A warning to the prophet, The liar, the honest, This is war.
To the leader, the pariah, The victor, the messiah, This is war.
It's the moment of truth, and the moment to lie,
The moment to live and the moment to die,
The moment to fight, the moment to fight.
-This Is War, 30 Seconds to Mars
Chapter 12: It's The Moment Of Truth, And The Moment To Lie.
March 1994-Hogwarts
Hermione was so distracted by the disappearance of Peter that she nearly skipped going to the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw game. It was only due to Ron's insistence that they needed to go and support Harry that she finally relinquished and went to the game if only to keep up appearances and to keep an eye on her trouble-prone friend. He always managed to take the game of Quidditch and make it just a bit more life-threatening, even if it was by no doing of his own.
Finally the snow had begun to melt away and was followed by days of gloomy rain until the weather broke and they were greeted with the first warm days of spring. On these days the students would pour out of the school during their free time and drink in the warm rays; lounging in the grass or walking the grounds. One day Hermione and her friends even found themselves lounging beside the lake; Harry and Ron playing chess on a portable board and Hermione lying on her stomach, scribbling notes in a notebook. Ron might have commented, about her working on some project or studying for the upcoming finals, had he taken notice of the book. But he didn't, as Hermione's charm held true, her work in the notebook was not given more than a passing glance.
That evening at dinner an owl dropped a folded piece of parchment in her lap. Picking it up curiously; apart from Sirius and the Daily Prophet she didn't get any mail, and this did not look like something Sirius would send. Unfolding the note, she read the short message.
'Ms. Granger,
If you still wish to continue your morning exercises, present yourself at the castle entrance at 6:30 tomorrow morning. Do not be late.
Prof S. Snape'
And so the next morning found Hermione resuming her morning running routine with the Potions Master, who it seemed even after the past few months was still a grumpy bear in the morning.
The final Hogsmeade trip of the year arrived, and Hermione spent much of the day shopping with Ron and Ginny. She slipped off on her own, as the day grew late, and used her Time-Turner to meet up with Lupin at the Shrieking Shack early that morning just after breakfast, before the students had even begun arriving in the small town.
"You know, some day you are going to have to tell me how you keep your friends from noticing you going missing every Hogsmeade visit," Remus said, as they walked into the back door of her house. "My friends got suspicious of my disappearances when dealing with my furry problem rather quickly."
"I would have thought McGonagall would have told you, being a professor and all," she remarked surprised. "It is how I have been getting to my classes all year. Honestly, you never wondered how I was getting to all my classes, when I took a number of them that are at the same time?" she said, pulling a chain out of the collar of her sweater, revealing the charmed locket and Time-Turner.
"I should have known," Remus said, shaking his head in astonishment. "How else could you keep up with your school work, look for Peter and whatever that little side project of yours is, the one I always see you researching on. Are you ever going to let us in on what you are up to?"
Hermione shook her head and tucked her necklace back into her shirt. "It is nothing you need to worry about right now; just know it is about Voldemort, but really, I have yet to find out much more than I already knew."
Remus gave her a calculating look, but did not press the issue, as they entered the living room to find Sirius waiting for them.
"Finally," he exclaimed, popping up from one of the chairs. "Are you ready to go?"
"Go where?" Hermione asked.
"To finish your transformation; you said in your last letter, you nearly had it complete."
"Yeah," she said looking between the Dog and the Wolf, "but I just figured, I would work on it downstairs," she said with a shrug.
"No, no, no, if we're going to do this, then we are going to do this right," Sirius said, leading the way out of the front door, waving at the neighbour lady who was working in her flower bed as they passed."
"Right way?"Hermione asked, as she followed him through the town.
"Once you finish the transformation, you're going to want to put it through its paces, to really get a feel for it. You're not going to be able to do that in your training room, you will need a large natural environment."
"I suppose you're right," she agreed reluctantly, as the three walked down the sidewalk, "but where are we going?" Sirius only grinned in answer.
It turned out, Sirius was leading them to a park that was bordered by a rather large forest. Hikers tended to frequent the trails during the summer, but if one went in far enough, even the oddest hiker would not notice any strange occurrences, like people turning into animals.
The three settled in a clearing well off of the hiking trails, and Hermione took a deep breath in the cool spring air.
"Alright, I think I'm ready now," she said, closing her eyes and focusing on the other presence in her mind. Remus and Sirius watched her, eager to see what she would be, Ignoring their stares, she pulled the presence forward to the forefront of her mind and allowed it to slip over her like a second skin. Faintly, she was aware of her body changing shape, but it was not near as jarring as the werewolf transformation she had seen Remus go through; with breaking bones and spasming muscles. This was fluid like pouring a cylinder glass of water into a square container, she simply flowed from one shape to the next.
