A/N: Hello all! I'm so sorry for the delay! I am finishing my last 6 credits before graduating with my bachelor's degree (yay!), so I've been busy with schoolwork. I've also just got a new job and have had a few personal things going on, but everything's looking up! To top it off, I had a bit of writer's block with this chapter. It's kinda hard to follow up after last chapter's drama, but I want to continue and don't want to disappoint those of you who are enjoying my shenanigans with J. K. Rowling's wonderful creations XD

As always, the legal stuff:

-I own the story, Emily Tarleton, Selena Menzel, the Ignominia potion, and any spells or events not found in the canon books or movies.

-Yana Toboso owns William Spears, Grelle Sutcliff, Ciel Phantomhive, Sebastian Michaelis, the Undertaker, and anything you've seen in Black Butler, like the books about each person's life.

-J. K. Rowling owns all the other characters, locations, events, spells, potions, objects, etc.

-Reptilia28 owns the challenge and its guidelines.

This chapter is dedicated to the late, great Alan Rickman, who we remember for such memorable roles as Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd, the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Hans Grubber in Die Hard, Absolem the Caterpillar in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movies, and, of course, Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film franchise. You will be greatly missed!

Enjoy!

Chapter 5- Aftershocks and Explanations

As Professor Snape had guessed, Harry made it in time for the last 15 minutes of Charms. Professor Flitwick had smiled kindly at Harry and not questioned him about his extreme tardiness, and Hermione showed him what they were working on with the promise to catch him up to speed later. The Boy-Who-Lived hoped and prayed that everyone would respect his privacy or heed Professor Snape's order/threat of keeping silent on the Ignominia Incident; after all, who in their right mind would want to disobey and therefore piss off Severus Snape? Of course, Harry James Potter was not that lucky.

"What the bloody hell happened back there, mate?" Ron asked as soon as Professor Flitwick dismissed the class and they headed off for Transfiguration.

"Ronald!" Hermione hissed.

"I don't want to talk about it, Ron. Please just let it go."

"Oh c'mon, Harry; you can tell us anything! What did Snape want with you for so long, anyway?"

"Professor Snape wanted to talk to me privately about what happened. I already told you that I don't want to talk about it, Ron. It was very personal and very, very humiliating, and I don't want to talk about it with anyone anymore."

"I can't believe those horrid Muggles! I can see why they have such a bad reputation among our kind sometimes if that's how a lot of them act," said Ron.

"Ronald! What a terrible thing to say! Muggles have such a reputation because of the biased purebloods with influence," said Hermione angrily.

"You would think that, wouldn't you?"

"Ron, shut up," said Neville quietly.

"Or what?" he challenged churlishly.

"Or else people will start talking about how the Muggle-hugging Ministry officer's son is a big-mouthed bigot," Malfoy drawled as he approached the group from an adjacent corridor.

"Shut up, and leave my dad out of this! Why are you following us, Snake Boy?"

"You wound me with your wit, Weasel," he remarked dryly. "As for what I'm doing, I'm walking to Transfiguration, unless that's become a crime."

"Well, you don't have to walk with us," said Ron.

"I don't want to walk with you, Weasley. I don't want your dirty hands anywhere near me. Unfortunately, there's only one way to get to the classroom from here."

"Why don't you both shut up?" Hermione growled irritably. To her great surprise, Malfoy did as she requested without a snarky remark. The rest of the walk was in awkward silence, and all five young magic folk were glad to take their seats as Professor McGonagall walked to the front of the room. Harry gave an upset sigh as he sat down, and Hermione reached over and gave her friend's hand a reassuring squeeze. This gesture caused the raven-haired wizard to smile gratefully at his brainy friend as Professor McGonagall began, "Today, we will be transforming…"

Ron attempted to ask Harry once more about the Potions fiasco, but Hermione stomped her foot on his and hissed, "Shut. Up!" in a dangerously low voice, so he begrudgingly said nothing more. The last class for the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry tried to catch Professor Lupin's eye to see if he'd spoken to Professor Snape. The werewolf saw this and, upon making eye contact with the boy, nodded his head grimly. Walking past Harry's desk, he muttered, "Meet me here after dinner". By the time dinner was over, Harry was glad to have an excuse not to return to the Common Room right away; while no one had approached him directly, the teen had heard people all along the Gryffindor table whispering about what had happened and pointing in his direction. Hermione had rolled her eyes disgustedly and muttered, "Like a bloody tabloid, they are!", and Neville had shaken his head sympathetically. Ron, on the other hand, was sulkingly silent.

