Remus reflexively stepped backwards, towards Sirius, who jumped to his feet.

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," Snape said, and he threw the Cloak aside, on the dusty floor. He kept his wand pointed at Remus, however. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you…" Harry looked as though Snape thanking him was the last thing he wanted.

"You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" Snape continued in a soft but dangerous whisper, his black eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did... lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus –" Remus tried to say something, but Snape overrode him.

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin," he nearly shouted, "and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout –"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Remus urgently, desperately trying to talk some sense into the Potions Master. All he could think of was Sirius, only a few feet behind him, who would be put back into Azkaban, or worse, if Snape had his way. "You haven't heard everything – I can explain – Sirius is not here to kill Harry –"

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this.... He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin... a tame werewolf –"

That was the final straw. Remus had spend nearly a year trying to be at least civil towards Snape. He had somehow convinced himself that the man could be redeemed, that they were both no longer schoolboys, but adults, and that old grudges and rivalry were behind them. But now he was looking at Snape, and it seemed as if his eyes were suddenly opened, and he saw the real Snape – vengeful, bitter and almost childish in his attempt to get revenge for what had happened nearly seventeen years ago. 

"You fool," he said softly. He was suddenly disgusted by his colleague. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

He really should not have said that.

BANG! Snape waved his wand and thin cords burst from the end of it. They twisted itself around Remus' wrists, ankles and mouth, binding and gagging him. Remus tried to stay on his feet but overbalanced and hit the floor with a thud. He wriggled and tried to move, but the ropes were too tight. Sirius roared with anger and started towards Snape, a murderous look on his face, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Sirius' eyes.

"Give me a reason," he said softly, at the same time dangerously and delightedly. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Sirius and Snape were looking daggers at each other. Remus tried to draw their attention but could only let out a few moans and the two men towering over him didn't notice him. They also didn't notice the children, caught up in their mutual hate as they were – until Hermione stepped forward and broke the silence. 

"Professor Snape," she said, nearly breathlessly," – it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w – would it?"

"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat at her, still keeping his wand pointed at Sirius with a steady, unmoving hand. "You, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."

"But if – if there was a mistake –" Hermione tried. It was an attempt to much for Snape.

"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" he shouted. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Sirius's face. Hermione fell silent.

"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape nearly breathed at Sirius. His eyes glittered and he was pale except for two furiously red blushes on his cheeks. He looked downright deranged. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you...."

"The joke's on you again, Severus," Sirius snarled back, not caring about the wand pointed at him. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle" – he jerked his head at Ron – "I'll come quietly...."

"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily, raising an eyebrow as if Sirius was only a little child and couldn't be taken seriously. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the Dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black... pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay..."

Sirius paled visibly, and when he spoke again, it was with a croaking voice in which the urgency and the panic was clearly audible. "You – you've got to hear me out," he said. "The rat – look at the rat –"

But Snape didn't care about anything except getting revenge for something that happened so long ago. "Come on, all of you," he said, snapped his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Remus flew to his hand. Remus could feel the tugging of the robes as he was drawn up in an uncomfortable half-lying half-sitting position. "I´ll drag the werewolf," Snape continued. "Perhaps the Dementors will have a little kiss for him too – "

Before anyone had the time to react, Harry crossed the room in a few long steps and blocked the doorway, so that Snape couldn't get out.

"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," the Potions master snarled at him. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin –"

"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry said bravely, lifting his chin and looking Snape directly in the eye. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defence lessons against the Dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"

"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Snape, infuriated by the boy getting in his way. "Get out of the way, Potter."

"YOURE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN –"

"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, mad beyond reason. If Remus had ever hoped that Snape was human, that he could be redeemed, even liked, then those hopes were now crushed into the ground. If someone in this room was a murderous psychopath, then it was Snape, and not Sirius. "Like father, like son, Potter!" Snape snarled, beads of spit shining on his lower lip. "I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black – now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"

"EXPERLLIARMUS!" shouted three voices at the same time. Snape was blasted backwards and it was lucky his fingers let go of the ropes, because he would've dragged Remus with him. His head hit the wall almost with a crash, and he slumped onto the ground, knocked out cold. Remus turned his head to see where the blast had come from, and he wasn't that surprised to see the three children with their wands pointed at their Potions Professor.

