I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
Pettigrew
Alex glared at Snape. They were barely through Lupin's explanation of his being a werewolf leading to the rest of the Marauders becoming illegal, unregistered Animagi to keep him company when he transformed, and that Sirius had very nearly sent Snape to see a fully-transformed Lupin, when Snape himself had stepped into the room, dropping Harry's invisibility cloak and aiming his wand at Snape.
"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," Snape said. "Very powerful, Potter. I thank you."
"Not a good time, Professor Snape," Alex said. "Lupin was just about to hurry the fuck up with his story time and transform this rat back into its fat little human self."
"What are you talking about?" Snape hissed.
"Allow me to introduce Peter Pettigrew," Alex said, raising the squealing rat slightly.
"Pettigrew is dead," Snape said. "Sirius Black killed him."
"As I said, lupin was just about to get to the fucking point," Alex said, glaring at Lupin. "If you'd like to stay and listen to story time, Snape, you're more than welcome to."
"No," Snape said. "Do you take me for a fool, Pruitt? I know full well what's going on here. The werewolf has been helping his old friend from school into the castle, and now that they're in danger of being caught, the monster student is trying to protect them but fabricating a story of the least capable wizard in my year somehow managing to become an Animagus."
"What did you just call me?" Alex asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Do you have a problem with that?" Snape asked.
"Several," Alex said. "And so won't Professor Dumbledore. But later. For now, story time."
"Three for the Dementors, it seems," Snape said, all eyes returning to him.
"Severus, is a schoolboy grudge really worth sending an innocent man back to Azkaban?" Lupin asked.
BANG! Thin snake-like cords burst from the end of Snape's wand, binding Lupin's wrists, ankles, and mouth, making him lose his balance and fall to the floor. Black roared in rage and moved to attack, only for Snape to turn his wand on him, pointing it between his eyes.
"Give me a reason," Snape invited. "I beg of you."
"For fuck's sake!" Alex said, flicking his wand at Snape. "Impetus."
His kinetic force spell crashed into Snape's chest, hurling him into the wall beside the door, Snape crumpling to the ground with blood leaking from his hair.
"Alex!" Hermione gasped. "You attacked a teacher!"
"Quiet," Alex said, flicking his wand at Lupin, severing the cords and freeing him. "Fast forward to the important part."
"Very well," Lupin said, picking up his wand from where Snape had dropped it.
"You're mental!" Ron said. "Even if Pettigrew could turn into a rat, there are millions of them! How's he supposed to know which one he is?"
Lupin paused. "You know, Sirius, that's a fair question. How did you find out where he was?"
Black put one of his hands into his robes and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, smoothing it out and showing it to them. It was the photo of Ron and his family from their trip to Egypt. And there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.
"How did you get this?" Lupin asked, amazed.
"Fudge," Black said. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his newspaper. And there was Pettigrew, on the front page, on this boy's shoulder. I knew him at once. How many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy was going back to Hogwarts, to where harry was."
"My god," Lupin breathed, looking back and forth from the photo of the rat and the actual thing, still in Alex's hand and struggling to escape. "His front paw..."
"What about it?" Ron asked.
"He's got a toe missing," Black said.
"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple, so brilliant. He cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transformed," Black said. "When I cornered him, he shouted for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then before I could reach him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself, then sped down into the sewer with the other rats."
"Did you ever hear, Ron?" Lupin asked. "The biggest part they could find of Pettigrew was his finger."
"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something!" Ron argued. "He's been in my family for ages, right?"
"Twelve years," Lupin said. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"
"We...We've been taking good care of him!"
"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" Lupin asked. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard that Black was on the loose again."
"He's been scared of that mad cat!" Ron said.
"Crookshanks isn't mad," Alex said. "He's half Kneazle. A type of magic creature like a cat which can recognize suspicious and untrustworthy people immediately, even in animal form."
"That's right," Black nodded, stroking Crookshanks' head. "He recognized Peter for what he was straight away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me. Finally I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me."
"What do you mean?" Hermione breathed.
"He tried to bring Peter to me, but he couldn't," Black explained. "So he stole the passwords to Gryffindor tower for me. As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table. But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it. Crookshanks told me that he left blood on the sheets. I suppose he bit himself. Well, faking his own death had worked once."
"And why did he fake his death?" Harry snapped. "Because you tracked him down and tried to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"Harry, that's not true," Lupin said. "Don't you see? We assumed that Sirius betrayed your parents and Peter tracked him down, but it was the other way around."
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry thundered. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE EVEN SAID SO BEFORE YOU ARRIVED! HE ADMITTED HE KILLED THEM!"
"Harry, I ask good as killed them," Sirius said. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me...I'm to blame, I know it...The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies...I realized what Peter must've done...what I'd done..."
