Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

A/N: Thanks to MaeSilverpaws1, who is beta-ing this story.

Chapter Seventy

Unexpected

Sirius was slowly patrolling the castle, just making his way through the Great Hall. He wasn't sure how to explain it, but he could tell today wasn't going to be like the other days he had been here. The hair at the nap of his neck stood on edge when he had picked up a smell near the dungeons that was new. It was almost familiar to him, but it was slightly off so he followed the smell until he got to a portrait and knew that this had to be Snape's room, as the stench of the Potion Master was all over the place. He growled at the door as his frustration about all of this mounted until he picked up the oddly familiar sent leading away from the castle.

Sirius didn't like this one bit, and had a feeling that his worst fear was about to come true. Turning back into a man, Sirius pulled out the Marauder's Map and searched the grounds for the name that he had been looking for, for the last five months. His heart dropped into his stomach when he saw the name moving towards the Whomping Willow, his dot almost on top of not only Harry's, but several of his friends as well.

"Damnit!" Sirius yelled, (along with other curse words) at this development and sent a Patronus to Remus telling him about what happened, before turning back into a dog and running straight for the Whomping Willow in the fastest route he knew.

O

Remus was talking with a seventh year student who wanted to go over last minute advice before he took his N.E.W.T's when he got Sirius's message. The dog Patronus appeared and said clearly in Sirius's voice, "The Rat is at the Shack with Harry!"

"What was ….?" the seventh year student asked but Remus was running as fast as he could towards the Whomping Willow, cursing the fact that he was so far away, as he was in his office not on the grounds like he was during his last final. It took him fifteen minutes to get to the passageway and he saw the Whomping Willow's branches swinging around violently.

"Sirius … immobilize it!" Remus yelled to his friend that just dodged a branch.

"What the hell do you think I've been trying to do," Sirius yelled frantically. "The damn tree is breaking anything I send at the knot … it even blocked my curse!"

"But …" Remus said and then groaned. "He must have cursed it … remember when James had cursed it with the tinkling charm in our sixth year."

"It wouldn't stop moving for an hour," Sirius groaned remembering the incident as well. "Do you think …?"

"I don't know," Remus groaned. "But we can't just wait here to find out … and with you cursing the tree again … I doubt we can get in there any time soon."

"Then we'll have to get there a different way … I'm going to the passageway though the hidden mirror," Sirius said, turning back into a dog and taking off at a run. Remus was about to run after him in his much slower human form, but he paused before he ran toward the Quidditch pitch which was much closer. Remus knew that using a broom would be faster than him running. As soon as he got there, he took the best broom there was and flew towards the main gates.

O

Ron struggled as hard as he could even after he had been hit twice by the man rat in the ribs. The second time the wand jabbed so strongly in his ribs that he thought one of them had been cracked. He didn't care though, all he knew was that all his friends and his little sister were in danger because he had been caught and disarmed. How could he have been so damn stupid?

The rat man, Peter Pettigrew, pushed him as he made his friends walk in front of them until they got to the Whomping Willow. Ron wasn't sure what the rat did next, but the tree had stopped moving all of a sudden and the rat told them to go through the passageway. As soon as the others were in the tunnel, the rat man sent a curse at the tree also casting a silencing charm towards the tunnel, making sure that no one would be able to hear the others shouting.

Harry turned as soon as he heard Pettigrew say the curse, expecting to see the wand pointed at Ron or himself, but it was the tree that was the target. He wasn't sure what that was about, but he knew that it probably wasn't a good thing, so he ran back though the tunnel just as the silencing spell hit where the others were.

Ron, noticing that Pettigrew's attention was on Harry, stepped on the rat man's foot causing him to groan in pain. He then turned around to grab his wand and tried to pull it out of Pettigrew's hand. It wasn't easy, Ron was just thirteen and was fighting against a fully grown man, but the rat was obviously not very strong as he struggled to get back in control.

"Aw …" Harry groaned in pain suddenly and Ron found himself looking towards his best friend without thinking. Harry had been struck by one the Whomping Willow's branches that now were out of control. Ron jumped to the side as a branch slammed into the spot that he had just been standing. To his dismay, Pettigrew didn't get hit either, and Ron once again had his own wand pointed back at his face.

