I own nothing. J.K.R Owns everything :(
Chapter 26: Third Year (Part 18)
11th, August, 1998...
On the way to Minerva's office Harry stopped suddenly causing Ginny to walk into him.
"Sorry." she said, "What did you stop for?"
"I thought I smelled something odd." he frowned, "It's a scent that's not supposed to be here. But I don't know what it is." he explained. He changed into Shadow and sniffed around for the smell.
After a minute Shadow's head came up and he started following a scent that led him to an empty class room.
Ginny was following behind him.
What is it?
I don't know but it smell's like... Blood.
Blood? You don't think someones hurt do you? Or that this might be a room that hasn't been cleaned, yet since the war? she asked.
I don't know... he admitted, he started sniffing about again and found himself under a desk at the other end of the room. Ah, found it, he announced changing back.
"It's a little animal. It's matted in blood and it's still alive." he told her. He took his wand out and cleaned the blood up, "Oh my! Ginny, come here a moment." he requested, she was beside him in a moment.
"Oh! It's a little wolf cub. I wonder how he got here."
"Lost?" Harry suggested. "It's asleep, why don't we take him to Minerva's office. Before the others come looking for us."
Ginny nodded and conjured a blanket with her wand, "This will keep him warm for now." she explained, "He looks young."
"He?" Harry questioned as Ginny picked up the still sleeping wolf cub.
"I can smell it." she explained. "I noticed the scent is more male than female. Don't know how." she shrugged.
"Well let's get him to Minerva's office and we can give him a better wash. He still has some blood on him."
They both walked quickly to Minerva's office where they met Remus at the bottom of the stairs.
"I was just about to come find you two." he chuckled, "What's that?" he added looking at the wolf cub in Ginny's arms, it was still asleep.
"Wolf cub." Harry told him, "I picked up a scent that turned out to be blood. He was matted in it when I found him in an unused classroom." he explained.
Remus sniffed, "Definitely blood. Smell's like it's off another wolf. Wonder what happened to him?"
"One way to find out." Ginny shrugged, the three went up to the office.
"Oh there y- what's that?" Ron asked.
Harry explained quickly.
"We don't know how he got there." Ginny added when Harry finished, "But we figured it's best to get him cleaned up. Harry and I will be able to question him."
"That's right. I understood Sirius as a dog turned canary, we should be able to understand him." Harry nodded. He conjured a basin and filled it, keeping the level shallow, with warm water, and took the baby wolf from Ginny.
He started washing the cub gently with his hands at first then use a sponge, conjured by Ginny, to get the areas that were harder to wipe clean by hand.
"Any idea what kind of blood it was on him?" James asked watching Harry was the cub with a little shampoo that Hermione handed him.
"It smelled like it was from another wolf." Remus frowned, "There's no doubt that this little guy's been alone for a while, he's way too thin. Does he have any injuries?"
"He's not got any injuries that I can see." Ginny said as Harry rinsed the fur. "And it look's like he's unconscious instead of asleep."
"Considering he never woke up on the way here and that he never woke up when Harry was washing him, I'd tend to agree." Hermione frowned. "But it could be exhaustion. What floor was he on?"
"5th." Harry frowned drying off the cub with his wand and Vanishing the basin and sponge. "Well if he got there himself then you could be right Hermione."
"The question is how?" Minerva nodded, "And maybe why."
"Well... We can keep him here and ask when he's awake. He doesn't look older than two month's old at any rate." Harry sighed.
"We can't leave him." Albus agreed from his portrait. "He is too young to survive alone."
Minerva conjured a box with high sides. "Put him in here and we can tend to him when he wake's." she smiled. Harry nodded and gently put the baby wolf in the box, he noticed there was a warm looking blanket in it so he pulled a little of the blanket loose and draped it over the wolf to keep it warm.
"Now, let's get on with the memories. Minerva if it's okay with you can we finish the memories here?" Harry asked, she nodded, "Albus care to join us?"
"Why not. I'll admit I have been curious about what really happened, re-tellings usually aren't overly detailed." he smiled as he leaned against his portrait.