"You shouldn't have done that," Sirius broke the sudden silence as he spoke to Harry. "You should have left him to me...." Harry didn't look at him.

Hermione seemed in a state of shock; she had her hands over her mouth, her fingers nearly covering her eyes as she stared at the unconscious Snape. "We attacked a teacher… we attacked a teacher…" Remus could hear her whimper. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble…" It didn't seem to occur to her that by attacking one teacher, it was very well possible that she saved the life of one of her other teachers.

It wasn't until now that Sirius noticed the uncomfortable position Remus was in, and he quickly bent down and untied the ropes. Remus got onto his feet and rubbed his wrists where the ropes had cut him. He saw Harry looking at him, and he half-muttered, "thank you, Harry." He felt a bit ashamed that the boy had had to save his teacher, instead of the other way around.

"I'm still not saying I believe you," Harry said defensively.

"Then it's time we offered you some prove," Sirius answered. "You, boy – " he nodded at Ron," – give me Peter, please. Now."

It didn't have the intended effect: Ron clutched the rat only closer to his chest. "Come off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean..." He looked up at Harry and Hermione for support, "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat – there are millions of rats – how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

Remus frowned. True. How did Sirius know which rat he was after? He turned to Sirius. "You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," he said. "How did you find out where he was?"

Instead of answering, Sirius reached inside his robes with one of his bony, clawlike hands and took out a battered, crumpled piece of paper, torn at the edges. He smoothed it flat almost lovingly, then held it out to show the others.

It was a paper clipping of a large family, waving in front of a pyramid. To his surprise, Remus recognised five of his own students: Percy, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny Weasley. And there, on Ron´s shoulder, was a large, grey rat, his bald tail around the boy's neck for support.

"How did you get this?" Remus asked, thunderstruck.

"Fudge," Sirius explained. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder... I knew him at once... how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts... to where Harry was..."

Remus couldn't take his eyes of the picture. He looked at the rat on the picture and the real-life rat, comparing the two and seeing more and more similarities. And then he noticed the missing toe. "My God," he muttered. "His front paw..."

"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.

"He's got a toe missing," said Sirius.

"Of course," Remus whispered, hardly believing his own thoughts. "So simple... so brilliant... he cut it off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," Sirius confirmed. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself – and sped down into the sewer with the other rats...."

By now, Ron was shaking his head in denial. He clearly still couldn't believe it, he still thought the two of them were raving mad.

"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Remus. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something!" Ron tried to argue. "He's been in my family for ages, right –"

"Twelve years, in fact," Remus answered. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"

"We – we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron, but there was now a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" Remus said casually. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again...."

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Ron, nodding toward the huge ginger cat, who was still purring on the bed.

"This cat isn't mad," Sirius said hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and petted the cat affectionately, like one would do with an old pet that had become a very good friend. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognised Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me.... Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me. .. "

"What do you mean?" whispered Hermione, for the first time joining the conversation since Snape had been knocked out.

"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't... " Sirius explained to her, "so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me.... As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table...."

And that boy was Neville Longbottom… Remus thought. It all fitted like a bizarre puzzle.

"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it," Sirius continued. "This cat – Crookshanks, did you call him? – told me Peter had left blood on the sheets... I supposed he bit himself... Well, faking his own death had worked once."

This triggered something in Harry. "And why did he fake his death?" he said furiously, his voice raised.  "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"

"No," said Remus, "Harry –"

"And now you've come to finish him off!" The boy pointed at Sirius, who didn't even try to deny it. "Yes, I have," he said, glaring at Peter.

"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.