"Pettigrew!" Harry hissed, distracting the rat as he ran at him again, not minding the small branches that hit him.

"Stop," Peter said, his wand on Ron and Harry did stop, only to be hit by the Whomping Willow again. "Into the forest … now!"

Harry glared at Pettigrew, but did what he was told and Ron had to follow. Both boys were thinking the same thing at that time; they had to get away from this stupid tree so they wouldn't have to worry about it attacking them. However, going into the forest without their wands wasn't a good idea at all.

"Harry, what are we going to do?" Ron asked his friend in a whisper.

"Don't know," Harry whispered back, as he headed into the forest.

"That should be far enough," Peter said and the boys turned around to see that the rat man was looking around the forest, obviously afraid of being here, his voice was even quivering.

"What do you want with us?" Harry asked, glaring at the man that had once been his father's friend.

Peter didn't say anything, knowing that there wasn't anything to say. He knew the easy thing for him to do was to curse these boys … or perhaps he should kill them … his master would be pleased by that. But looking into Harry's eyes, he knew that he couldn't kill him, not in cold blood like this. Not without being forced to.

"Why did you do it?" Harry asked his eyes burning with anger and accusation. "You were my parents' friend … why did you betray them?"

Peter scowled, he could see the righteous anger … Harry blamed him for what happened. He was right, but something snapped in him and he wanted to tell someone why he did what he did. He didn't really expect Harry to understand, but that didn't stop him.

"Everyone has always seen me as a weakling," Peter said. "Even my so call friends. They were right … I am weak. I couldn't be brave like I wanted … He was going to kill me."

"So you saved yourself," Ron said, looking almost as angry as Harry was. "I would prefer to have died."

"You say that now," Peter said bitterly, taking a step closer to Ron, "but you've never been threatened … you've never had to face death."

"Yes I have … or at least I thought I might die," Ron said angrily, thinking back in his first year on the chess board where he had sacrificed himself. He had believed he could die then. Also in second year when he and Harry had jumped down the sewer … he didn't think there was any way that they were going to get out of that. "You don't just turn your back on your friends because you know you're just there to tag along … they're still your friends."

"Even if all they ever did was pity you!" Peter said. "Why should I have died for them … when they never would have died for me?"

"Yes, they would have," Harry said firmly. "I might not have been able to get to know my parents in person, but I don't have to, to know that they would have done anything for you, or any of their other friends."

"You're just saying that because that's who you want them to be, but you don't know anything!" Peter shouted; trying not to let the boy's words get to him because then he'd find there was more truth in them than he would have liked.

"And you're just saying that because you rather believe they thought of you as a weakling then admit that they cared about you and you betrayed them for yourself!" Harry roared indignantly.

"Shut up!" Peter yelled; his anger increased as he tried harder than ever not to listen to the truth in Harry's words. When Harry looked like he was about to say something more, Peter raised the wand, angry enough now to curse the boy to make sure that he didn't have to deal with the demons that infested his mind (it was just like he felt whenever he was near the Dementors). He wasn't sure what curse he was going to use, but he wanted to hurt the boy, whose mere presences reminded Peter what he had done. "Crucio …"

Harry was screaming as pain coursed through him, and he dropped to his knees.

"No!" Ron growled and thought of the lion that he had been trying to transform into for the last year with all of his concentration, knowing that form would be able to make him more powerful … it might be able to get them out of this situation. He felt it happen at once, his hands and feet turning into giant paws. He lean forward so all four of his limbs were touching the ground as they quickly became that of lion, his torso didn't turn as quickly, and his head took several seconds as he had never been able to transform that part of himself before.

Peter was frozen to his spot as he watched the transformation until there was a teenaged lion, who barely had any mane though what was there was as red as the boys hair had been when he was still a human. The lion gave a roar and jumped at Peter.

"Stupefy!"

The curse hit Ron squarely in the chest, causing him to be knocked backwards by the force of it. He felt weak and tired, but he was still conscious.