"True. We usually aren't the kind of people who go over thing's in detail when explaining." Ron chuckled.
"Unless we have to that is." Hermione added. "Why don't all the portrait's join us?" she offered, most of the previous heads of the school nodded.
"Even you Professor Snape." Harry smirked, "I reckon you'd like to know what really happened too."
Snape looked curious but reluctant at the same time.
"I know that look Severus." Lily raised an eyebrow, "You want to know but you don't want something to be revealed."
"It's the shouting match isn't it?" Hermione asked. Snape looked away but nodded slightly, "Relax Professor, no one can hex you and we all know you hate Sirius and Remus anyway."
"That is beside the point Miss Granger!" Snape snapped.
"If it's being embarrassed you're worried about then say so." Draco growled, "Through the memories that Harry has shown so far, everyone he know's have been embarrassed more than once. More often for some than others."
Snape looked shocked at the way Draco had spoken to him.
"Severus, a little embarrassment has never killed anyone before." Albus sighed.
"And we even have a few that embarrasses my Dad, or did you forget about that time with the pensive in my 5th year?" Harry said. James looked over at him curiously but Harry said, "Later Dad." under his breath.
"Fine! I will stay if you permit it." Snape finally gave in.
"And I do permit it so let's start." Harry grinned cheerfully. "Will you lot fill them in while I go get the Pensive? We left it at the Burrow." everyone agreed and Harry went through the Floo.
"Basically we're on our third year. The night we had a run in with Sirius and we found out about Remus." Ron started.
"Through the year we found out more about Sirius and that he supposedly wanted to kill Harry." Hermione continued, "There was the usual stuff too."
"Like Trelawney predicting Harry's death every Divination class." Ginny supplied making most people snicker.
"There was a few other unimportant parts." Ron recalled, "Like me and 'Mione fighting constantly over her cat eating my rat and other stupid things, we will spare you the detail's." this caused a few people to smile.
"Anyway, the part we got to was the night we first met Sirius. Harry decides where we start so I'll let him explain that. I know it's after Professor Snape got knocked out though." Hermione added.
"Which I am still not happy about." Snape grumbled.
"Better than sending a man to his death for something he didn't do." Sirius pouted, "You were going to hand me to the Dementor's and I was innocent the whole time."
"I still don't believe Pettigrew was there even if I know he was the traitor now." he admitted.
"He was there." Remus said, "You were knocked out when he was revealed."
The Floo lit up and Harry appeared again.
"How far have you explained?" he asked them. Hermione told him.
"You missed some." Harry smirked, he proceeded to fill them in on the shouting match, his trying to kill Sirius, Pettigrew being revealed, the argument's and explanation's and finally the start of the journey up to the castle.
"I will warn you that some bit's have been missed out though. I can't remember all of them right now." Harry admitted when he finished filling the portraits in. He took the Pensive out his pocket and placed it on a table across the room as everyone got comfortable. "This one is when were in the tunnel leaving the Shrieking Shack." he added, "Remus? Do you mind if..."
Remus tensed a little, but eventually nodded, "No. Go ahead." he replied with a sigh knowing what Harry meant.
"Thank you. There might be a few bit's that are too scary for Teddy, and Cecelia if she's still awake." Harry smiled, "Do you want me to take Teddy?" he asked Dora who handed him over without hesitation.
"You know what would scare him and when it is." she told him, "It's best if you just hold him." Harry nodded in understanding.
"And Cecelia's asleep." Dudley smiled, "She won't wake up for a while." he added.
"She was up early." Amber nodded.
"Perfect. Now we can start."
Harry had never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like entrants in a six-legged race. Next came Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by his own wand, which was being pointed at him by Sirius. Harry and Hermione brought up the rear.
Getting back into the tunnel was difficult. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. Harry could see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead. Harry went right after Black, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. Harry had the impression Black was making no effort to prevent this.
"Of course not." Sirius said, smiling with the others. "Sorry Snape." he added, "But you did try to hand me to the Dementors."
Snape shrugged, "It was easily healed. If a bit annoying." he admitted, "And I see now you were right about Pettigrew." he grudgingly added.
