Destiny

Chapter 12: The Rat

Sirius and Remus's first plan was to get the Marauders map back from filch.

They huddled under James' old invisibility cloak (snaffled back by Remus when he found it in Dumbledore's office by chance the other day.) They walked awkwardly though Hogwarts dark corridors. A crescent moon shone in through the windows of the castle illuminating suits of armour and the odd ghost they passed.

When finally they reached the door of filch's office Sirius used his penknife (one that unlocks every door and undos any knot aka the one he gave Harry as a present in one of the books) to open the office door and they sneaked in.

Filch was not there luckily and they unlocked his filing cabinet (again with the penknife) and grabbed the map leaving the room as the found it. They got out of there just before filch turned the corner and stormed into the office muttering about weasleys, Mrs Norris was on his heals, he narrowly missed her tail as he slammed the door their faces.

"Close one!" whispered Sirius "lets get back into the tunnel to hogsmede before we check the map"

So they entered the tunnel and tugged off the invisibility cloak and Remus muttered

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good!"

The whole map of the castle spread its way over the page until it was finished. Sirius held his breath this was it.

They glanced over the map trying to find the dot labelled peter pettigrew.

"There!" Sirius yelled pointing to the griffindor boys dorms "in the fourth year dorm unless I'm mistaken!"

They swirled the cloak over them and walked as quickly as possible to the entrance to the griffindor common room.

"How are we going to get in?" asked Remus

"We'll have to wait for a griffindor to open the portrait!" Sirius groaned.

They waited for about five minutes before two griffindor second years rounded the corner.

"...His face when he heard peeves drop that vanishing cabinet I will never forget it!" Laughed one

"Yeah!" his twin smiled "Rabbit ears!" he said to the portrait of the fat lady who was cowling at him.

They both entered the common room followed by Sirius and Remus. They headed up the boy's stairs and then entered the second year dorms with shouts of "hey Lee you'll never guess what peeves just did!"

Sirius and Remus breathed a sigh of relief and continued up the stairs to the fourth year dorms.

Sirius pushed open the door. All the occupants of the room were asleep their snore drifted over Sirius and Remus's heads.

"He's here somewhere," muttered Sirius under his breath

Remus had a sudden brainwave

"Accio peter pettigrew!" he whispered

A small brown rat missing a front toe flew into his hand and began to squeak very loudly.

Sirius and Remus ran for it then dashed down the stairs and out off the common room. Once they were out side Sirius muttered a silencing charm and Remus paralysed him using pertrificus totallus.

They recovered them selves with the invisibility cloak and headed up to Dumbledore's office.

When they arrived, they gave the gargoyle the password (Remus had visited Dumbledore earlier in the week to give him something.)

They pulled off the cloak and Sirius knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Dumbledore commanded

Remus entered the room and faced Dumbledore.

"Albus, don't do anything hasty just listen to me please!" he said nervously

"What are you talking about Remus?" Dumbledore questioned

Sirius took a deep breath, stepped through the door holding the paralysed rat in his fist, and turned to face Dumbledore.

"He's talking about me. Please don't hex me let me explain." Sirius said bravely

Dumbledore surveyed the 'traitor' over his half moon glasses.

"Will you agree to take some veritisium?" Dumbledore asked, "so I can be sure your story is true?"

"Okay" Sirius said nervously

"I'll call Professor snape to bring some up from the dungeons then." Dumbledore said, "please take a seat." He told Remus and Sirius.

Dumbledore wrote something on a piece of parchment and passed it to Fawkes who disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

It wasn't long before Severus snape entered the office panting.

"Your veritisium sir!" snape said to Dumbledore.

His eyes flicked round the room and he saw Sirius sat there.

"You..." he snarled

Sirius gave his a disgusted look and before he could do or say anything Dumbledore spoke up.

"Severus please, Sirius is here under his own will. He is who I am about to use the veritisium on he is going to tell me his story, I would like you to stay here as my witness!" Dumbledore said to snape "please stand out of the way!"

"Ready Mr Black!" Dumbledore asked Sirius

"As I will ever be!" Sirius said nervously

Sirius took the two drops of veritisium and sat back in his chair with a blank look on his face.

Dumbledore began questioning him

"What is your name?" Dumbledore ask ed

"Sirius Black" Sirius answered automatically

"What is your story?" Dumbledore asked

"I was the secret keeper for my best friends James and Lily Potter and also their son Harry. We all knew there was a traitor in our midst and I suspected Remus. On the 20th of October I came up with a plan which to all of us seemed foolproof..."

"What was that plan?" Dumbledore asked

"To change secret keepers from me to peter as peter was, well more innocent he wasn't exactly a very adept wizard. So therefore he who must not be named could come after me and even if he tortured me Lily and James would be safe."

"Please continue, what happened after you had changed secret keepers?"

"I went to visits peter to see how he was coping, to check on him. Only he wasn't there. There was no sign of a struggle so I headed straight to lily and James's and when I got there, it was to late. I lent my motorbike to Hagrid and then I went to find peter. I cornered him and he decided to make it seem like I was to blame he yelled some stuff then he blew up the street and cut off his finger and transformed."

"Transformed? What in too?"

"He's animagus (sp?) He can turn into a rat!" with saying this Sirius held up the unconscious rat

"We found him and have brought him here as evidence!" Remus informed Dumbledore Dumbledore nodded

"Anything else?" he asked

"When peter transformed I escaped I transformed and appearated to privet drive. I waited till Harry was safely on the door step of number four and that you, professor McGonagall and Hagrid had left then I took him off the doorstep. I have been looking after him ever since along with my own daughter Charlie."

"You have a daughter?" Dumbledore asked

"Yes shes the same age as Harry. To be honest the reason I am trying to prove my innocence is because of Harry and Charlie. You see they should be going to Hogwarts in September and they can't come to school here unless I'm proven innocent it would be to awkward for them to come here."

"I see" Dumbledore said "I presume this rat is peter. But what I'd like to know is how he became an illegal animagus (sp?)?"

"We all were." Sirius said

"Who was? And how?" Dumbledore asked

"Me, peter and James we learn how to while we were at school so we could keep Remus company during his transformations we finally learnt how in our fifth year I can become a Dog, peter a rat and James was a Stag."

"I see Thankyou Mr Black please take this antidote and we shall take you to the ministry Professor Snape will accompany us and we will review Mr pettigrew when we get there! Lets go!" Dumbledore told them.

Sirius took the antidote and followed Dumbledore to the ministry via his fireplace.

A/n thanks to my reviewers Hope you all enjoyedit!