"I think I might be jealous," Sirius said with an impressed whistle. Hermione blinked her eyes open and looked around the clearing, she was considerably closer to the ground than she had been a moment before. Her mouth felt weird; running her tongue over her teeth she found her mouth full of large, sharp fangs and made a note to be careful, not to bite her tongue off on accident. Looking around, the colors of the trees and grass and even the clothes of her companions seemed sharper and more defined. Sniffing, she found that there wasn't much of a difference in the scents around her, though it was a bit keener even if just by a bit.
Looking down at her hands, she was met with paws of grayish-brown in color. Lifting one for inspection, she flexed her fingers experimentally and was greeted with a set of sharp claws that slipped into sight before disappearing, as she relaxed her paw. Dipping her head down between her front legs, she saw her back feet were also paws, and between them she could see a long, thick tail, flicking back and forth. Her belly, she noticed, was a lighter brown color compared to the bland gray-brown of the rest of her body. Experimentally she attempted walking around; which proved to be slightly disorienting, as she attempted to get the hang of walking on all fours, while she kept tripping on her tail. Eventually, she figured out how to hold her tail up, so it didn't drag or get under foot, and pretty soon she was trotting gracefully around the clearing.
Turning to face Sirius and Remus, she attempted to speak to them, to convey that she wanted to see what she looked like, but what came out of her mouth was not words, but a deep guttural chuffing sound that was followed by a higher pitched yowl.
"Let me guess… you want a ball of string?" Sirius asked, chuckling. Hermione hissed, she could feel her lips pulling back in a snarl of irritation.
"Alright, no need to have a hissy fit," the Dog said, conjuring a large mirror for her to look into. A large, scarred Mountain Lion looked back at her.
Turning in the mirror to get a better look at herself she noted, her gray-brown coat was marked visibly with each of her scars, and her fur had a slight wave to it, possibly a manifestation of her wild curls in this form. Her eyes were surprisingly a very similar brown to her normal eye color, only with a slight hint of gold in them now.
Her ears were black with a white spot on them and white around her mouth outlined in black, it was the only color to break up her plain brown coat. After she had finished looking herself over, she began wandering the clearing, getting used to her new senses and body.
A slight shift in the scents was the only warning she got right before she was assaulted by a bouncing barking black dog. The two Animagi bounced around the clearing, chasing each other and wrestling in the grass. At one point Remus could not help but laugh, as Sirius barked excitedly around the base of a tree, Hermione perched in one of the high branches, hissing, as the hair of her back and tail stuck up on end.
Remus had seated himself on the grass, as he watched the two play, before the cougar headed over to sit in front of him, lifting a paw in the animal version of a shake, and he took the paw in his hands and patted it, his hand was small compared to her massive paw.
"I believe congratulations are in order," he said, releasing her paw. Hermione bumped her cool nose against his head, right before some latent feline instinct took over and Remus found himself pinned under a 100 pound purring cat, as his hair was given a mandatory cat bath. Sirius watched, making a chuffing sound, that was the closest he could get to actual laughter, that was until Hermione turned on him, and after chasing him down gave him a similar grooming treatment. The Dog whined the whole time, turning his large gray-blue eyes on Remus, he received no aid from the Werewolf who was trying to get his hair back in some order or at least to not stick up at odd angles.
Too soon it was time for teacher and student to return to the school, lest they be missed. So, after saying goodbye and a promise to find Peter, the pair left the clearing with the audible crack of Apparition.
With May came the Quidditch Finals, and Hermione was happy to see them through, not just because they had won the Quidditch Cup again, but now she didn't have to watch with barely controlled nerves as Harry flew around at even faster speed than on his old broom. She still had not gotten over his fall in his first game of the year and was happy when the Quidditch season had come to a close.
Following the end of the Quidditch season came the much dreaded Final Exams of the year, and Hermione was beginning to get worn down. Along with her own studying, she was also making sure Ron and Harry were as well. If left on their own, they would most likely wait till the last minute and fail a number of their classes. On top of studying for the Finals, she was also spending as much time as she could spare on searching the library for any information on Voldemort or the Dark Arts, when she wasn't out searching the grounds for the illusive rat.
Finals passed in a blur of papers and wand waving; the exam Hermione had most enjoyed was Lupin's obstacle course, and other than coming out a little shaken after facing a Boggart she passed with flying colors.
