Hey everyone,
So after this chapter I am going to FINALLY give Carmelita her chance in the spotlight. But not just her, I am also going to give Tennessee another chance to shine as well as Harry. And naturally I will, at some point, give the other ancestors their chances to shine as well. Oh, and I'm going to cover Sly and the others explaining their side of the story to Sirius and Lupin. So yeah, I've got plenty enough plans for this remake.
Enjoy,

Venquine1990
PS. I don't think I need to say it, but this story is going to be longer than the original.

Chapter 15
Sharing Many Stories – Part 02

25th of November 1994
Hospital Wing, Hogwarts
Harry's POV

"Okay Harry, you were at the Christmas Hogsmeade weekend and how this was where you found out about what people believed to have been Sirius' crimes against you and your family." Carmelita gently starts about a minute after we all finish our cups. I nod at her, while Sly again pulls his plate of porridge towards him. I grin at the sight of my brother working on his appetite and say: "Right, next point is Christmas itself.
Sirius sent me a Firebolt, which is the best broom in the market. I even got to see two teams fly the same broom during the Quidditch World Cup finale this year. But because the gift was without a note and because people thought Sirius was out to kill me, the broom got confiscated. I got it back about two months later and – I'm pretty sure that Professor McGonagall still has the records. Should prove useful if you combine it with the letters."

Carmelita nods at this and then asks: "Dimitri, did you pack any of my work stuff?" The Iguana nods and says: "Dimitri will go get Miss Lady Cop a manila file for her evidence. Or wait – is that Miss Lady Cooper now?" Dimitri starts to mutter to himself as he leaves the cubicle and the rest of us grin. I also notice that Sly and Carmelita have gone back to having another mental conversation with each other, which just makes me grin at them.
A minute or so later Dimitri returns and Carmelita quickly puts all of the letters I gave her the other night into the manila folder along with the picture that Sirius gave her. She puts the file down on the bedside table and I sigh as I say: "Now on the day that I got my Firebolt handed back to me, Ron found blood on his bed, along with orange cat hairs that belonged to Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. Needless to say, he wasn't happy."

I sigh and mutter: "To be honest, the whole thing with Crookshanks and Scabbers had been going on since the train ride to Hogwarts. I still don't really get why the teachers turned a blind eye to it. After that event, it was beyond obvious that the friendship between Ron and Hermione was over. As for why they didn't go to the teachers themselves, you'll have to ask them. I personally think it's a matter of pride, but I can't be sure."
The group nods yet Sirius turns to Remus and asks: "You were a teacher last year. Didn't you notice anything?" Lupin shrugs and says: "I did notice them arguing on the train, but then Minerva, Filius and others told me that that was just the dynamic of their friendship. That they cared for each other, but that their personalities clashed from time to time." I roll my eyes at this and Lupin spots this. He glares at me, but I snap back:

"Hey, the only reason I never go to the staff is because I've learned from the age of four that reporting stuff about others usually makes things worse for me. Plus, until now Ron and Hermione were the only ones I could ever really rely on. I didn't feel like doing anything that might aggravate them. But that doesn't mean I didn't often get – you know what, no. I am not going to bother about this now. It's not important right now."

The others nod at me and I sigh as I count in my head: "Right, picture, train, Halloween, Quidditch, Hogsmeade, Firebolt, bed – heh, Quidditch again." I grimace and Sly is the first to notice this. He pulls me close against his form and just the fact that he wants to comfort me changes my grimace into a thankful grin. "Right, the next point is, unfortunately, going to be something that others might be able to use against us, but – I feel it needs to be said.
On the night of the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw Quidditch match, which was a few weeks after the whole blood on Ron's bed thing, Sirius actually managed to get into Gryffindor Common room and he struck at Ron's bed – with a knife." The whole Cooper Gang looks at Sirius with wide eyes and Dimitri mutters: "Not cool, bro." Lupin groans and says: "Harry, you just signed Sirius' death sentence with that." But I notice that Sly is grinning.

"Sirius, am I right to assume that your long stay in Azkaban allowed you to see more clearly at night than during the day? That your sight is sharper when it's dark?" My brother asks and Sirius nods. Sly's grin widens and he continues: "And I am going to assume that there were at least a few window curtains that were open, allowing for some kind of moonlight to shine in and help you see? And that the trunks had initials on them."
Sirius is grinning himself as he nods and Carmelita slaps her fist on her hand as she says: "You were perfectly capable of seeing where you were going. You might have overdone it with the whole knife thing, but the fact that you purposely went after Ron's bed and not Harry's works against everything people believe to know about you. It just raises more questions." Then Bentley asks: "I've got one. How did he even get in?"

