They went to Hagrid's hut the next day as planned. Crowley went to tell Lupin that they were off, but he was nowhere to be found. He supposed he must have stayed in the cave with Sirius. He wanted to search further but Aziraphale was desperate to get going. The angel had been nervous and jumpy all morning, having spent most of the night watching the Marauder's map like a hawk, checking the Peter was still in the same place. He had the map open even as they walked through the grounds, toward the outskirts of the forbidden forest, which loomed above them ominously, blocking out the sun completely as they got closer to the hut.

"He's still there," Aziraphale muttered, "he's still there."

Crowley rolled his eyes, but he couldn't ignore the flutters of fear in his own stomach. Demons are not supposed to feel fear, but Crowley had spent most of his existence breaking various rules and going against everything his superiors told him; this twisted-gut anxiety was fairly routine. He knew how to hide it, supress it. Aziraphale did not. His hands were shaking as he clutched the map.

"He's still there. He's still there."

Hagrid came out of the hut as they approached. He grinned.

"Professor Crowley Professor Fell. What're you two doin' down this neck of the woods?" he frowned a little at their tense expressions, "Is everythin' alright?"

"yeah," Crowley said quickly, "it's just…"

"we need to search your hut," Aziraphale put in, trying to sound friendly.

"What's up?" Hagrid did not look reassured.

"we've," Aziraphale chose his words, "we've made a bit of a breakthrough on the whole Sirius black mystery."

"And you think I'm hiding him?" Hagrid roared. He looked quite terrifying. Aziraphale stepped back.

"No, no Hagrid," he explained, "in fact, we think he's innocent."

"It's a long story," Crowley but in, "and we really haven't got time for it."

"Please let us search your house Hagrid," Aziraphale glanced at the map as he spoke, "it could save Harry's life."

Hagrid nodded slowly, then hurried over to the door and opened it.

"You owe me an explanation," he muttered to Crowley, "but I can tell yer bein' truthful. And it's about time we sorted out this whole mess. For Harry's sake. He gets even more reckless when yer tell him to stay safe. Keeps comin' down here, just to spite them."

Crowley grinned, it did sound like Harry. And he had to admit, he thought the whole 'mess', as Hagrid described it, had been handled very badly. Still, it would all be over soon.

Aziraphale continued to squint at the map as they entered. It had zoomed in on Hagrid's hut, either because of the angel's influence or by some magic of its own Crowley didn't know. His knowledge of power of the map was incomplete, as Aziraphale literally had not let him near it, he had been so busy watching for Peter.

"Are you sure you should have it out like this, angel," he whispered, "he might recognise it."

Aziraphale quickly put the map away, seeing Crowley's point. He then turned to one of the cupboards, gesturing for Crowley to do the same.

"Which," Aziraphale opened the cupboard and scanned the contents, "milk jug did you say we could borrow Hagrid?"

He turned to Hagrid, who had entered after them. He looked thoroughly confused but played along.

"Um…any of them Professor Fell. Just have a look at them all and see which one you like."

Aziraphale started rummaging through the milk jugs. There were a lot of them. Crowley wondered if Hagrid had some kind of hoarding problem.

It was a strange scene. Aziraphale kneeling on the floor, carefully removing milk jugs, checking them and then putting them back with his usual care, Crowley standing awkwardly behind him because there wasn't really room for both of them and also so that he was ready if Pettigrew tried to make a run for it, and Hagrid, watching them in utter confusion.

Suddenly Crowley gave a high-pitched squeal and lunged forward. With his sharp snake eyes, he had spotted something small and dark scrabbling to get out of a jug at the very back of the cupboard. It sped across the floor at top speed.

Aziraphale looked around, confused as to where the sound had come from. An empty jug still sat in his hand. Crowley hands, however, were filled with something grey, furry and desperate to be free.

"It's Scabbers!" Hagrid exclaimed, "what's he doin' here."

"No, it isn't," Aziraphale leaned closer to the squirming rat in Crowley's hands, checking the tiny paws, "it's Peter Pettigrew."

…

Remus was confused when he woke up. The events of the night before were still hazy in his mind, and he wasn't sure why he was in a cave. Sitting up, he looked around. On seeing Sirius sprawled on the rocky floor next to him he remembered everything. a bubble of emotion welled up in his throat. He wasn't sure how to feel. This was a day that would change everything. Peter would be caught; Sirius would be free. And maybe, he hardly dared to hope, they could finally have a life together. They still had time.

he glanced at his watch. It was eight in the morning. Aziraphale and Crowley would almost certainly be heading to Hagrid's early. They had better get going.

He shook Sirius awake.

"What?" he stirred, blinking rapidly to wake himself up, "Moony?"

Remus gave him a shy smile, "morning."

"Morning," he grinned back. Remus felt the emotion in his chest double in size.

"We've got to get going," he said, "they'll have caught Peter soon."

Sirius sat up with great purpose.

"Right, yes."

He strode to the mouth of the cave.

"No time to lose Moony," he called over his shoulder.

Remus stood up, trying to shake out his aching limbs. Sleeping on a cave floor did not agree with him. fortunately, transforming into a wolf once a month meant that he was no stranger to pain. He joined Sirius at the cave mouth. They stood for a minute. The view up there was really lovely, mountains climbing up as far as the eye could see, many still shrouded in mist, below, the village of Hogsmeade sat tucked into away between the great slopes. Sirius squeezed Remus' hand.

"Everything is going to be fine," he whispered.

Remus hoped that it would.

Sirius transformed into a great black dog, and they made there way down toward Hogsmeade.