Wonderful…Why do I know that this is going to be like the Triwizard Tournament?

After dinner, Harry bid his friends good-night, but Hermione insisted on walking him to the classroom.

"I'm here as moral support," she explained.

"Thanks, Hermione. I really appreciate it."

The duo walked in companionable silence to Professor Lupin's classroom. They were surprised to see that Professor Snape was also present.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger. I'll take my leave now." He turned to Remus and said, "Do make sure you drink that Monkshood before your chat, Lupin."

At this, Hermione gave a gasp. Harry was confused until he remembered his very first Potions class at Hogwarts.

"What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"

"I don't know, Sir."

"What a pity. Clearly, fame isn't everything, is it, Mr. Potter? For your information, Mr. Potter,… Monkshood and Wolfsbane are the same plant; it also goes by the name of Aconite."

Oh, geez. Hermione would remember that, wouldn't she?

"Monkshood? Isn't that another name for Wolfsbane?" he asked.

"You're a werewolf!" Hermione whispered in shock.

Remus paled. Severus shook his head.

"Really, Lupin? You're that shocked that the brightest witch of her age and the son of Lily and James figured it out?"

Remus looked almost frightened as his gazed drifted back and forth between Harry and Hermione, but he needn't have; Harry smiled reassuringly at his father's dear friend and Hermione reasoned, "Well, you're evidently taking a potion, so you're safe. Besides, Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have hired you if he didn't believe you trustworthy."

The werewolf smiled gratefully at the two thirteen-year-olds. "Thank you for your acceptance. This is normally the part where people run away or get angry."

Meanwhile, Snape had transfigured some of the desks into two loveseats. When the room's other three occupants looked at him questioningly, he explained, "It would appear that this chat has just become a four-way conversation. This is going to take some time, so we might as well be comfortable."

"Four-way?" Remus asked, looking at Hermione.

"Hermione is my very best friend, and my trust in her is absolute. I'm fine with her knowing what we're talking about."

With that matter settled, everyone sat down, Remus and Severus on one couch and Harry and Hermione on the other. Remus sighed heavily before beginning.

"Now, Severus has told me that something very personal happened in Potions today, but he didn't give me details."

"I thought it best for you to tell him, Harry. It's your story, after all, and I thought you'd like being able to tell Lupin of your own volition. I know that I told you I was going to speak with him, but I thought better of it," said Severus.

"Thank you, Professor Snape," said Harry gratefully. The young wizard took a deep breath and, after another reassuring squeeze from Hermione, he told Remus about the incident. The werewolf was beyond livid after hearing Harry's story, and flecks of gold were visible in the man's irises, a sign of the wolf within. This detail did not go unnoticed.

"Curb your temper, Lupin," said Snape.

"How?! I've just heard about how my dear friend's son has been abused by his bitch of an aunt and her brute of a husband for his whole bloody life! What the hell was Dumbledore thinking?! I'm certain that Lily and James did not list Petunia as a guardian; Lily and Petunia hadn't had any sort of relationship for years, though it wasn't for lack of trying on Lily's part."

"I heard Professor McGonagall saying that Sirius Black is my godfather, but since he's been in Azkaban, I couldn't go with him. Professor Snape mentioned that you were probably listed as a guardian but circumstances would prevent you from taking me in. I assume the circumstances were your lycanthropy, though you don't give yourself enough credit. After all, Mum and Dad wouldn't have listed you as a guardian if they didn't think you were capable of caring for me. Who else could have been my guardian?" Harry asked Remus. The man smiled wryly.