I groan and say: "Remember Halloween? Well, the reason Sirius failed that night was because of the Fat Lady. She's the guardian portrait of our common room and Sirius didn't have the password needed to get in. But after he attacked her, she refused to be our portrait again. So Dumbledore hired Sir Cadogan. And that guy was a first class menace who changed the passwords on a daily basis. Sometimes even twice a day.
And one of my dorm mates is named Neville Longbottom. He has some memory issues and this whole thing wasn't helping that. So, in order to help himself remember, Neville wrote the passwords down. But Crookshanks stole the note and that's how Sirius managed to get inside. By the way, you owe Neville an apology for that once you're freed. He got in major trouble over that one. Though Cadogan does share some of the guilt."

Sirius nods in a silent promise that he will apologize and I continue: "And now we've reached June. And I guess I should cover that other case now. You see, in the previous year Hagrid had been sent to Azkaban because he had been considered guilty of opening the Chamber 50 years ago and Fudge wanted to be seen doing something. Don't ask. Anyway, I guess it was Fudge's way of apologizing as Hagrid got appointed as Care of Magical Creatures teacher in my Third.
The problem? He decided that showing a Hippogriff to a class of thirteen year old students was a nice way to start off his career. Now I do admit that he was being incredibly cautious as he gave very strict instructions and constantly warned us not to do certain things. But after I got to approach Buckbeak, fly on him for a bit and pet him, Malfoy decided to butt in. He marched over, completely ignored Hagrid's warnings and insulted Buckbeak.

Needless to say, Buckbeak struck him, though he really only scratched him once on the arm before Hagrid calmed Buckbeak down. The problem? All Malfoys hate Hagrid with every breath they take and so Malfoy made it look as if the injury was much worse than it really was, just to get Hagrid in trouble. It even led to a whole case in front of a court and – heh, Hagrid lost. And Malfoy, being the jerk that he was, called for Beaky's execution."
"OVER A SCRATCH?" The whole group, bar Lupin, yells and then Lupin stands up. "I'm going to check up on this. I really wanted to do so last year, but Albus told me that Severus would handle it. I didn't feel like aggravating my former rival, so I accepted Albus' words. Now I'm going to do what I wanted to do last year. Ask Poppy why she didn't do anything about that fake sling of his." I nod at the man and he heads out.

I take a deep breath and say: "Okay, I've been mostly summarizing everything, but I guess it's best if I just give as much description about the next event as possible. First of all, the whole thing with Buckbeak eventually fixed the friendship between Ron and Hermione. And when we heard that Beaky was going to be executed, we wanted to be there to support Hagrid. But Hagrid didn't want us to see it or for us to get in trouble.
So when the Headmaster, the Minister and an executioner came, even though it wasn't near curfew yet, Hagrid ushered us out. Though before they showed up, Hagrid showed us that Scabbers hadn't been eaten as he gave the rat back to Ron. However, as we tried to get away, Scabbers made another escape. This time because he had seen Sirius and because Sirius had seen him. So both Ron and Sirius chased Scabbers.

Though Sirius did do that in his Animagus form. Though at the same time that didn't help much as his Animagus form made me think he was going after Ron and that he could devour Ron alive, he was that huge. Seriously, his Animagus form is a dog that is the damned size of a bear." Sirius grins cheekily at this and then actually transforms. The eyes of the others widen and then Sirius changes back, just as Lupin returns.
"You're not going to like this. Apparently Poppy never saw the sling. Personally I think either Severus or someone else charmed the sling so that she wouldn't be able to see it." Sirius growls lowly in the back of his throat and he mutters: "Yeah, that sounds like something Snivellus would do." Lupin frowns at him and then sighs as he says: "Too bad we can't prove it. Malfoy ditched that sling months ago, after all."

Yet I grin and raise my head a little as I call out: "Dobby?" And just like I expected, the excited little House Elf appears with the sling in question in his hands. I grin and thank the excited little thing as Carmelita folds the sling and puts it in the folder. "I – am – loving this! It feels just like the good old times when we were gathering intel on our targets before we'd rob them and leave them for Interpol to come and arrest."
Lupin looks shocked at this, but the others just laugh. Then Carmelita actually climbs over me and whispers in Sly's ear: "Get better soon and I'll make it even more like the good old times. I would love to find out whether or not I can actually catch you now that I can read your every thought." Sly's grin grows so large I can't help but wonder if it doesn't hurt him to grin that widely. Carmelita returns to her place and I continue.