With Final Exams finally through, Hermione found herself wandering the halls one morning, when the boys had gone off to play a friendly game of Quidditch after being stuck in studying for Exams the past few weeks. The search for Peter had gone cold, she had scoured the Map for the Rat and even combed every room she could get access to in hopes maybe he had found a way to hide from the enchanted parchment, but to no success. She was sure he had not passed through the secret passages, all her wards were intact and still functioning. Sirius and Remus had assured her that Peter was too much of a coward, to have tried his luck passing the Dementors out of the schools gates or into the Forest, but Hermione wasn't so sure. A coward he might be, but when push comes to shove the Rat could have done something insanely brave to pass the Dementors; after all, Sirius escaped prison in just that manner.
Passing the Room of Requirement, she paused when she noticed the door appearing before her. It was strange, she didn't recall focusing on anything specific to draw the room into existence. Gripping the handle, she opened the door cautiously and peered into the dimly lit room. Stacks upon stacks of broken and discarded items filled the seemingly endless room. Closing the door behind her, she walked into the stacks; off in the distance she could hear a record-player skipping. Passing a mountain of mismatched chairs, she noticed something out of place, crouching down she picked up a piece of bread crust. The Room of Requirement was a wondrous thing, but there was one thing that she knew it could not provide. Just like you could not create food with magic, the Room too could not. Which would mean that someone would have had to have brought it inside, and recently, if the freshness of the food was anything to go by.
"Of course," she said in dawning realization, as she scanned the area for any other signs of inhabitants. She was greeted by a few more stashes of half eaten food and the tell-tale leavings of a rat. Either Hogwarts had suddenly gotten a pest problem or she had stumbled upon Peter's hiding spot, in the one place the Map could not track.
Backtracking to the door, she sent a message to Remus; to drop what he was doing and meet her in the 6th floor corridor. Watching his progress on the Map, she slipped out the door when he turned into the hall.
"What is it? What's wrong?!" he panted, out of breath from jogging up five flights of stairs, then down two more after the stairs realigned, his mind immediately thinking the worst when he got the urgent message to meet.
"I found him," she said, a grin splitting her face.
"What, where?" the Werewolf asked, eyes darting around for the Rat.
"In here," she said, pointing to the open door, showing him the large junk filled room.
"I don't remember this room on the Map."
"That's because it wasn't on your Map," she stated, handing him the Map, depicting the pair of them on the parchment, standing in front of a blank wall before her dot disappeared, as she stepped into the room. "Peter must have found it in the years after the Marauders left Hogwarts, or he simply didn't tell anyone. Either way, he knew it wasn't on the Map and so would be a safe place to hide."
"Wow," Remus said, poking his head in after her. "How do you know about this place?"
"I'll tell you later," she said, smirking and putting a hand on his chest, preventing him from coming in and pushing him lightly back out. "I need you to stay here and hold on to the Map for me, while I search the room. Make sure he doesn't slip out behind me once I head deeper in."
"Are you sure you don't want me to come in and help?" he asked, obviously wanting to get his hands on the Rat himself.
"No, I need you keeping watch on the door," she said, shaking her head. "If I can't find him, then I may be forced to take more drastic measures to flush him out. In that case, he would have no choice but to head right for you."
"Alright, but be careful. I doubt he is much of a threat after all these years, not that he was much of one to begin with, but don't underestimate him."
"I will," she promised, drawing her wand and stepping back into the stacks of lost items. Weaving through the stacks, it became clear that there were simply too many small places for her to even hope to find the rat if she kept wandering. Replacing her wand in its holster, she decided to try a different tactic. Closing her eyes, she pulled on the mind set of her Animagus, bringing it to the forefront of her mind was far easier now than it had been her first time, as she felt the fluid shift from human to animal. Padded feet moved through the stacks in silence, as the Cougar stalked by, ears in constant movement, as she listened for the slightest sound of movement that was not her own. It would have been nice to have Padfoot there, his nose was far keener than her own and would have had no trouble sniffing out places the rat had been. But Nemo had her own talents; her body was made for silent stalking, as she listened for her prey.
Scritch scratch
Nemo stilled and lowered herself to her belly, nothing moving save for her ears, as she tried to locate the source of the sound.
Scritch scritch scratch
There was movement on the top of a half buried desk that was sticking out of a pile of furniture 12 feet above her head. Her tail twitched, as she slunk around the pile to a more suitable angle, ever cautious of the oblivious rodent above her. Lowering herself back down, she shifted her shoulders, ready to pounce. In a split second her strong legs had her sprinting at the stack and launched her straight up onto the desk and it's occupant.
