the months, not as fond as she was of Remus but she'd enjoyed the quiet time in the classroom brewing potions and learning more advanced recipes. But even in the midst of this discord with Remus, even after telling herself repeatedly that she didn't care, seeing his wand pointed directly at Remus' chest made her breath catch and her teeth clench.

"Very useful, Potter, I thank you…" Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?"

"The Map," Kaelix and Remus said in unison.

Snape's gaze never left Remus' face, "One glance told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight. And since I have been ensuring that you haven't needed to use this cage to transform for the past nine months, I knew."

"Severus-" Remus began, but Snape overrode him.

"I've told the headmaster over and over again that you were the one helping Black break into the castle and here's the proof. Though I hadn't imagined you would be stupid enough to use this old place-"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Remus urgently. "You haven't heard everything - I can explain - Sirius is not here to kill Harry, he's not the one who betrayed us-"

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," he said, his eyes gleaming in a fanatic way. "I've very interested to see how Dumbledore takes this… He was quite convinced that you were harmless, you know. A tame werewolf-"

"Oh, piss off," Kaelix snapped. "Why not let them finish explaining?"

Snape's gaze still never left Remus, "Because it doesn't matter, I already know what happened-"

"You fool," Remus said sharply, and then continued softly, "Is a schoolboy grudge really worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Remus' wrists and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.

"Give me a reason, Black," his voice a terrifying whisper. "Give me a reason and I swear I'll do it."

AN: Hey, look at that! Two chapters in the same month! I really hope you all enjoyed this one, I'd love it if you took a quick minute to leave a review and let me know your thoughts, comments, and predictions for what is to come?! One of my goals for the year is to be more self indulgent and spend time doing things that make me happy and writing is definitely one of those things. So I'm hoping to be a bit more consistent with updates, aiming to have another chapter out in a few weeks. Although, I am also studying for a massive test (16 hours over 2 days !) for my day job which takes place in mid-April, so if I end up disappearing as that draws near, please bear with me, I will return. Anyway, thanks times a million as always for even reading this far. You're all amazing and I love you all so much! Until next time, I hope 2020 is treating you well!