"Ron, in the end, was the one to catch Scabbers, but Sirius didn't let this stop him. He grabbed Ron's leg with his teeth and dragged him into a tunnel underneath the Whomping Willow. It took Hermione and me a bit of a struggle to get in as well, but after we got in, we found out that the tunnel led to the Shrieking Shack. That's an old decrepit building at the other end of Hogsmeade village that was said to be haunted.
Sirius managed to get Ron upstairs and we followed after this. Sirius hid himself behind the door to the bedroom and when Hermione and I ran in, he closed the door behind us. Hermione went to stand in front of me and told him that if he wanted to get to me he had to go through her first. And seriously Sirius, what were you thinking? Telling us that only one would die tonight? Did you really think I would leave that lying down?"

The man gives me a guilty grin and he says: "To be honest, I really wasn't thinking. Though the longer the whole thing took, the more I was able to think straight again. You probably noticed that in the end, right?" I nod at the man and grimace as I say: "Of course, at the time I still thought you had been a traitor. So when you said that, it made it so that I could hardly think straight. I rushed at you and forced you onto the floor.
But you – you didn't seem scared at all. You even laughed and asked if I was going to kill you. Why?" Sirius shrugs and says: "I may have had trouble thinking straight, but I wasn't entirely gone. I saw more than enough signs that made me know you wouldn't. Your hand was shaking too much and I noticed a lack of certain emotions in your eyes. You were angry, pup, but you didn't hate me. That made me know you wouldn't kill me."

The two of us smile at each other while the rest smiles at either us or each other. I lean back and mutter: "Well, before I could even think of an answer to his question, Lupin came in and disarmed me. He and Sirius had just the weirded conversation ever that Sirius ended with let's kill him. Naturally, Hermione assumed that Sirius meant me and thought that Lupin was his accomplice. So she revealed his secret to Ron and myself."
Yet here I hold quiet. Lupin sighs and yet he smiles at me before he turns to the others and says: "I'm a werewolf." The whole Cooper Gang looks shocked at this for a moment and then Bentley mutters: "Huh." Lupin stares at him and Bentley just calmly returns to typing away on his computer. Lupin turns to the rest of the Cooper Gang and Sly grins as he says: "One word. Time Travel." And Lupin snorts at this, yet he also grins gratefully.

"Right, so after she revealed this, she explained to Lupin that it had been Snape that had helped her realize it as he had set us an essay on how to recognize werewolves. Yet this little chat between the two of them aggravated Sirius and – well, he made another line that I think needs to be quoted. Excuse me for this, but I need to shout it in order to really convey how Sirius felt at the time." The group nods, but then Sirius himself screams:
"I DID MY WAITING! TWELVE YEARS OF IT! IN AZKABAN!" And while the voice had shocked me the other time, I now clearly hear his desperation and pain. Bentley grimaces to prove that it's the same with him and he mutters: "I am caps locking, underlining and bolding that." I nod in agreement and say: "Lupin relented at this and gave Sirius his wand. He did try to make Sirius wait and explain, but – I didn't want to hear it.

I argued with them and it made Sirius scream for Pettigrew to reveal himself. That's when Snape showed up." And instantly Lupin and Sirius share a grimace with me, before I mutter: "I still wonder why he was there or how he knew to be there in the first place." At this Lupin grimaces and says: "I can answer that, Harry. It was the night of the full moon and I needed my Potion. Snape brought it a bit late, so he saw the Map, which I had left open."
I nod at this as I remember that it was only the next day that Lupin left and that he had seen me approach through the same Map. "Anyway, Snape disarmed Sirius and the two of them argued. Lupin tried to keep the peace and Sirius even made the comment that he would gladly come along as long as Ron took Scabbers with him, but the arguing led to Snape pressing his wand into Sirius' neck. And he even threatened with the Dementors."

Lupin wants to argue this, but I state: "I saw the look in his eyes when he looked at me, Lupin. I have never seen someone look at me as if I am another person like I did Snape that night. He did not see me, he saw my father. Combine that with his hatred for my dad, his essay, how he spoke of you and the fact that his hatred for my father is only equal to his hatred for Sirius. I'm sorry, but that man was more gone than Sirius that night."
"You know you're basically accusing Severus of an attempt of murder, right? And that he knew your mother. That the two of them were close friends." I roll my eyes and mutter: "No, I only found out earlier today that Snape knew my mother. So nice that it took four years for one of you to come clean about that. But then again, you and the other friends of my late parents all have a habit with that, so I don't even know why it still surprises me."