Remus stood in the doorway of the Room of Requirement, as he kept watch for signs of Hermione or Peter. So far everything was quiet, almost too quiet. Glancing down at the Map, he saw a group of seventh-year students heading to the corridor, so rather than looking suspicious, loitering outside a usually nonexistent door, he ducked in and closed the door before they could spot him. He had just leaned his back against the door, when there was a loud crash in the distance, followed by a high-pitched yowl and the panicked screams of a distinctly male voice.
Before thinking his actions through, Lupin stuffed the Map in his robe pocket and drew his wand, sprinting off into the stacks toward the commotion. Following the sound of screams and falling furniture, Remus rounded a lopsided moldy bookcase to see an odd sight. A short, balding man with a rat-like face was screaming hysterically, as he hastily climbed up a pile of furniture, periodically tossing a chair or other random bit down behind him, as he fled. Lower down, a large scarred brown wild cat bounded up the pile behind him, tail lashing agitatedly, as she hissed and snarled before her clawed paw snagged on his leg. Peter suddenly found himself falling down in a jumble of limbs and broken chair parts. Hitting the ground with a thump, the man groaned but pushed himself up on his hands and knees before shifting back into rat form, trying to slip away into one of the small gaps in the piles around him before his pursuer could catch up.
"Stupefy!" Remus cast, coming out of the shadow of the bookcase, as the Rat toppled over unconscious, his momentum sent him skidding head first into a large damaged gong with a crack that split it near in half. Nemo leaped gracefully down from the pile before leveling a glance at Remus, her ears back as she hissed.
Remus held his hands up in a placating manner. "I know you said, wait by the door, but look, it all turned out alright. We got him," he said, picking up the still thankfully breathing rat and transfiguring one of the fallen half broken chairs into a box with a lock and air holes. Placing Peter in the box, he cast a charm to keep him from transforming and as a precaution a Silencing Charm before locking the box to keep him from overhearing anything he aught naught know.
"There," he exclaimed, holding the box up in triumph. He couldn't stop the grin from splitting across his face, James's and Lily's betrayer had finally been caught, and they finally had the proof of Sirius's innocence. "Am I forgiven?" he asked, still smiling brightly despite the obviously irritated large predator in front of him. Nemo huffed before shaking herself from head to tail then wrapped herself around his legs, purring like an overgrown house cat, nearly toppling Remus in the process. The Werewolf could only laugh, as he caught his balance, as Hermione released her hold on her animal form, pushing it back to the back of her mind and becoming the woman once again. She noted her transformation had stripped away all her glamours, which she stocked away for later analysis, right before strong arms wrapped around her and spun her in the air.
"We did it, we actually did it. I can't wait to tell Sirius, he is going to be over the moon," Remus declared joyously, as he spun Hermione again who was now catching his infectious laughter. Setting her back on her feet, she was pulled into a full bone crushing hug, which she returned.
"Thank you so much, you have no idea what this means to me, and I don't think I will ever be able to truly repay you for what you have done for Sirius and I," he said, kissing her forehead. Hermione hugged him back before stepping away.
"You don't need to thank me. Besides, there is still a lot to do; he needs to be brought before Dumbledore and the Ministry," she said, as Remus unashamedly wiped the tears from his face, a smile never leaving his lips. "This is where you take over, you're going to have to be the one to take him to Dumbledore, the sooner the better. Less of a chance for him to escape," she said, picking up the box containing Peter and placed it in his hands. Remus tightened his hold on the box, as the pair headed back to the exit.
"Do you think Peter will be able to identify you as an Animagus?" he asked, as they walked.
Hermione thought a moment before shaking her head. "No, I don't think he knew we were in here before I pounced on him or he would not have been out in the open like that. I doubt he knows Hermione Granger was even involved, I have been very discreet apart from Crookshanks, which can be dismissed as typical cat behavior since others were involved." Remus nodded at this. "Good, if they found out about you, I doubt they would let you stay at school and Harry needs all the looking after he can get," he teased, bumping his shoulder into hers.
Hermione glared and pushed him back. "Do I look like a babysitter to you?" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, still having not replaced her glamours.
Remus chuckled at her reaction and shook his head. "You look like a true friend, who looks after those close to her heart," he said before adding offhandedly, "even if she does have a violent streak that would send most men running scared."