"Indeed, your mother and father did list me as a guardian, but I didn't trust my ability to keep you safe on the nights of the full moon. Also, transformations drain my energy and are painful, so I need time to recuperate. I couldn't offer you a stable childhood, Harry," he explained.

"I still don't think you give yourself enough credit, but I understand, Professor Lupin."

"Is there a way to find out who else could have taken Harry in?" Hermione asked. Harry glanced over and saw, to his amusement, that Hermione had a quill and journal out and was poised to take notes.

"You were prepared to stay, weren't you, 'Mione?" Harry asked with a grin.

The witch flushed before answering, "Of course! I promised that I would be with you through thick and thin, didn't I?"

"You did. Thank you, Hermione!"

The girl smiled in response before turning her attention back to the duo of professors on the adjacent couch. "Well?"

Remus grinned at the young lady before answering, "We need to find a copy of James and Lily's will. That's where we can see a list of guardianship. Sirius, as your godfather, was the first choice for your guardianship." He paused and scowled at the thought of his old friend while Hermione busily took notes on what he said. "After him, I believe the next choice was Emily; she was Lily's best friend, after all. Then-"

"Emily? You mean Professor Tarleton?" Harry asked with surprise. For the first time during the conversation, he was hearing information that was entirely new to him.

"Yes, Emily Tarleton. She and Lily became very close very fast. She was your mother's first Gryffindor friend and they quickly became like sisters. I think it helped ease the sting of Petunia's angry rejection," said Remus.

Severus nodded his agreement with this sentiment as the werewolf continued, "Well, even though it took Lily awhile to warm up to us, Emily found Sirius and James rather funny and spent some time with us as well, usually if Lily was catching up with Severus. Well, until Lily decided to give James a chance and starting putting up with the Marauders. Emily was particularly fond of Sirius, and he was of her, as well."

"I thought you guys had some sort of history since she was arguing with you that night I came for my Patronus lesson, but I had no idea just how long a history it was. Now that you mention it, she did seem to feel rather strongly about Sirius," said Harry.

"Yes, James seemed to think that Emily had a crush on Sirius, though she denied it and Sirius laughed it off. Unfortunately, it appears as though she is allowing a schoolgirl crush to cloud her judgment," Remus commented.

"Cloud her judgment?" Hermione asked.

"Emily believes Sirius to be innocent. I've tried to talk to her about it, but she won't budge from her position."

"Professor Lupin, I think Sirius is innocent, too. I saw Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map-"

"You know about the Marauder's Map?!" Remus interrupted, shocked.

"Yes. Um, Fred and George gave it to me earlier in the year. Anyway, I saw Peter Pettigrew on the map while I was chasing Scabbers, Ron's rat. I never saw him, but I saw his name on the map," said Harry.

"Harry, Sirius obliterated Peter Pettigrew when he confronted him on the street about betraying your parents. You must be mistaken," said Remus.

"Come off it, Lupin; that map wasn't as secret as you thought it was, not with as loud as James and Black were. They said that the map never lies, and with your brains involved in its creation, I believe that. Also, I know for a fact that Sirius Black is no Death Eater," said Severus.

"But Professor Snape, how do you know that Sirius Black isn't a Death Eater? And if he's not, then why was he in Azkaban for all those years for a crime he didn't commit?" Hermione asked.

The Potions Master sighed before answering, "I know that Sirius Black is not a Death Eater, Miss Granger, because I was a Death Eater after I graduated from Hogwarts until right before the Dark Lord's downfall. Sirius Black was not a member, and he never would have been. Black was far too loyal to James Potter to betray him. I hated James Potter and his friends when I was a student at Hogwarts. They picked on me mercilessly, but I was no better; I retaliated. In all honesty, I never got over it. I saw the face of my tormentor in Harry when he first stepped into Hogwarts, and I took out my bitterness against his father on him. In doing so, I neglected to see the eyes of my dearest friend and the woman I loved. Lily was my very best friend until I became too entangled with the future Death Eaters and turned on her. She never forgave me for that, not that I blame her. She deserved much better than that. More importantly, however, I neglected to see that Harry is his own person. Lupin spoke of Tarleton's judgment being clouded by a crush. I must admit that my actions have been of a similar nature; in my bitterness, I allowed a schoolboy grudge to keep me from telling the truth and sparing an innocent man from the hell that is Azkaban. Sirius Black is no Death Eater, but Peter Pettigrew certainly was."