"Harry," Remus interrupted hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down – but it was the other way around, don't you see?" He barely noticed he even gestured with his hands to make his point clear, to urge Harry to see the truth. "Peter betrayed your mother and father – Sirius tracked Peter down –"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled back. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

He was pointing at Sirius again. The man shook his head slowly, his eyes shining. "Harry... I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me.... I'm to blame, I know it...." He breathed shallowly, nearly overcome with emotions. His right hand was unconsciously clenched into a fist. "The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies... I realised what Peter must've done... what I'd done...." His voice broke with something that sounded dangerously much like a sob. He turned his face away from the children, but Remus could see some fast blinking.

"Enough of this," he cut in, a steely ring in his voice. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat." He stretched out his hand.

"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked, the rat still in his hands, but Remus could see that the red-head was starting to believe them.

"Force him to show himself," said Remus, his hand still outstretched. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."

Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out the rat and Remus firmly took the rat in his left hand, his wand ready in his other hand. The rat was squeaking and twisting even madder than before, scratching Remus' hand in an attempt to get away. His tiny black eyes were bulging in his head, giving the animal a quite insane look. Remus looked at Sirius. "Ready, Sirius?" he asked.

Sirius had regained his composure again and had picked up Snape's wand from the bed, where it had landed after its short flight through the air. He approached Remus and the rat, the ebony wand in his hand, and judging from the look he gave the rat, he now even blamed the animal for his wet eyes and the blinking he still occasionally did.

"Together?" he said quietly.

"I think so," Remus confirmed. He stretched out his left hand and the two of them pointed their wands at the rat. "On the count of three. One – two – THREE!"

It was a simple spell that the two of them had performed occasionally in their schooldays, especially when they had just begun learning how to become an Animagi, and one of them was stuck in their animal form. Especially Peter, of course, had found himself in rat-form on many occasions. In that sense, this was an almost comfortingly familiar happening.

A flash of blue-white light filled the room. For a moment, the small form of the rat hung in mid-air. His limps were twisting madly and Ron yelled furiously, then the rat fell and hit the floor. Then everything went exactly like Remus expected.

There was another flash, and suddenly the rat seemed to grow on top-speed. Limps were growing out of the tiny body, a head seem to come out of nowhere, and only seconds later there was a man standing where the rat had been.

It was Peter, exactly like Remus remembered him – only thirteen years older. He was still very small – he always had been – and his hair was colourless and very thin, so thin that Remus could almost see the skin underneath it. Peter had always been chubby, bordering on fat, but he was now skinny compared to how he looked in his youth. It seemed as though he had lost a lot of weight in only a few months. His face was pale and ashen, sickly, and he was wringing his hands and looking around the room as if he was looking for a way to escape. His breathing went fast and shallow, nearly hyperventilating when he looked at Sirius. Peter was guilty and caught, and he knew it only too well.

Sirius made a movement as if he wanted to start towards Peter, but Remus stretched out his arm and held him back, giving his friend a warning look. He then turned to Peter.

"Well, hello, Peter," he said pleasantly, as though the two of them had just met on a school reunion. "Long time, no see."

"S – Sirius... R – Remus..." Peter squeaked like the rat he was. He didn't seem to be able to hold his eyes still, as they shot from the door to Remus' and Sirius' faces. "My friends... my old friends..."

Sirius started towards Peter again, Snape´s wand raised, but Remus firmly seized him around the wrist and shook his head almost unnoticeably. He turned to Peter again, keeping his voice light and casual, nearly tasting the sarcasm on his tongue.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died," he said. "You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed –"

"Remus," gasped Peter, interrupting Remus. He was now wiping his sweaty hands on his robes. Beads of sweat shone on his face, and his eyes were filled with panic. "You don't believe him, do you...? He tried to kill me, Remus..."

"So we've heard," said Remus, more coldly this time. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'll be so –" Again he couldn't finish his sentence.

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Peter squeaked, pointing with his middle finger at Sirius, because he didn't have an index anymore. It looked strange and slightly sickening, all the more when Remus remembered Peter had cut off his finger himself…"He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too... You've got to help me, Remus...." Peter finished pleadingly.