"I'll have to deal with you now," Peter said, raising his wand to curse the lion boy.

"NO!" Harry yelled as he forced himself to get up, though his legs had felt weak from the torture the rat had just caused him. Harry tried to run, but he knew he would never get to his friend … or the rat in time to stop what was about to happen.

"Av …"

"Expelliarmus!" a new voice said and the wand flew out of Peter's hand. A second later a black dog had jumped in the air and slammed Peter to the ground, his teeth mere inches from the rat man's face.

"Harry … Ron … are you okay?" George Weasley asked, looking terrified. It was clear that he was the one that had cast the charm that had saved Ron.

"George? What are you doing here?" Harry asked as Ron started to turn back into a human, the process seemed to be taking longer than his first transformation had now that all the adrenaline had left his body.

"Well …" George said and told them quickly what had happened.

O

"I'm not sure this stuff is worth it," Fred scowled at the bottle of firewhiskey that he had just bought form the bartender at Hog's Head. "I think he charged us triple price."

"Of course he did … he knew we couldn't get the stuff anywhere else," George grumbled. "But don't worry … Lee and the others said they would chip in."

"I still don't see why we …" Fred started to say and then stopped when he felt his pocket heat up like it always does whenever someone was writing on the map.

"How much do you want to bet it's Hermione telling us off for getting firewhiskey?" George said as he pulled out his own map, being the one that wasn't holding the very expensive bottle of liquor they had just bought.

Fred, George, you better response to this immediately, Harry and Ron are in danger.

The twins looked at each other as they read the note in the color and handwriting that suggested the message was from Hermione. George pulled out his wand, conjured a quill and replied.

What's the problem?

Peter Pettigrew surprised us after our final exam. We thought he was going to take us to the shrieking shack but as soon as we got into the passageway, he made the Whomping Willow go crazy and we were unable to get out. Sirius and Remus came here a few second ago, but we couldn't tell them what happened to Harry and Ron because we had been silenced. They think that we are all in the shack and are trying to get there as quickly as they can. They don't realize that Harry and Ron are the ones that need to be helped and that they're in the forest! You have to tell them and get to the forest as quickly as you can. Sirius has taken the passageway form behind the mirror where we first started hanging out. Remus went to the Quidditch pitch … Ginny thinks that he got a broom form there because he was moving much faster after he left … he's already nearly off the grounds now …

I get it … we'll tell them what's going on

George wrote because Hermione seemed to be writing forever and they needed to act quickly.

"I'll go talk to Remus; you get to Sirius as fast as you can!" Fred said, already running towards the front of Hogsmeade where Remus would appear.

George didn't spare another look at his twin as he ran to the passageway and as soon as he got in the dark tunnel he started shouting for Sirius. It was a few minutes later that he heard an answering bark that quickly turned into a man's voice.

"Who's there?"

"It's George, you're going the wrong way," George screamed. "They others just wrote us saying that they're stuck in the passageway to the shack but Peter didn't go with them and Ron and Harry are with him still … They're in the forest."

"Damnit!" Sirius growled.

"Bloody hell!" George gasped when he nearly ran into Sirius, but neither one of them paid any attention to that after the initial shock and they ran out of the passageway.

"Tell me everything you know," Sirius said, staying as a man for the time being. "And where is Remus?"

"We think he got a broom and flew towards Hogsmeade," George said. "Fred is going to meet up with him … he should be coming as soon as possible too."

George continued to say everything he heard from the note, which wasn't much, but the two of them ran for the forest.

"Are they on your map?" Sirius questioned as they raced through the grounds.

"No … we haven't put the forest on yet," George said.

"Fine then, I'm going to go ahead and try to find their trail … you should go and tell Dumbledore …" Sirius started to say.

"I'm not about to talk to anyone when my brother is in danger!" George huffed indignantly.

"Then run as fast as you can to the forest!" Sirius shouted before turning back into the big black dog and speeding ahead of the boy. George wished that he could have turned into his coyote form, and half imagined himself being able to do it, but he didn't have time to try and figure that out when Ron and Harry were in danger and might need his help.