He broke down and turned away. Alex rolled his eyes, his patience at an end.
"Professor, would you like to force Pettigrew out of his transformation now, or should I just break his neck and force him out that way?" Alex asked irritably.
Pettigrew shrieked in fear, scrambling even harder to escape Alex's grip, clawing and biting at Alex's hand, drawing blood quickly, though Alex's grip refused to slacken, instead tightening to cut off his breathing until his attempts at escape subsided before slackening again, allowing the rat to begin gasping for breath again. Lupin nodded and Alex held the rat out to the side.
"Ready Sirius?" Lupin asked.
"Together?" Sirius asked, picking up Snape's wand.
Lupin nodded and they both swung their wands. There was a flash of blue light and Alex released the rat, which hovered in mid air, contorting madly. Ron yelled in fear, and Scabbers dropped to the ground. Then, he began to grow rapidly, transforming from a rat into a short, fat, ugly man with a rat-like face, filthy clothes, and thin, colorless hair that was bald on top. He was cringing and wringing his hands in fear. Crookshanks stood on the bed, hissing and spitting at Pettigrew.
"Well, hello Peter," Remus said pleasantly. "Long time no see."
"S-Sirius...R-Remus..." Pettigrew said in a squeaky voice, eyes darting to the door for the millionth time. "My friends...My old friends."
Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin pushed it back down, giving Black a warning look.
"We've just been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died," Lupin said. "You might have missed the finer points while you were busy trying to escape Young Mr. Pruitt's rather firm grip."
As he was speaking, Alex was wrapping bits of his robes he'd torn off around his hand to stop the bleeding. He'd need to go and see Madam Pomfrey about it, after they dealt with Pettigrew.
"Remus..." Pettigrew squeaked, beginning to sweat. "You don't believe him, do you? He tried to kill me, Remus."
"So we've heard," Lupin said, voice more cold this time. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters, Peter, if you'll be so-"
"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew said, pointing at Black with his middle finger, because his index finger was missing. "He killed Lily and James, and now he's going to kill me too! You've got to help me, Remus!"
"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," Lupin said.
"Sorted things out?" Pettigrew asked, looking around mildly for an escape route again. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"
"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" Lupin asked, brows furrowing. "When nobody has ever done it before?"
"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew tried. "How else did he get out of there!? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"
Black began to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room.
"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" Sirius laughed, Pettigrew flinching like he'd been cracked with a whip. "What, scared to hear your old master's name? I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"
"Don't know what you mean, Sirius," Pettigrew muttered, though his whole face was awash with a nervous sweat now.
"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," Black said. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter...They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them...I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information...and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter."
"Don't know...what you're talking about," Pettigrew said again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face with his sleeve and looked fearfully at Lupin. "You don't believe this...this madness, Remus."
"I must say, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," Lupin said evenly.
"Innocent but scared!" Pettigrew squealed. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban, the spy, Sirius Black!"
"Black's face contorted with rage. "How dare you. I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter...I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us. Me, Remus...and James."
Pettigrew wiped his face again, almost panting for breath. "Me, a spy...must be out of you mind. Never! Don't know how you can say such a-"
"Lily and James only made you their secret keeper because I suggested it," Sirius interrupted, voice so venomous that Pettigrew actually took a step back. "I thought it was the perfect plan. A bluff. Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you. It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters,"
Pettigrew was muttering distractedly. His eyes kept darting to the door and back, and his face was a chalky white.
"Professor, can...can I say something?" Hermione asked.
"Certainly, Hermione," Lupin said kindly.
"Well...Scabbers...I mean, this...this man...He's been sleeping in Harry's Dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"
"There!" Pettigrew said shrilly, pointing at her with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair on Harry's head! Why should I?"
"I'll tell you why," Black said. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for yourself. Voldemort's been in hiding for twelve years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Dumbledore's nose for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his powers, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully on the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you take a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength and it was safe to rejoin him."
Pettigrew opened and closed his mouth several times, but seemed to lack the ability to speak suddenly.
"Er...Mr. Black...Sirius?" Hermione asked.
Black jumped slightly at being addressed as such, staring at Hermione somewhere between surprised and awe.
"If you don't mind me asking, how...how did you escape from Azkaban, if you didn't use dark magic?" Hermione asked.
"Thank you!" Pettigrew squeaked. "Exactly! Precisely what I-"
Lupin silenced Pettigrew with a cold look. Black frowned at Hermione, pondering his answer.
"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me...but it kept me sane and knowing who I am...helped me keep my powers...so when it all became...too much...I could transform in my cell...become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know." He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions. They could tell that my feelings were less...less human, less complex when I was a dog...but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand. But then I saw Peter in that picture. I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry. Perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again."