Remus looked at Sirius, who was staring at Peter with dry, fathomless eyes. The murderous rage seemed to have changed into an indifferent disgust.

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," Remus said.

"Sorted things out?" Peter repeated, still looking around the room like mad, looking for something only he knew. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" said Remus, frowning. "When nobody has ever done it before?"

"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Peter shouted shrilly, still trying to talk himself out of this. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

Sirius laughed at this, a hollow, mirthless laugh that send shivers down Remus' spine.

"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" Sirius said disdainfully. Peter flinched when Sirius spoke. "What, scared to hear your old master's name?" said Sirius, sounding strangely much like Snape. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"Don't know what you mean, Sirius –" muttered Peter. His face was twisted in a nervous half-smile, and beads of sweat shone on his forehead. He looked visibly uncomfortable.

"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," Sirius continued. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter... They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them.... I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information... and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter –"

"Don't know... what you're talking about..." Peter said again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his wet face on his sleeve and looked up at Remus, pleadingly, screaming for protection. "You don't believe this – this madness, Remus --"

"I must admit, Peter," Remus said evenly, aloof, "I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat."

"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Peter. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban – the spy, Sirius Black!"

Sirius face darkened. "How dare you," he growled, much like his Animagus-form. "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter – I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us... me and Remus... and James...."

Peter wiped his face again. He was now nearly hyperventilating, and his hands shook nervously. "Me, a spy... must be out of your mind..." he muttered under his breath, "never... don't know how you can say such a –"

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Sirius hissed, his voice so venomously that Peter staggered backwards, towards the bed. Ron automatically recoiled. "I thought it was the perfect plan..." Sirius continued. "A bluff... Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you.... It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."

Peter's hands wriggled and played with the sleeve of his robes. He was still muttering under his breath. "That is the most far-fetched thing I've ever heard… me, the spy… complete lunacy…"

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione suddenly said, making Remus jump. He had almost forgotten the children, but now he turned his face towards her. "Can – can I say something?" she asked shyly.

"Certainly, Hermione," he said kindly, his voice completely the opposite of how it had sounded only moments before.

"Well – Scabbers – I mean, this – this man –" she said hesitantly. "He's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"

"There!" Peter shrieked, pointing at her with his four-fingered hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"

"I'll tell you why," Sirius snarled, immediately crushing the glimmer of hope Peter had felt. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him...."

Peter opened and closed his mouth, lost for words. He was staring wide-eyed at Sirius.

"Er – Mr. Black – Sirius?" said Hermione shyly, as if she was unsure she was allowed to talk to him. Sirius' head jerked towards her and he looked as if she was something long forgotten, something he'd only just started to remember. It had been over a decade since someone had addressed him as 'Mr. Black' or had even spoken to him in a kind way.

"If you don't mind me asking," she continued, "how – how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"

"Thank you!" gasped Peter, nodding madly and gratefully at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I –"

Remus glared at him and he fell silent. This was exactly what Remus had been wondering. Leave it to Hermione to ask questions that everybody wanted to know but nobody had remembered to ask…

Sirius frowned, as if he didn't quite knew the answer himself. "I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me... but it kept me sane and knowing who I am... helped me keep my powers... so when it all became ... too much... I could transform in my cell... become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know...." He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions.... They could tell that my feelings were less – less human, less complex when I was a dog... but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand....

"But then I saw Peter in that picture... I realised he was at Hogwarts with Harry... perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again... ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies... and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honours...."

All the time, Peter was frantically shaking his head in denial, but nobody paid attention to him. Remus had his hands clenched into fists, his nails digging into the palms of his hands, and he was silently urging Sirius to continue.

"So you see, I had to do something," Sirius said. "I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive... It was as if someone had lit a fire In my head, and the Dementors couldn't destroy it.... It wasn't a happy feeling... it was an obsession... but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog.... It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused.... I was thin, very thin... thin enough to slip through the bars.... I swam as a dog back to the mainland.... I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course." He turned to look at Harry, a sad smile on his face. "You fly as well as your father did, Harry...."