As he reached the Whomping Willow he could hear the others shout form the passageway, though the tree was still moving in a dangerous way, preventing them for getting out.

"Sirius said that the trail leads to where the Y shape tree is," Ginny yelled at George. "Hurry."

"You know I will," George shouted back, not having any other means of reassuring his sister.

He spotted the tree that Ginny had mentioned and ran towards it and it took him only minutes after that to catch up with Sirius. Though in the dog form Sirius could out run him, it was obviously that while tracking the scent of the others he had to move considerably slower. George was no longer running at full speed, but jogging at what he found it to be an impatient pace.

"Stupefy!" he had heard the curse and then saw the flash of red light and something big slammed into some trees before it fell to the ground. He ran towards the light, no longer needing Sirius's to guide him. He could tell that someone was talking, but he didn't know what was being said. When he heard Harry's cry of NO! He stopped and pointed his wand at the dark figure that was closest to him and prayed that it was Pettigrew and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

O

"Would one of you like to tell me why Ron was a lion a second ago?" Sirius asked, having turned back into a man after biting the man rat in the arm painfully hard. Though he was talking to Harry and his two friends, his eyes (and his wand) were on his prisoner.

"Er … I think we should deal with your prisoner now, before we talk about any of that," Harry grimaced and then he turned back to his friend. "Are you okay, Ron?"

"Yeah … just a bit tired," Ron said and then yawned. "Being stunned takes a lot out of you."

"Hey, it didn't make you pass out … that's a good thing," Harry said. "Not to mention you were the first to …"

He didn't say anymore as a sickening chill ran down his spine. He looked at the edges of the forest and it felt as if the darkness was closing in on them. He could hear the familiar screams of his dying mother and the sickening laughter of the mad man that killed her.

"Dementors!" Harry hissed and cursed the fact that he didn't have his wand with him.

"Here take it," Ron said, thrusting his wand (that the rat had been using) in his hand. "I don't know the charm!" he added when Harry looked at him questioningly.

Harry didn't argue anymore as he pointed his wand at the dark figure that he could now make out. "Expecto Patronum!"

Nothing happened and he remembered that he had to think of something happy to make this work. He thought of the time that he had first meant Ron and it felt like they had been friends for his whole life. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The slivery shield seemed to come out of his wand, making several of the Dementors back off, but others were still advancing on them.

"Expecto Patronum!" Sirius yelled and a dog shaped Patronus rushed onto the scene. However, as soon as his attention was no longer on Peter, the weaker man hit the wand out of Sirius's hand, causing the dog to disappear at once, and the Dementors to advance again.

Worse of all, Peter turned into a rat again and started running away.

"NO!" Sirius yelled, watching the rat as a longing to chase it filled him, but the chill of the Dementors were forcing its way into his heart and soul, forcing him to relive the worst days of his life. The last day that he had seen his brother and was unable to help him … the day that James was taken … the day that Lily had dead …. Harry so sick when he was three that Sirius was afraid the boy might die … Hearing what Harry had gone through when he was only eleven years old … when he was twelve ….

He could see the black cloak figure come towards him and he tried to pick up his wand … tried to defend himself and the others, but he couldn't reach it.

"Expecto Patronum," he heard Harry shout one last time before blacking out.

A/N: I'm not really sure if this came out well or not. I had expected Peter to take everyone into the Shack, but the closer I got to that, the less likely it seemed like he would do that, because then he would have no way out of there and five people to try to contain in a tight space. I don't really think I liked the whole Peter confrontation, but it was hard getting him to fight or say anything that will get them to the point of danger that needed to happen. I knew that I wanted Ron to be the first one to do his transformation, but if it seems a bit force at the time, it's because I just thought about him doing it as I was writing that part. (Hence why he never thought about doing that before that point). I wasn't planning on the twins helping, but as soon as the others were stuck in the passageway to the shack, I knew that they would be the ones to talk to Sirius and Remus. So basically what I'm saying is that I had no idea what was going to happen in this chapter, but I hope you were as shocked as I was with everything that happened.