"You have been spending too much time with Sirius," she said grumbling, wandlessly recasting her glamours, as they reached the door.
Going their separate ways, Hermione headed to the Quidditch pitch to see how the boys were doing, while Lupin took his evidence to Dumbledore. Both the Headmaster and Defense professor were noticeably absent from lunch. Hermione tried to pay attention to her friends' conversations, but her mind kept drifting to what could be happening in the Headmaster's office. She had heard nothing from her enchanted locket, which could prove to be both good or bad; either things were going smoothly or so bad that Lupin didn't have a chance to contact her.
"Right, 'Mione!"
"Hmm, yeah, what?" she asked, looking at Ron who threw his hands up in the air in surrender before slouching back in his seat in defeat, causing Ginny and Harry to laugh.
"What did I miss?" she asked, tugging on the chain of her necklace, as she leaned against the couch in front of Ginny who had been braiding her curls.
"Nothing important," Ginny supplied, giggling, as Ron made a disgruntled sound.
"It's been a quiet year, don't you think?" Harry remarked, resetting the chess board he and Ron had been playing with on the floor beside Hermione. "Other than a few Dementor incidents at the beginning of the year nothing crazy has happened. No two-faced teachers being possessed by Dark Lords and no giant snakes trying to kill students." Ginny paused in her braiding until Hermione patted her knee reassuringly, the girl was still sensitive about mentions of the incident in her first year, but she was slowly healing.
Ron groaned, "Awe, don't say that, Harry. You're going to jinx us for sure."
"There, what do you think?" Ginny asked, tying off Hermione's hair and holding up a mirror for her to inspect the younger girl's work. It was a french braid, but rather than going straight down the back of her head it was braided at an angle, so the end draped stylishly over one shoulder.
"Looks great, thanks, Gin," she praised, standing and moving to sit beside the girl. "You're pretty good at that."
"I went through a hair styling phase, when I was 7. Bill let me do his as long as I gave him a heads up whenever Fred and George did something to his food."
This caused Hermione to laugh. "You used to braid Bill's hair, I hope you got pictures. Did you do Ron's too?"
"No, he was too much of a baby, would start crying anytime I came near him with a hairbrush."
"If I had let you do my hair, I would be bald now, you used to tear chunks out of my scalp," Ron stated, covering his head protectively.
"Baby," Ginny said, sticking her tongue out.
They were still teasing Ron, when they headed down to the Great Hall for dinner. With no classes Hermione had decided to wear her comfy jeans that Sirius would comment on whenever she wore them around the house and an off-the-shoulder shirt that was kept modest by the tank top she wore under it, showing off her newest scar from her incident with the Hippogriff. Despite her use of glamours to hide her other scars, Hermione was actually rather fond of each of them, unlike Remus who had been disgusted at himself at first, when she had seen his own collection of scars. Each was a time she had been injured and still came out alive and kicking; they were the proof of her will to live, and should she have the choice, she would not hide them, so she took advantage of the ones she didn't have to conceal.
Sitting down to dinner between Ron and Ginny, Hermione could feel a number of eyes following her. Over the year she had been slowly been shifting her glamour, letting a little more of her curvy figure and height show through, though not much compared to the beginning of the year, still it seems her altered appearance seemed to be drawing the attention of the male population, now that it was warm enough she wasn't restricted to multiple layers and bulky sweaters.
Luckily for her all close male friends seemed just as oblivious that she was, in fact, a girl as they usually were. She was thankful that none of her friends seemed to have an interest in girls in that manner, yet. She wasn't looking forward to the day she was going to have to explain why she wasn't dating any of her school mates. Hermione was many things and willing to dirty her hands in many ways, but she was not going to even consider dating any of her school mates, when she was already several years older than even the seventh-years. If she was honest with herself and her history with men, she was more interested in older men than the overly hormonal teenage boys she was surrounded by. She might be a cougar in animal form, but that didn't mean she wanted to try at becoming the human variety as well.
Feeling a particular set of eyes boring into her, she glanced toward the silver and green table to lock eyes with a pair of silver-gray ones. Catching his gaze, she discreetly saluted him with her spoon in-between bites of jello as a way of acknowledgment; they weren't on friendly enough terms for her to wave, nor were they on bad enough terms to warrant her digging into her stash of rude gestures in which to fling his way. Malfoy flushed an angry red before turning back to his meal. Hermione shrugged him off, as McGonagall came over to the group.
"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger, the Headmaster would like to see you as soon as you are done with dinner."
This caught Harry's attention. "Did he say why?"