There was silence as Snape finished his story. Hermione and Remus both looked like they were struggling to process this sudden influx of information, while Harry and Severus waited anxiously for their reactions. Hermione spoke first.

"So Sirius is innocent. What do we do now? Those horrid dementors are all over the school grounds looking for him, and I shudder to think about what will happen to him if they catch him! And what about Peter Pettigrew?"

Before anyone could reply, Remus went white in the face. "Harry, you saw Peter Pettigrew's name on the Marauder's Map when you were looking for Mr. Weasley's rat but never saw Peter himself?"

"Yes, sir," Harry affirmed.

"Dammit!"

Hermione looked offended at the curse, but before she could make a retort, Severus asked, "What is it?"

Remus sighed, "After my friends found out about my 'furry little problem', as James called it, they decided to show their support by becoming Animagi. An Animagus is-"

"A witch or wizard who can transform into an animal at will, like Professor McGonagall," Hermione answered excitedly. Upon realizing that she'd interrupted, she blushed and mumbled apologizes. Rather than appearing irritated, however, Remus smirked. Hermione's expression then became pensive.

"Professor Lupin, I've seen the Animagus Registry, and I don't remember seeing James Potter, Sirius Black, or Peter Pettigrew on it."

"You wouldn't have found their names, Miss Granger," said Remus with a lopsided smile. "It was illegal for them to become Animagi at the time that they did, so they didn't register."

"Why am I not surprised to hear of more illicit activity from this group?" Snape snarked, causing Harry to chuckle.

"Like I was saying," Lupin continued, "James, Sirius, and Peter became Animagi so they could spend the nights of the full moon with me. After all, werewolves are not a danger to animals, so it was completely safe. It was probably stupid, but I appreciated it because I had feared losing my friends if they found out about my lycanthropy, but here they were trying to make it easier for me. Harry, I imagine you saw the names on the Marauder's Map?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Moony, Mr. Prongs, Mr. Padfoot, and Mr. Wormtail."

"Those were the nicknames we gave each other. I was Moony for obvious reasons. My friends got their names from their Animagus forms. James was a stag, Sirius was a dog, and Peter was-"

"A rat!" Harry growled as Hermione gasped in realization.

"So the sniveling coward has been masquerading as Weasley's pet rat all these years," Severus summarized.

"Yes, it would seem so," Remus agreed. He them gave Harry a small, crooked smile. "After your mother and father began dating in our seventh year, she and Emily surprised us all by also becoming Animagi. And yes, Miss Granger," he interjected as he saw the teenage witch open her mouth to ask, "they also did so illegally."

Severus shook his head. "I knew that James was a bad influence on her," he groaned, though he was smiling.

Harry was happy to hear more information that he hadn't known in his previous attempts at life and asked Lupin curiously, "What were their animal forms?"

Laughing, Remus answered, "Lily was a doe, much to your father's delight, and we called her Firefawn due to that and her legendary temper. Emily was a mockingbird whom we called Songfeather as she was always humming or singing something to herself."

Harry took a few minutes to savor this new information before asking with faux innocence, "You said Sirius was a dog?"

"Yes," Remus confirmed.

"Was he big and black by any chance?"

"Yes, why?" Lupin seemed confused.

"I saw a big black dog the night I ran away from the Dursleys, and I've seen one on the grounds at least once. Do you suppose that's Sirius? Professor Snape, you seemed to think that Sirius would be seeking to protect me?"

"Yes, Harry, I believe so. That probably was Black that you saw. I imagine he's trying to keep an eye on you. As I said, I think he at least suspected that Pettigrew was at Hogwarts and realizes that you could potentially be in danger. I don't think that the coward will try anything right now due to the sheer number of people that are around you all the time; he'd have a hard time pulling anything without being seen. However, since Black has escaped from Azkaban, he may get desperate in order to flee from Black. Even an idiot like Pettigrew knows that Sirius Black will rip him apart when he gets ahold of him."