Harry looked back at the skeleton-like man before him. Sirius swallowed, then said: "believe me. Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."

For the second time that evening, time seemed to have stopped for a few moments, and Remus felt like he was on the brink of tears when he saw Harry nodding, slowly but determinedly. He finally believed Sirius was innocent.

"No!"

Peter was looking at them with the utmost horror, his face panic-stricken. He fell on his knees as if he legs couldn't hold him anymore, and he shuffled forwards, towards Sirius. His hands were clasped in front of his heaving chest as though he was praying Sirius to forgive him.

"Sirius – it's me... it's Peter... your friend... you wouldn't –" he gasped. But Sirius kicked him away. "There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," he said.

To Remus' horror and disgust, Peter then turned to him, those huge, pale eyes filled with fear, pleading for help, protection. "Remus!" he said. "You don't believe this – wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," Remus said coldly. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he asked Sirius over Peter's head, as if the man wasn't there.

"Forgive me, Remus," said Sirius solemnly.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend." Remus felt a strange kind of happiness. He started rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course," said Sirius, suddenly and unexpectedly flashing the 'Patented Sirius Black grin' at Remus. He caught his friend completely by surprise, but he couldn't have made Remus happier. There still was something of the old Sirius in there, waiting to come out. Sirius started rolling up his sleeves as well. "Shall we kill him together?" he suggested lightly.

"Yes, I think so," said Remus.

"You wouldn't... you won't..." gasped Peter. He knew his end would come in mere minutes, and he was trying everything to prevent it. He scrambled around to Ron.

"Ron... haven't I been a good friend... a good pet?" he pleaded. "You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you... you're on my side, aren't you?"

Ron stared at Peter as if the man was a giant slug. "I let you sleep in my bed!" he said.

"Kind boy... kind master..." Pettigrew insisted, crawling toward Ron. "You won't let them do it.... I was your rat.... I was a good pet...."

"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," Sirius said almost jokingly. He seemed more occupied with rolling up his other sleeve than the bald man pleading for his life.

Ron somehow wrenched his broken leg out of Peter's reach, and the man, realising it was hopeless, turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.

"Sweet girl... clever girl..." he said softly. He sounded as if he was trying to tempt her to help him. "You -- you won't let them.... Help me...." But again it was in vain. Hermione pulled a face and nearly tore her robes pulling them out of Peter's hands. She backed away against the wall, and Peter, having only one option left, slowly turned towards the last person in the room. Harry.

Peter trembled uncontrollably as he looked up at Harry from his kneeling position. His voice shook with fear. "Harry... Harry... " he muttered. "You look just like your father... just like him...."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" Sirius bellowed, his hand trembling with anger. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"Harry," whispered Peter. He shuffled towards Harry, his hands outstretched as if he was a pilgrim and Harry was the statue of a saint he had spent years to reach. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed.... James would have understood, Harry... he would have shown me mercy..."

Without a word, Remus and Sirius stepped forward, seized Peter's shoulders and yanked him back. Peter fell onto the floor, and he stared up at them with huge fearful eyes.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said Sirius, with only a slightly trembling voice. "Do you deny it?"

To Remus' surprise and slight disgust, Peter burst into tears. He curled up like a little child, and his body shook with his sobbing.

"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done?" he whimpered. "The Dark Lord... you have no idea... he has weapons you can't imagine.... I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen.... He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me –"

"DON'T LIE!" roared Sirius. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"

"He -- he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Peter, staring up at Sirius. "Wh – what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Sirius. He seemed to have forgotten there were other people in the room, focussed as he was on Peter. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" Peter cried. He stretched out his hands pleadingly. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Sirius. He pointed his wand at Peter accusingly. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

He took a small step back until he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Remus.

"You should have realised," Remus said quietly, voicing what he knew Sirius was also thinking, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

The both of them didn't notice Hermione covering her face, or Ron clenching his jaws and preparing himself for what was coming. They only saw Peter, cowering on the floor, looking up at them, knowing his last seconds were rapidly ticking away…

"NO!"