Lupin rubs the back of his head and I sigh as I continue. "Anyway, Snape was ready to escort Sirius away. But I had started to think straight again and I wanted answers. So I disarmed Snape, but the power of my spell knocked him into the bed and out cold. Right, when Snape disarmed Sirius, I got my wand back. Sorry, should have mentioned that. Anyway, one thing led to another and Sirius finally got his hands on Scabbers.
He dropped him onto the piano that was there and the two of them tried to cast the revealing spell. Sirius had, I think, taken Snape's wand. The two of them managed to change Scabbers into Pettigrew just as Pettigrew tried to escape through a hole in the wall next to the bedroom door. They pulled him back in and he tried to make the whole thing look like a reunion between old friends. This was one of his attempts to flee, but they stopped him."

"Harry, I think we should quote this bit too." Lupin says and I nod at him. "Right, so Pettigrew then spotted me and tried to compare me to dad. Needless to say, Sirius didn't take kindly to that." Sirius growls and snarls: "How dare you speak to Harry! How dare you talk about James in front of him." Bentley types away as I say: "He and Lupin forced Pettigrew to the back of the piano where Lupin confronted him."
Lupin nods and his voice sounds just like it did that night. "You sold Lily and James out to Voldemort, didn't you?" At which I focus on how I felt the other night when I thought I had lost my brother. And while I almost feel myself choking up again, I whimper: "I didn't mean to. The Dark Lord. You have no idea what power he possesses. Say for yourself, Sirius. What would you have done? What would you have done?"

And while Sirius looks at me surprised, he then loudly declares: "I would have died! I would have died rather than betray my friends!" The three of us grin and Sirius mutters: "That was scary good, Harry. For a moment, I really felt like I was back in the Shack." Lupin nods and asks: "How did you manage that?" I shrug and say: "I've been good with impressions for years. Plus, I remembered how it felt when I thought Sly was on his deathbed."
The others wince and Bentley mutters: "That'll do it." I nod and say: "Anyway, Pettigrew crawled underneath the piano and tried to make another run for the door. I barred his entry and he again pleaded with me." I grimace with fury and self-hatred and growl: "And like an emotional fool, I listened. Though to be honest, I didn't do it for him. I didn't stop Lupin and Sirius from killing him for his sake.

I did it for dad. Because I can't imagine that he'd want his friends to become murderers. Plus, I didn't think we could convince the world of Pettigrew being alive – without him being alive. So I told Lupin and Sirius that we should take Pettigrew to the castle and that the Dementors could have him once we were there. After this we left. Sirius and I helped Ron downstairs and through the tunnel and Hermione and Lupin guarded Pettigrew.
Sirius did look as if he wanted to tell me something while we were in the tunnel, but he didn't come out with it until after we gave Ron some time to rest on the other side. He walked away and while Lupin kept an eye on Pettigrew and Hermione tended to Ron, I followed after him. We had a bit of a chat and – Sirius offered me a home." Everyone smiles at this and I turn to the man in question. Sirius is widely grinning and I tell him:

"And just like I told you last night, Sirius. You're still family. And besides, once you're free, you can take in Sly and the others too. They're going to need a place to stay on this side of the river, so to say." Sirius laughs and says: "Sure, of course, pup. The more the merrier. I can use the company after the last thirteen years." We all grin at him and Bentley says: "I'm just going to underline this little fact, it'll definitely help."
I nod and yet then I sigh. "The problem? Just before I could tell him that I would love to come live with him, the full moon showed itself from behind a couple of clouds. Lupin spotted this and he started to transform. Sirius tried to keep him sane and away from us, but during the transformation Lupin dropped his wand. Pettigrew took it, but I disarmed him. To this day, I – I don't know why I hesitated to do more than that.

Pettigrew transformed and fled. Then Sirius started shouting that we should run as Lupin was already halfway through his transformation. And once he was fully transformed, he threw Sirius off of him. That's when Snape came upon us. First he tried to threaten me, but then Lupin howled. And yes, Snape did, out of reflex try to put himself between us and Lupin, I will admit that. However, it was Sirius that saved us.
He transformed, fought and struggled with Lupin and attacked him enough times that when Sirius fled, Lupin chased after him. I ran too and –." Here I stop and think: "How am I going to explain this one? I need help. If I just put this portion into my testimony Malfoy or someone like him will try to put full focus on this bit and on Hermione and I breaking the law. They'll try to use this to distract people away from Sirius' actual case."

Wow, now what?
Yeah, this whole thing turned into a Three-parter. But trust me, I have a good reason for that. There is a little more that is going to happen in the next portion other than Harry finishing his explanation. After all, Carmelita might be an Officer for Interpol, but like Draco, people like Fudge and the others will just see animals and nothing more. She's going to need some extra help to make sure people take her seriously.
Wait and see,

Venquine1990