"You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Harry as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"
"You're free," said Harry.
"Yes..." said Black. "But I'm also - I don't know if anyone ever told you - I'm your godfather."
"Yeah, I knew that," said Harry.
"Crappy way you found out." Sirius told Harry.
"Better than some other way's. I could have been told by Remus with you in the room." Harry pointed out.
"And then I would have been dead." Sirius nodded wincing.
"Not dead, just..."
"Seriously injured?" Sirius smirked.
"Enough with the name pun already." Regulus groaned.
Sirius smirked, "He set me up for that one."
"And your right, you would've been badly hurt." Harry nodded, "When I get angry I can't always control my actions, you saw what happened to Marge Dursley when she insulted Mum and Dad."
"Blew her up, didn't you Potter?" Snape smirked.
"Like a balloon." Dudley grinned cheerfully, "I was scared at the time but she did deserve it and I didn't like her much anyway." he shrugged.
"Neither did I." Petunia agreed, "No one but Vernon and their parents did."
"Well... your parents appointed me your guardian," said Black stiffly. "If anything happened to them..."
Harry waited. Did Black mean what he thought he meant?
"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle,"
"Hell no." James said, earning a warning glare from Lily, "Are you mad Sirius?"
"The sad thing is... That's how it should have been... If Harry had been treated properly." Petunia sighed, "Again I'm sorry Harry."
"If you say sorry again I swear I'll silence you." Harry scowled, "I forgive you already. Maybe not fully but it's almost there."
said Black. "But... well… think about it. Once my name's cleared... if you wanted a... a different home..."
Some sort of explosion took place in the pit of Harry's stomach.
"What - live with you?" he said, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling.
"Ow." Hermione winced, "I heard the 'thud' but couldn't see you properly." she explained.
"Leave the Dursleys?"
"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," said Black quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd -"
"Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Black's. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"
Black turned right around to look at him; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Black didn't seem to care.
They all laughed. Snape glared at Sirius who tried, and failed, to look apologetic.
"You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"
"Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry.
Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding.
"Wow. That did make you look better." Dora commented, "You were healthier than that when I saw you for the first time after... everything."
"Well I had been away from Azkaban for about 3 years." Sirius pointed out, "I was worse when I first broke out."
They did not speak again until they had reached the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw to the knot on the trunk, because Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches.
Black saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for Harry and Hermione to pass. At last, all of them were out.
The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. Harry's mind was buzzing. He was going to leave the Dursleys. He was going to live with Sirius Black, his parents' best friend... He felt dazed... What would happen when he told the Dursleys he was going to live with the convict they'd seen on television!
They all laughed, especially Sirius.
"We would have said you were insane." Dudley laughed.
"Probably dragged you to the hospital too come to think of it. Vernon would have been happy though." Petunia admitted, then she shrugged, "Well he can rot where he is for all I care."
"One wrong move, Peter," said Lupin threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest.
Silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. Snape was still drifting weirdly ahead of Black, his chin bumping on his chest. And then -
A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight.
Everyone in the room looked worriedly at Remus, who had turned pale again.
Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron, who had stopped abruptly. Black froze. He flung out one arm to make Harry and Hermione stop.
Harry could see Lupin's silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.
Remus closed his eyes.
"You knew it was full moon." Snape frowned.
"Excitement and discoveries can make people forget things easily Severus." Albus sighed, "It's happened to me before. The night I died is an example of that." Harry frowned looking confused, "The cave Harry." the teen nodded but still looked a little lost, "I'll explain later."
"Oh, my -" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"
"Damn!" the men cursed.
"Oh no!" the women gasped.
"Run," Black whispered. "Run. Now."
But Harry couldn't run. Ron was chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. He leapt forward but Black caught him around the chest and threw him back.
"Leave it to me - RUN!"
"Listen to him!" James urged.
There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's hair was on end again; he was backing away -
"It's horrible. All you feel is pain until the change stops." Remus winced, "Didn't think it looked as bad either."
As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from Ron and Pettigrew.