"The Headmaster will explain," McGonagall said curtly before strolling off.
"I said it, Harry," Ron said accusingly, "you jinxed us. We have gone all year without getting called to Dumbledore's office, and you go and jinx us."
"Sixlets," Harry called, clearing the path for the three to ascend the staircase to the Headmaster's office. Approaching the door it was opened before they even reached the top.
"Ah, good, you are here! Now we can begin, come in, come in." Dumbledore said, from his place behind his desk, a flick of his hand and the door closed again.
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Ron said at the sight of Mr. Weasley. Lupin stood just inside the door ,while Snape had tucked himself in a corner of the crowded room, where he could see everything. There were also two other men from the Ministry as well; Minister Fudge and a man Hermione recognized as Kingsley Shacklebolt, an Auror.
"Now that you are here, we would like your confirmation on a few facts before the Minister leaves, after which I will explain events in full," Dumbledore stated, steepling his fingers on his desk. The Minister and the Auror had already taken the available chairs, which left Mr. Weasley and the three students to stand behind the chairs. On Dumbledore's desk was a sealed wooden box, it was this box that Dumbledore opened and pulled out its contents for all to see.
"Scabbers, you're alive," Ron blurted out, bolting forward to grab for his long-lost rat before being pulled up short by his father's firm grip on his shoulder. Ron looked up at his dad in confusion; the man had a grave look on his face, as he stared at the rat.
"Arthur, as official confirmation, is this, in fact, the rat that has been in your family for 12 years? Was once owned by your son Percy, until three years ago, when he was given to your youngest son Ronald?" Dumbledore asked, gesturing at Ron with one hand, as he held the stunned form of Scabbers in the other.
"Yes," Arthur replied, clasping a hand on either of Ron's shoulders comfortingly.
"Note the missing toe on the front paw," he indicated, holding up the paw in question for all to see. "Was this missing when you acquired him or something that happened while in your family's care?"
"He came to the family like that, Headmaster."
"Well, that seems to be all in order," the Minister said, grabbing the paper, his charmed quill had been transcribing what was said. "If you would sign your name here, Arthur, and you too, young Mr. Weasley."
Ron did as he was told after a nod from his father before asking, "What's going on?" Dumbledore had replaced the rat in the box and sealed it, before the Auror took the box, while the Minister gathered his papers. "What are they doing to Scabbers?" the boy asked desperately.
"Now that that is settled, the Dementors will return to Azkaban with Mr. Pettegrew. We will let you know what the final verdict on Mr. Black's case will be, now that new evidence has come to light, Dumbledore. Good evening," the Minister said, putting on his hat, as he left with Kingsley and the imprisoned Scabbers.
"The Dementors," Harry asked uneasily. "What do they need them for?"
Ron was near to tears by now, as his father prevented him from going after his beloved pet. "Scabbers, what are they going to do to him? Where are they taking him?"
"I'm sorry for dropping all of that on you, my boy, I'm sure you are terribly confused. Come sit here, have a lemon drop," he said, offering his candy bowl; Harry and Ron took one, but Hermione quietly declined.
"What's going on, Professor?" Harry asked, looking from Dumbledore to Lupin, as he sat in a chair next to Ron who had been coaxed into sitting by his father before the man conjured another chair for himself now that there was more room and sat down. Looking over her shoulder, Hermione noted that Snape was still in his corner, though, by the looks of it, they had not noticed him in the crowd. She gave him a half wave and received a single raised eyebrow in reply.
"To begin with, what do you know of Sirius Black?"
"He's a murderer," Ron said at the same time Harry spoke up.
"He broke out of Azkaban to come after me."
"Ah, that may have been true before today, but with the new evidence that has come to light, it would seem both those statements are, in fact, false." This caused Harry and Ron to look at each other in confusion. Hermione leaned forward, folded her arms and rested them on the back of Harry's chair, glancing at Remus who was still leaning against the wall by the door, twisting the silver band on his finger.
"You see, when the Potters went into hiding, it was believed that they trusted the location of their home to one man, Sirius Black. So, when the Potters were killed, it was believed that Black betrayed them, when in fact the holder of their secret was changed at the last minute, unknown to even me, to another man. This man betrayed the Potters, murdered 12 people and then faked his own death, leaving behind only a finger before blaming all of the deaths on Black and then slipping away unnoticed."
"I guess I could believe that Black was framed," Harry said after some thought, "I mean he has been out for almost a year and hasn't made one attempt at attacking me — but what does all of this have to do with Scabbers?"