…

Aziraphale quickly conjured up a cage, completely forgetting to pretend to use his wand. Fortunately, Hagrid was too confused to notice.

"But Peter Pettigrew?"

"It's a very long story," Aziraphale said, taking the rat from Crowley and shoving it into the cage, "and don't you try transforming while you're in there," he told it, "it won't break, and you'll just be in an even worse mess."

The rat shivered, looking up at him with wet, black eyes.

"Can you take him?" Aziraphale asked Crowley, "I think Hagrid deserves an explanation."

Crowley took the cage wordlessly. This was all a lot easier than he had been expecting. He had thought that Peter would transform, and fight, not cower at the back of a cupboard, to try to slip away as a rat. He supposed the Animagus form really did reflect the personality. Peter was a scavenger, desperate. He would do what he could to stay alive. He didn't have any pride, or much of a moral compass. He didn't care what anyone thought of him, how cowardly he looked. Crowley wondered how he had ever ended up in Gryffindor.

As Crowley left the hut with the cage, he saw two figures making their way toward him form the direction of the whomping willow. A tall man, and a large black dog. Lupin broke into a run when he saw Crowley. Sirius trotting beside him.

"So," he said, as he arrived, "you got him."

"Yes. He was hiding in Hagrid's collection of milk jugs."

The black dog made a noise which sounded a lot like Sirius' barking laugh. Remus looked grave.

"That sounds like Peter. I suppose he pleaded with you; said we were lying."

"He never even transformed," Crowley couldn't keep the disgust out of his voice, "he tried to escape in rat form."

Sirius growled. Lupin looked as though he would have growled too.

"Come on," he said, "Let's take him to Dumbledore. Where's Professor Fell?"

"He's explaining everything to Hagrid. he'll be along."

…

Breakfast had just finished when they reached the castle. students stared at them, two of their professors accompanied by a rat in a cage, and a black dog, some laughed. Sirius relished the attention, and even managed to secure a piece of toast. Crowley saw Harry in the press of people.

"Potter," he called, "You ought to come with us."

Harry looked as bewildered as everyone else, but he followed obligingly. He grinned broadly when he noticed Sirius and bent down to give his godfather a tentative hug.

A few curious students tried to follow them to Dumbledore's office, but Crowley soon saw them off. Draco Malfoy proved particularly hard to get rid of, but a snarl from Sirius did the trick.

The whole group of them were soon congregated outside the door of the headmaster's office. Crowley knocked.

"Come in."

They trooped in. dumbledore looked very rather surprised to see them all.

"And what brings all of you here?" he asked, rapidly maintaining his composure.

Crowley plonked the cage containing Peter on the desk.

Dumbledore stared at the rat in polite astonishment.

"It's Peter Pettigrew," Crowley said.

Dumbledore raised his bushy eyebrows.

"It's a long story," Lupin put in, tentatively.

"Well," Dumbledore waved his wand, and a few extra chairs appeared out of nowhere, "it's a Saturday, so we've got quite some time."

They explained. Aziraphale turned up at some point, Crowley couldn't quite remember when. Harry listened in round-eyed astonishment. Crowley felt quite guilty for lying to him a few times, but it felt good to be sharing the truth now.

After they had told Dumbledore everything, the headmaster contacted the ministry of magic, and Aziraphale and Crowley made themselves scarce. Everyone at Hogwarts except Dumbledore thought they were involved in the ministry, and the ministry didn't actually know they existed. It was better to let Dumbledore deal with all of that. Sirius came too, because Lupin thought that Dumbledore would be better at explaining that the ministry had imprisoned the wrong man for twelve years. Sirius was more likely to get pardoned, and less likely to go back to Azkaban for punching the Minister. Crowley, and in fact Aziraphale too, privately thought that the Minister of Magic deserved to be punched (although Aziraphale, who wasn't sure about violence, felt a strongly worded letter would do just as well).

Sirius went off with Harry, who wanted to introduce him to his friends. Aziraphale later saw the two of them emerging from the fireplace in Professor McGonagall's study. How Sirius knew how to get in there was probably a long story, and what they had been up to was probably an even longer one, so Aziraphale didn't ask.

"The look on their faces when I said I was never coming back!" Harry grinned at Sirius.

"I'm not sure if your uncle was happy, or apoplectic with rage."

He went and found Dumbledore, once the various ministry officials had gone off to get lunch. The headmaster was sitting at his desk, looking as calm and unruffled as ever. Aziraphale was starting to find the headmaster's constant relaxed attitude slightly unnerving.

"How did it go?" Aziraphale asked tentatively.

"Peter goes to Azkaban this evening," Dumbledore gestured to the rat in a cage on his desk, "I'm keeping him in rat form for as long as possible, he was starting to get quite irritating."

"And Sirius?"

"His name is cleared, the Minister will tell him officially very soon, if he can track him down."

"He's with Harry somewhere, "Aziraphale told him, then went on, "won't he want to know how Sirius escaped?"

"I think, considering he shouldn't have been there in the first place, they might let it slide," Dumbledore's eyes stopped twinkling for a minute.

Aziraphale nodded.

"I've explained that it is my belief that Sirius was able to resist the power of Azkaban due to his innocence," Dumbledore went on, "and consequently escaped."

It was a plausible explanation. Aziraphale said nothing, staring around the room. His eyes fell on Peter.

"Did you speak to him?" he asked.

"Yes."

"And what did he say?"

"Everything I feared," Dumbledore said gravely, "he believes that Lord Voldemort is growing stronger, and is going to rise again."