"That was scary." Ron shuddered, "Knowing Remus wasn't in control while transformed and so close as well."
"Good thing Padfoot was there or every single one of you would be dead." Remus shuddered. "The wolf was unforgiving that night, it had been locked away so long."
"Which is bad." Sirius nodded. "I could practically feel the anger."
They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other.
Harry stood, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the battle to notice anything else.
"Run!" the Marauders shouted.
"Dont freeze!" Remus groaned, "Padfoot may have been able to distract me from biting and scratching at myself, but its much more difficult to distract a Werewolf not on Wolfsbane from attacking humans when they're able to see or smell them."
It was Hermione's scream that alerted him -
Pettigrew had dived for Lupin's dropped wand. Ron, unsteady on his bandaged leg, fell. There was a bang, a burst of light - and Ron lay motionless on the ground. Another bang - Crookshanks flew into the air and back to the earth in a heap.
"Expelliarmus." Harry yelled, pointing his own wand at Pettigrew; Lupin's wand flew high into the air and out of sight. "Stay where you are!" Harry shouted, running forward.
Too late. Pettigrew had transformed.
"Brilliant." James sighed, "There goes Padfoot's freedom."
"I got him back." Harry told him, "It was after Sirius died though. He owed me his life for saving him, and he paid the price during the war."
Harry saw his bald tail whip through the manacle on Ron's outstretched arm and heard a scurrying through the grass.
There was a howl and a rumbling growl; Harry turned to see the werewolf taking flight; it was galloping into the forest -
"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled.
Black was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and back,
Remus muttered a weak "Sorry." and Sirius nodded in acknowledgement.
"I know you couldn't help it Moony and I was out of practice." he shrugged.
but at Harry's words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.
Harry and Hermione dashed over to Ron.
"What did he do to him?" Hermione whispered. Ron's eyes were only half-closed, his mouth hung open; he was definitely alive, they could hear him breathing, but he didn't seem to recognize them.
"I don't know..."
Harry looked desperately around. Black and Lupin both gone... they had no one but Snape for company, still hanging, unconscious, in midair.
"Why didn't one of you use 'Enervate'?" Snape inquired.
"Um... Didn't think of that." Hermione blushed.
"I didn't know the spell." Harry shrugged, "Knowing my luck I'd blow you up or something."
Snape rolled his eye's.
"We'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone," said Harry, pushing his hair out of his eyes, trying to think straight. "Come -"
But then, from beyond the range of their vision, they heard a yelping, a whining: a dog in pain...
"Sirius," Harry muttered, staring into the darkness.
He had a moment's indecision, but there was nothing they could do for Ron at the moment, and by the sound of it, Black was in trouble -
Harry set off at a run, Hermione right behind him. The yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. They pelted toward it, and Harry, running flat out, felt the cold without realizing what it must mean -
Sirius's eyes widened and he looked scared. James, Remus and Lily looked the same, worried for Sirius. Harry considered silencing himself for fear of telling them what really happened.
The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lakeshore, they saw why - Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.
"Nooo," he moaned. "Nooo... please..."
Harry quickly put a spell on Teddy so he couldn't see the screen or hear anything from the Pensive's direction.
And then Harry saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them,
"A hundred?" Sirius choked, "There were a hundred?"
"Yes." Harry nodded.
gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. He spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them...
"Hermione, think of something happy!" Harry yelled, raising his wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision, shaking his head to rid it of the faint screaming that had started inside it -
I'm going to live with my godfather. I'm leaving the Dursleys.
He forced himself to think of Black, and only Black, and began to chant: "Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!"
Black gave a shudder, rolled over, and lay motionless on the ground, pale as death.
The present day Sirius, as well as most of the room's occupants, looked just as pale.
He'll be all right. I'm going to go and live with him.
"Expecto patronum! Hermione, help me! Expecto patronum!"
"Expecto -" Hermione whispered, "Expecto - Expecto -"
"You won't be able to do it." Albus sighed, "The charm is too complex and takes a lot of power to do the first time."
"We'd noticed." Hermione smiled. "Harry taught us in our 5th year."