Remus and Sirius both jumped, and Remus' wand-hand shook with surprise. Harry ran forward and placed himself in front of Peter, shielding the man from the wands.

"You can't kill him," Harry said breathlessly. "You can't."

He couldn't have surprised them more.

"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Sirius snarled, gesturing at Peter. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."

"I know," Harry admitted, nodding. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors.... He can go to Azkaban... but don't kill him."

"Harry!" Peter gasped, utterly relieved. He stroked the fabric of Harry's robes, then flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You – thank you – it's more than I deserve – thank you –"

"Get off me," Harry spat. He painfully prodded Peter in the face with one of his knees. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because – I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers – just for you."

No one moved. The room was silent, except for Peter's ragged breath. Remus exchanged a look with Sirius, and they simultaneously lowered their wands, though Sirius seemed to do it against his better judgement.

"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," he said. "But think... think what he did...."

"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does..."

Peter was still on his knees, clutching his chest, and he was looking up at Harry with a look of the utmost gratitude.

"Very well," Remus nodded. "Stand aside, Harry."

Harry frowned slightly and hesitate, unsure of what Remus was planning.

"I'm going to tie him up," Remus assured him. "That's all, I swear."

Harry nodded and stepped out of the way. Remus pointed his wand at Peter, and muttered the same spell Snape had used on him. Again, thin cords shot out of someone's wand, and only moments later, Peter was on the floor, bound and gagged.

"But if you transform, Peter," Sirius threatened, "we will kill you. You agree, Harry?"

Harry looked down at the pitiful man on the floor, and nodded.

"Right," said Remus. Now this was all over with, it was time to concern himself with more urgent matters. "Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing."

He walked over to the four-poster and gently tapped the broken leg, muttering "Ferula" while holding a piece of wood against the fracture. Bandages twisted itself against the leg and the piece of wood, strapping it tightly together. Remus helped the red-head to his feet and carefully held him while Ron tested his leg.

"That's better," he said. "Thanks."

"What about Professor Snape?" said Hermione. She was standing next to the Potions Master, looking down at him. Remus knelt down next to the man and felt his pulse.

"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," he assured her. "You were just a little – overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er – perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safety back in the castle. We can take him like this...." He pointed his wand at Snape and muttered "Mobilicorpus". Snape was suddenly drawn up into a standing position, but he was still unconscious, causing his head to loll from side to side. It was quite an unpleasant sight.

Remus then picked up the Invisibility Cloak from near Snape´s feet, and safely tucked it inside his pocket.

"And two of us should be chained to this," Sirius said. He prodded Peter with his feet. "Just to make sure."

"I'll do it," said Remus.

"And me," said Ron boldly. He limped forward, his face determined. Sirius waved his wand and conjured heavy manacles, with which Peter was bound to both Remus and Ron. Sirius took care of the floating Snape, and then the seven of them left the room, preceded by Crookshanks, who held his tail jauntily high.

~*~

Going through the corridor in the normal, usual way was already hard enough, but climbing through it with two people bound to you was complete torture. With every step he took, Remus had to keep the other two in mind, especially Ron, who was limping along with his broken leg. The corridor was too narrow to walk shoulder-by-shoulder, so they had to walk sideways. Peter didn't exactly help things either. He kept whimpering and crying, annoying Remus to no end.

"What do you think they're going to do with him?" Ron asked. He distracted Remus, who painfully walked into a rock sticking out of the ceiling.

"I hope it's something painful," he muttered angrily, rubbing his head. "You okay Ron?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ron panted, dragging himself up by the stone walls of the corridor and Peter. "Would be glad if this was all over, though."

"Almost there," Remus assured him. He could just see Crookshanks slipping through the entrance of the Whomping Willow.

"Professor, do you really think they're going to send him to Azkaban?" Ron wanted to know.

"Positive," Remus said, deliberately turning his head towards Ron, so that Peter could see his face. "Sirius's been in there for twelve years while he was innocent, I think it's time the person who caused all this gets what he deserves." Ron nodded agreeingly, but Peter only whimpered more. 