Remus had gone quiet and murmured, "Sirius was innocent all this time. I should never have doubted him…"

"Don't, Remus. You had no way of knowing that he was innocent. If anyone's to blame for his unfair incarceration, it's me for not telling Dumbledore that Black was not a Death Eater," said Severus. He paused before his eyes widened in a sudden realization, "I told him that Pettigrew was a Death Eater when I defected."

Remus gasped, "You did?!"

"Yes. Why didn't he do anything about it?"

"It goes beyond that, Severus; Dumbledore is the one who was to perform the Fidelius Charm for Lily and James, and he would have known that Peter was the Secret Keeper!"

"So Dumbledore has known all this time that Sirius is innocent. He knew that Pettigrew was a Death Eater but did not protect my parents from him. He let everyone think that Sirius was responsible for their deaths and allowed me to go live with the Dursleys who were apparently known for being magic haters when I could have lived a happy life with my godfather where I wouldn't be punished for having magic. Hell, had he protected my parents from Pettigrew, they'd still be alive right now and Sirius wouldn't be in a position to take blame for anything!" Harry summarized with a dark, cold anger in his tone. Why does Dumbledore keep manipulating events in my life? What possible benefit did he see in allowing my parents to be murdered and separating me from a godfather who loves me by placing me with an aunt that doesn't? Does he really believe in that prophecy so much that he sacrificed my parents, too?

"Professors, why would the Headmaster allow all of this to happen?" Hermione asked, her brown eyes glassy with unshed tears at the injustices against her best friend.

"I don't know, Miss Granger. I wish I had answers for you," said Remus with a sigh. Squaring his shoulders, he said, "Well, I must go fetch Emily and tell her what's going on."

"Hold on, Lupin. You know as well as I do that we have to be smart about this. If you believe you can tell Tarleton about this without her running her mouth, then go ahead. However, the less that Pettigrew and Dumbledore know about this conversation and everything that's come from it, the better. We're going to have to be cunning," said Severus.

The foursome hashed out their plans for some time before the two professors dismissed the teens back to Gryffindor Tower in time for curfew.

"After all," Snape reasoned, "if we send you back late, it will look very suspicious."

Severus and Remus had sworn the two to absolute secrecy, especially with Ron. Harry, knowing everything from his previous run through life, had no problem with that. As they were walking back to Gryffindor Tower, however, Hermione asked him, "Harry, you agreed pretty quickly to not telling Ron any of this. I know how Ron can be, and I understand with him not knowing that his rat is a Death Eater, but I just don't get it when you're usually so quick to make sure Ron knows what's going on, too."

Well William, I'd say that this is as good a reason as any to tell Hermione about what's going on Harry thought to himself. To his shock, he heard the Reaper's voice in his head!

I agree, Harry. Go ahead and tell your soulmate about your knowledge of your previous life attempt. Remember, though, that she cannot tell anyone else!

I remember Harry reassured.

-Brief Cutaway to Grim Reaper Dispatch, London Branch-

"Oooooh! Who knew that we could use a mortal's life book for communication?" Grelle asked as he watched William write in Harry's book.

"It's for emergencies only, Sutcliff," William answered curtly as he looked over his handiwork before nodding his head in satisfaction and placing it back on the shelf. "Now be silent and let me see how this goes."

-Back at Hogwarts-

"Hermione, it's a very, very long story. Let's go back to the Tower now so it doesn't look suspicious. I'm going to get the Map and my father's cloak. I'll meet you at the bottom of the girl's dorm stairs at half past midnight. I know a place we can go to talk. However, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone what I tell you," said Harry.

"I promise, Harry. Whatever it is, I won't tell anyone," she answered.

By this point, the two had made it to Gryffindor Tower. They went about their normal routine of making sure their homework was done to their satisfaction and put away for the morning before going to "bed" and awaiting 12:30.

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but this chapter was getting so big, and there's a lot happening, so I split it up into two chapters. I promise that I won't take as long to post the next chapter!