"Along with the rest of the DA. It was draining the first few tries." Neville agreed. "I'm just glad we never had to try it with a Dementor until we could do it every time."
Harry shrugged, "There was no reason to rush you. I had to because of the effect Dementor's have on me. I figured out rather quickly its a bad thing to be unconscious with a soul sucking demon around."
But she couldn't do it. The Dementors were closing in, barely ten feet from them. They formed a solid wall around Harry and Hermione, and were getting closer...
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry yelled, trying to blot the screaming from his ears. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
A thin wisp of silver escaped his wand and hovered like mist before him. At the same moment, Harry felt Hermione collapse next to him. He was alone... completely alone...
"Expecto - Expecto patronum -"
Harry felt his knees hit the cold grass. Fog was clouding his eyes. With a huge effort, he fought to remember - Sirius was innocent - innocent - We'll be okay - I'm going to live with him -
"Expecto patronum!" he gasped.
By the feeble light of his formless Patronus, he saw a Dementor halt, very close to him. It couldn't walk through the cloud of silver mist Harry had conjured. A dead, slimy hand slid out from under the cloak. It made a gesture as though to sweep the Patronus aside.
"No - no -" Harry gasped. "He's innocent... expecto... expecto patronum -"
He could feel them watching him, hear their rattling breath like an evil wind around him. The nearest Dementor seemed to be considering him. Then it raised both its rotting hands - and lowered its hood.
"No!" the entire room shouted, minus the Golden Trio.
Where there should have been eyes, there was only thin, gray scabbed skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was a mouth... a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death rattle.
"Now you know what's under the hood of a Dementor." James said.
Harry nodded, "I wish I didn't."
"Too late now." Ron shrugged.
A paralyzing terror filled Harry so that he couldn't move or speak. His Patronus flickered and died.
"No!" Lily moaned.
White fog was blinding him. He had to fight... expecto patronum... he couldn't see... and in the distance, he heard the familiar screaming... expecto patronum... he groped in the mist for Sirius, and found his arm... they weren't going to take him...
But a pair of strong, clammy hands suddenly attached themselves around Harry's neck. They were forcing his face upward... He could feel its breath... It was going to get rid of him first... He could feel its putrid breath... His mother was screaming in his ears... She was going to be the last thing he ever heard -
"Shit! Sorry Harry, I almost got you kissed." Sirius winced.
"Almost being the key word. I didn't so it's fine." he replied, "Your just lucky Teddy's distracted. He can still hear and see us just not the Pensive."
"Sorry. I forgot." Sirius admitted, "I'll control my language better." he promised.
"That's likely." George whispered to Fred sarcastically. Fred snorted in amusement.
And then, through the fog that was drowning him, he thought he saw a silvery light growing brighter and brighter... He felt himself fall forward onto the grass... Facedown, too weak to move, sick and shaking, Harry opened his eyes. The Dementor must have released him. The blinding light was illuminating the grass around him... The screaming had stopped, the cold was ebbing away...
Something was driving the Dementors back... It was circling around him and Black and Hermione... They were leaving... The air was warm again...
"Good. Who did it?" James asked.
"Not telling." Harry grinned.
With every ounce of strength he could muster, Harry raised his head a few inches and saw an animal amid the light, galloping away across the lake... Eyes blurred with sweat, Harry tried to make out what it was... It was as bright as a unicorn... Fighting to stay conscious, Harry watched it canter to a halt as it reached the opposite shore. For a moment, Harry saw, by its brightness, somebody welcoming it back... raising his hand to pat it... someone who looked strangely familiar... but it couldn't be...
Harry didn't understand. He couldn't think anymore. He felt the last of his strength leave him, and his head hit the ground as he fainted.
"Brilliant." Dora muttered.
"You had to pass out." Charlie frowned. "What if they had come back?"
"We would have been fine." Hermione smiled a we-know-but-we're-not-telling-you, kind of smile.
"How?" Bill asked anyway.
"I showed up." Snape sighed. "I have no clue how you know that Miss Granger." he added.
"Well you'll find out soon enough." Harry smirked.