"Yeah, Scabbers' hasn't done anything wrong. He has been a good rat," Ron defended.
"You see, the man who framed Black, a man by the name of Peter Pettigrew, was, in fact, an unregistered Animagus. Only today did it become known that Peter could turn into a Rat."
"You mean Scabbers is actually this Pettigrew?" Hermione asked, feeling her locket growing warm.
"Impossible," Ron blurted out.
"It might seem so, but Ms. Granger is correct. I saw the transformation myself." Hermione tuned out the rest of the conversation, as it seemed Ron was going to need more convincing before the revelation that his rat really wasn't a normal rat. Pulling out her locket, she glanced inside, curious to know what Remus needed to say that he couldn't in public or wait till later.
'Did you have to wear those pants?'
She suppressed a smile before peeking over at the Werewolf, who seemed entirely focused on what the Headmaster was saying, save for the subtle upward twitch of the corner of his mouth.
'Yes, they are comfy,' she sent back defiantly, before focusing back in on the conversation.
"I think it would be best for you three to head back to your dorm, I am sure you would like to talk amongst yourselves on this matter. Harry, would you come by after breakfast tomorrow? I have another matter, I would like to speak with you about." At this dismissal the three students made their way out of the office, leaving the three professors to speak in private.
"Remus, I am curious, how did you come by the knowledge that Peter had faked his death?"
Remus shifted awkwardly, feeling a bit like he was back in his student days.
"I didn't know at first until it was suggested I take a closer look at Mr. Weasley's rat. After talking with the boy it all seemed to fit into place. I knew Peter had been an Animagus in school, Sirius knew this as well, and I hadn't said anything out of respect for Peter's memory. I didn't think anyone would believe someone like me," Remus stated bitterly before continuing, "so I decided to capture him myself and hopefully clear Sirius's name."
Dumbledore nodded his head, as his twinkling blue eyes raked over the Werewolf, Remus schooled his face into a practiced face of innocence, there was a reason he was known as the least trouble making Marauder; he was well practiced in playing the innocent bystander when he had been more than a little involved in a particular prank.
"I see, if that is all, I need to speak to Severus in private."
"Of course," Remus said, moving to leave before he was stopped.
"Ah, I almost forgot, one more thing, Remus." Remus paused in the half-open door before shutting it, but left his hand on the handle. "Who told you to look into Mr. Weasley's rat?" Years of practice was all that kept the Marauder from giving himself away.
"I can't say for sure, Albus," he said cautiously, he knew Hermione's vow would prevent him from revealing to much, but Dumbledore had always been good at riddling out mysteries, it would not due for the Headmaster to start digging where he ought not meddle in. "He showed up one night after my transformation. He told me to look into the rat and left. I never saw his face or even heard his real voice."
"I see, did he give you a name? Who he worked for, anything?"
"No," Remus said before giving one bit of information Hermione had suggested he should drop in case it came in use in the future. "Wait, he did say one thing, he told me to call him 'Nemo'."
Dumbledore nodded before wandlessly opening the door for the Professor. "Thank you, that will be all, Remus."
Once the Werewolf was gone, Dumbledore turned to the only occupant in the room.
"It would seem we have a new ally. Thoughts on this turn of events, Severus?" he asked, peering over his half-moon glasses.
"A 'possible' ally at most, we know nothing of this character or what his plans are. It would be prudent not to jump to conclusions, Headmaster," Snape stated, moving out of his corner to stand in front of the Headmaster's desk. "Even the name 'Nemo', it's Latin for 'nobody', so really we know nothing of this person, and he has managed to snoop around without alerting us or the Ministry and to find out information that was previously only known by three people; Black, Pettegrew and the Dark Lord himself. Seeing how, not even you nor I knew of the change in Secret Keeper. While it is highly likely that whomever this is learned the information through Black, it is also just as likely they learned it from the Dark Lord or one of his followers."
"Severus, you always think the worst of a situation," Dumbledore chided, shaking his head. "As much as I would like to disagree, I must say you may be correct. Until we speak with Sirius it would be best to proceed with caution. I suppose the next thing to do would be to let Sirius know it is safe to come out of hiding; if he has been in contact with this Nemo character, he may be able to shed some light on how we might arrange a meeting."