Remus climbed out of the Whomping Willow with some effort, then helped Peter and Ron through the entrance. Sirius rather harshly pushed Snape out, then climbed out himself, followed by Harry and Hermione. They quickly brushed off sand and dust before setting off for the castle.

This was a much easier walk, because they could simply walk side-by-side, instead of sideward. Peter had started to wriggle to release himself from the cords, but they were too tightly bound. But he could always transform – the ropes were tight for a human, but not at all for a rat. 

"One wrong move, Peter," Remus threatened, his wand pointed at his former friend. Peter whimpered and held himself still.

The group silently walked down the sloping hills of the Hogwarts grounds. The castle seemed to grow before their very eyes as they got nearer. Ron and Remus had gotten the hang of walking in a six-legged race, and were now walking with considerable ease.

"I like this weather," Ron commented. "Reminds you the summer holidays are near."

"What, you mean you don't like school?" Remus said, pretending to be shocked. "Ron, what would Percy think of you?"

"Oh, I was only joking of course!" Ron grinned. "Had you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you really scared me for a minute," Remus continued the joke. He helped Peter – perhaps a bit too harshly - over some particularly nasty roots. They were nearing the edge of the forest. Only about half a mile to go, then they would reach Hogwarts.

A cool breeze blew through the leaves of the trees. Huge clouds in the sky were slowly drifting along. An opening appeared, and clear moonlight bathed the grounds in a silvery light. The clouds in the sky were suddenly white, and it almost seemed day. Remus smiled at the beautiful scenery. He felt ultimately happy, here, with Sirius proven innocent, and the right person caught, out on the grounds in this perfect summer evening. He looked up at the sky, towards the source of light – and froze.

Full moon.

Immediately, he felt the familiar signs of the transformation. The feeling of thousands of tiny little spiders running up his legs, the shaking of his limbs… the sound of breaking and reshaping bones…

He turned around to Sirius, Harry and Hermione, dragging Peter and Ron with him. He stretched out a hand and tried to warn them, but could only let out a low growling. Harry started towards Ron, but Sirius pushed the boy back.

"Leave it to me – RUN!"

That was about the last thing Remus' human mind could understand. His head was lengthening, and he wanted to cover his face by his hands in some sort of attempt to stop the pain, but his hands had already changed into claws. He was suddenly hunchbacked when his spine took another shape, and the fabric of his robes tore because he grew too big for them.

Mere minutes later, there was a snarling werewolf on the place were Remus had been. The Wolf yanked itself free from the manacles with which it had been bound to Ron and Peter. It snapped its fierce jaws and immediately picked up the scent of young, fresh humans. It started towards its prey, but suddenly collided with a massive black dog.

This was absolutely not what the Wolf wanted, and it was not exactly an animal that liked getting someone in its way.

The Dog held the Wolf's neck between it's jaws and pulled it backwards, away from the humans. The Wolf immediately let the Dog pay for this when he scratched himself free and tried to bite the Dog back. They were jaw to jaw, occasionally standing on their hind-legs, fighting over who was the strongest, over who was going to get the humans.

At first the Wolf seemed to have the upper hand. It growled menacingly, it's fur on it's neck on end to look bigger and more threatening. The Dog was not impressed, however, and simply growled back. The Wolf then decided to use desperate measures – claws and fangs. It nearly launched itself on the Dog, fighting furiously to mortally wound the Dog. His enemy rolled on his back, his claws turned upwards so that the Wolf only hurt himself.

Trying to get a hold of the Dog's tail and dragging him away from the tasty humans proved to be impossible too, and the Wolf was starting to get desperate. When the Dog bit the Wolf again, and nearly tore a piece of it's ear off, the Wolf decided this prey was too hard to get. The Dog was obviously the stronger one, and at the moment, it was wiser to let him have the humans. The Wolf immediately put this thought into action: he turned on the spot and fled, leaving the Dog and the humans behind…