Pettigrew was mouthing in silence, unable to speak but staring as though hypnotized at Black.
"Ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies," Black continued, "and deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he betrayed Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors. So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew that Peter was still alive." He paused for a moment. "It was as if someone had lit a fire In my head, and the Dementors couldn't destroy it. It wasn't a happy feeling...it was an obsession...but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog. It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused. I was thin, very thin. Thin enough to slip through the bars. I swam as a dog back to the mainland. I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry." He swallowed hard, eyes growing glassy again, his voice a croak from emotion as he spoke. "Believe me. Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."
Harry nodded, apparently unable to bring himself to speak.
"No!" Pettigrew wailed, as though Harry's nod had been his death sentence, which it might as well have been. He shuffled forward, groveling, hands clasped in front of him as though praying. "Sirius...it's me...it's Peter...your friend! You wouldn't-"
Sirius kicked out at him and Pettigrew recoiled. "There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them."
"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead. "You don't believe this! Wouldn't Sirius have told you if they'd changed the plan?"
"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," Lupin said. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?"
"Forgive me, Remus," Sirius said.
"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," Lupin said, rolling his sleeves up. "And you will, in turn, forgive me if I thought you were the spy?"
"Of course," Sirius said, also beginning to roll up his sleeves, the ghost of a grin flashing across his sunken face. "Shall we kill him together?"
"Yes, I think so," Lupin nodded.
"You wouldn't...you wouldn't..." Pettigrew gasped out, but couldn't finish because he knew they would. Instead, he turned to Ron. "Ron...haven't I been a good friend? A good pet? You won't let them kill me...will you, Ron? You're on my side, aren't you?"
But Ron was staring at Pettigrew in the utmost revulsion. "I let you sleep in my bed!"
"Kind boy...kind master..." Pettigrew groveled, crawling toward him. "You won't let them kill me...I was your rat...I was a good pet!"
"If you made a better rat than human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," Sirius said harshly.
Ron slapped Pettigrew's hands away from his broken leg, so Pettigrew turned on Hermione.
"Sweet girl...clever girl...you won't let them...Help me!"
Alex rolled his eyes and raised his wand, pointing it at Pettigrew, who squeaked in surprise as he rose off the floor, rotating upright and his limbs spreading out before Alex guided him into hovering in the air in front of Sirius and Lupin.
"Let's get on with it, shall we?" Alex asked. "According to Snape, Lupin still needs to drink his Wolfsbane Potion tonight and I'd rather not miss that."
"And excellent point," Lupin nodded gravely. "Shall we, Sirius?"
"I want to hear him say it first," Black said, aiming his wand at Pettigrew's face. "You sold Lily and James to Voldemort. Do you deny it?"
Pettigrew burst into tears instantly. "Sirius...Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord...you have no idea...he had weapons you can't imagine! I was scared, Sirius! I was never brave like you and Remus and James! I never meant for it to happen! He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me-"
"DON'T LIE!" Sirius seethed. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"
"He-He was taking over everywhere!" Pettigrew gasped out. "Wh-What was there to be gained by refusing him?"
"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who's ever existed?" Sirius asked, a terrible rage on his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"
"You don't understand!" Pettigrew wailed. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" Sirius roared. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"
"You should have realized," Lupin said coldly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter."
"NO!" Harry shouted, running in between them, facing the wands. "You can't kill him! You can't!"
Both looked shocked.
"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you don't have parents," Sirius said. "This cringing piece of filth would have seen you die, too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."
"I know," Harry said. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors. He can go to Azkaban. But don't kill him."
"Harry!" Pettigrew sobbed. "You...thank you! It's more than I deserve! Thank you!"
"I'm not doing it for you!" Harry snapped, glaring at Pettigrew in disgust. "I'm doing it because...I don't recon my dad would want them to become killers just for you."
Black and Lupin looked at each other before lowering their wands.
"No one but you has the right to decide, Harry," Sirius said. "But think...think about what he did."
"He can go to Azkaban," Harry said. "If anyone deserves that place, he does."
"Very well, Harry," Lupin nodded. "Stand aside, Harry."
Harry looked at him cautiously.
"I'm going to tie him up, that's all, I swear," Lupin promised.
Harry stepped aside and Lupin raised his wand. A moment later, thin black cords shot out, binding and gagging Pettigrew.
"But if you transform, Peter, we'll kill you," Lupin warned. "Do you agree, Harry?"
Harry looked at Pettigrew, still hanging in the air before Alex, and nodded. Lupin quickly used a spell to conjure a splint for Ron's leg, then used the Mobilicorpus Charm, the same Alex was holding Pettigrew with, to pick up Snape. Then, they left the room, following Crookshanks.
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