Snape was on his patrol rounds after his conversation with the Headmaster. It was quiet, and he had not been fortunate enough to come across any students stupid enough to wander the halls. Nearing the seventh floor corridor he saw movement in the shadows, lighting his wand revealed Professor Trelawney, wandering the corridor in her night dress. This, surprisingly, was not a rare occurrence, as the Divination professor had a habit of waking in the night to wander the halls for a time before returning to her quarters. He had found it best to ignore her if she did not seek him out, or she would follow him around on his patrol before he was forced to slip away into a room or hidden passage, when she was distracted by a painting or torch that held some clue to what the house-elves were serving for dessert the next evening, or who was most likely to fall into the lake in the coming days.
Dousing his wand, he moved to slip past her before she noticed him, when a boney hand like iron clamped on his arm. He turned to scowl at the woman, when the clouds shifted clear of the moon, and he could see the glazed and far-off look in her eyes.
The Dark Lord gains strength and will rise far stronger than ever before.
The servants of the Dark Lord are many, when one is removed another will take his place.
The One Without A Name will rise from the shadows of time alone and fall.
Only with the help of the Most Trusted and the One Fallen From Time can the Chosen One achieve his destiny.
The woman seemed to shudder and come back into focus as she blinked around owlishly at the dark hall. Releasing his arm, where her fingers had been digging into his Mark, she wandered off in a daze, leaving the Potions Master behind. His breaths were coming in ragged gasps, as he tried to block the memories of the last time he had heard a prophecy from that woman's lips and what it had cost him, spinning he stormed down the hall in a flurry of robes, heading straight toward the Headmaster's office.
After breakfast Saturday Harry headed up to Dumbledore's office alone and was gone till it was nearly lunch, when he pulled Ron and Hermione aside and informed them of Black's relation to him. As his godfather, Sirius could apply for custody of Harry, but Dumbledore told him, not to get his hopes up. Sirius, after all, was on the run for a year and most likely in no condition to take him in at this time. Even if he collected what little of inheritance he might have come into after being disowned by the Blacks, it was unlikely physically he would be deemed a proper guardian. In short, Dumbledore had pressed that it would be in Harry's best interest to stay with his aunt and uncle.
Hermione snorted at that; Dumbledore was trying to keep Harry where he was so that he would look to Dumbledore for guidance. Harry would be far harder to control and to manipulate as his pawn if he was kept in an unstable and abusive environment. Even if he still acted like a reckless teenager at times, Sirius would still be a far better guardian than any of Harry's blood relatives, and between her, Sirius and Remus they could make any house as safe as Harry's current blood-warded residence, even more so given the danger his relatives pose to his mental and physical health. Dumbledore was sure in for a surprise.
The trial for Peter would be held Thursday, and Sirius had reached out to the Ministry as soon as the news was announced and insisted he would testify against the rodent, even volunteering for his memories of the events to be viewed by the court.
Come Friday the school was abuzz with the current front page of the Daily Prophet.
'MASS MURDERER CAUGHT! SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT OF ALL CHARGES!'
Hermione stared at the headline smiling, she had already received a letter from Sirius on the trial along with his descriptions of Dumbledore's reaction to his current good state of health and mind. Sirius also mentioned that he — while his family had not left him much money —they did leave him a house, that along with a vault of galleons, the Potters had willed him, knowing he had no money inheritance of his own; if they died, he would be in charge of raising Harry, and so they had left him a sizable amount to help the both of them. While his house would need some work getting it in a decent living environment, Sirius said, he already picked up all the paperwork he would need to apply for custody of Harry.
He hoped with Remus's help he could get his house up to code before going to meet Harry. He had wanted to meet him as soon as possible, but Hermione convinced him to wait till he was actually ready to have a child in his house before showing up and promising Harry to take him away, even if it meant Harry would have to spend a few weeks with the Dursleys'. It would also give Dumbledore a chance to let his guard down before Sirius slipped in with the custody papers, less likely the Headmaster could meddle and find some loophole to keep Harry out of Sirius's care.
Hermione boarded the train at the end of term on that happy note. She was going to miss having the Dog around her house, but he would be busy with his own affairs this summer along with Remus who informed her he would not be returning to teaching the next year to help Sirius, but he would not be opposed to coming back another year.
Waving at her friends, as she headed out of King's Cross station, she slipped into an alley and Apparated home, she had a busy summer ahead of her. It was time to get to the bottom of the mystery that was Tom Riddle.
Next Chapter 13: You're My Mortal Flaw And I'm Your Fatal Sin-A look at Hermione's life after she returned from the Island as she deals with the mental and physical scars left on her over the years and begins to get reacquainted with the civilized worlds.
Edited Post-04/05/18
German Translation by the wonderful and patient Alea Thoron.
