A/N: Well, I'm back from my trip, so for being patient, here's Lucky Chapter Thirteen. And take your time enjoying it—I'm going away for another week starting Sunday. Much love, as always.
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Chapter 13
The Servant of Lord Voldemort
Sirius jumped to his feet, as Hermione screamed in surprise.
"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," Snape sneered, as he tossed an Invisibility Cloak to the floor. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you…" Snape looked as though he had won some sort of long-distance race, he looked so pleased with himself. It made Sirius sick to see his ugly face again.
"You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" Snape suggested to everyone, though no one answered. "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 started, but Snape cut him off.
"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend into the castle, Lupin, 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. You haven't heard everything—" Remus said urgently. He was watching Snape's wand carefully. "I can explain—Sirius is not here to kill Harry—"
"Two more for Azkaban tonight." Snape grinned his sickening smile, his eyes moving from Sirius to Remus with a chilling and mocking gleam. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this… He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin… a tame werewolf—"
"You fool." Remus said quietly and derisively. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?" He motioned to Sirius, who was glaring at Snape with all his might.
Instantly, snake-like cords flew out of Snape's wand and wrapped themselves tightly around Remus's hands, legs, and mouth. He toppled to the floor as Sirius lunged at Snape, ready to clobber him.
But Snape pointed his wand right between Sirius's eyes and muttered threateningly, "Give me a reason. Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."
Sirius stopped dead, but didn't move at first. Snape deserved to die—why wouldn't he just listen to what really happened? Certainly, Sirius had made some mistakes in the past, but that didn't mean he deserved to go back to prison.
After a long moment of silence, while Sirius was staring down Snape, Hermione spoke up softly. "Professor Snape—it—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 said stepping back from Sirius to look at her. "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—" She continued feebly.
"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GRIL!" Snape screamed at her. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Some sparks shot out of Snape's wand that was still aimed at Sirius's face. He ducked, clutching his face, which now burned painfully. "Oh, vengeance is very sweet." Snape grabbed Sirius by the front of his robes, so that Sirius could smell Snape's sour breath as he whispered, "How I had hoped I'd be the one to catch you…"
"The joke's on you again, Severus," Sirius growled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle, I'll come quietly…" He said, glancing at Peter again.
"Up to the castle?" Snape sounded slightly surprised. His wand was still pointing at Sirius, and he gave Sirius a jerk by his robes. "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…"
The dementors.
He was a dead-man. Worse—a soulless man.
"You—you've got to hear me out," He said urgently, as Snape dropped Sirius to the floor in a heap. "The rat—look at the rat—"
Snape smiled wildly. "Come on, all of you," he said, and with a snap of his fingers, the ends of Remus's binds flew up to Snape's hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too—"
But Harry had stepped between Snape and the door. Sirius looked at Harry proudly.
"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already." Snape snarled. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin—"
"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry defended, refusing to move. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense 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. Get out of the way, Potter." Snape said menacingly.
"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry shouted at him, and Sirius's pride tripled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU IN SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN—"
"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape yelled back. He looked angrier than Sirius had ever seen him in school. "Like father, like son, Potter! 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 too! 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!"
Right away, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and Snape flew to the opposite wall. He hit it with shocking force, and slid down, unconscious.
"You shouldn't have done that…" Sirius said, looking away from Snape's body to view Harry. "You should have left him to me…" But Harry was avoiding Sirius's gaze.
"We attacked a teacher… We attacked a teacher… Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble—" Hermione murmured nervously, her eyes not leaving Snape.
Sirius glanced down at Remus, who was struggling against his binds. He bent down instantly, and started to untangle the ropes until Remus was free.
"Thank you, Harry." Remus said, rubbing his wrists.
"I'm still not saying I believe you."
"Then it's time we offered you some proof." Remus said, looking at Ron. "You, boy—give me Peter, please." Ron looked at him like he was delusional. "Now."
"Come off it. Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean…" He looked to his friends. "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?"
"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question." Remus looked at Sirius intently. "How did you find out where he was?"
Sirius gulped slightly, and reached into his robes. He pulled out the newspaper clipping of the Weasleys on vacation, and smoothed it out, looking at it carefully. With a deep breath, he turned around the picture to face the others.
"How did you get this?" Remus asked him, astounded.
So Sirius told them. "…And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to where Harry was…"
"My God," Remus breathed, looking closer at the picture. "His front paw…" He looked back at Peter, and then at the Peter in the picture.
"What about it?" Ron asked. He sounded put off again.
"He's got a toe missing." Sirius said calmly.
"Of course. So simple… so brilliant… he cut it off himself?" Remus asked Sirius.
"Just before he transformed," Sirius replied. "When I got to him, he yelled for the whole street how I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself—and sped down into the sewer with the other rats…"
"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" Remus said. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."
"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something!" But now Ron was just in denial. This was getting ridiculous. "He's been in my family for ages, right—"
"Twelve years, in fact." Remus said softly. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"
"We—we've been taking good care of him!" Ron shouted.
"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he? I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again…" He glanced at Sirius.
"He's been scared of that mad cat!" Ron cried, nodding at Crookshanks, who hadn't moved off the bed during everything. Sirius smiled at Crookshanks.
"That cat isn't mad." He reached out and stroked the cat. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. He's been helping me…"
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, looking at Crookshanks almost disgustedly.
"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't… so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me… As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table…" Sirius scratched Crookshanks behind the ears. "But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it… Well, faking his own death had worked once…"
But Harry was suddenly outraged. "And why did he fake his death? Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!" He shouted at Sirius. Sirius took a step back.
"No." Remus jumped in. "Harry—"
"And now you've come to finish him off!"
"Yes, I have." Sirius said, glaring at Peter. Harry could hate him if he wanted, but Sirius was going to get revenge.
"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry yelled, his voice cracking.
"Harry, don't you see?" Remus said hurriedly. "All this time we've thought that Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down—but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father—Sirius tracked Peter down—"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE! HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!" Harry roared. His finger was trembling with hate as he pointed accusingly at Sirius.
"Harry…" Sirius suddenly found it hard to speak. "I as good as killed them. I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as the Secret-Keeper instead of me…" He was a murderer, there was no getting around it, anymore. "I'm to blame, I know it… The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter to make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his 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 right away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies…" Sirius trailed off, as the image of James dead by the sofa flashed through his mind again. He shook it aside; he was too close… "I realized what Peter must've done… what I'd done…"
Sirius broke off. He couldn't do this—he couldn't face Harry. He turned his back to them and closed his eyes. This wasn't supposed to be this difficult. All he wanted was Peter… he didn't want to be forced to remember Harry crying and alone in his crib, with Lily, dead, on the floor…
"Enough of this." Remus said, his voice hard. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."
"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked edgily.
"Force him to show himself. If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him." Remus explained. Sirius reached over and got Snape's wand from where it had landed on the bed. He turned to face everyone again.
"Ready, Sirius?" Remus asked. He was holding a wriggling Peter tightly. Just looking at him made Sirius's temper flare. Peter was going to die—he was moments away. Enjoy them while you can, Wormtail…
"Together?" Sirius said, trying to keep his voice indifferent.
"I think so," Remus said, and the two friends lowered their wands. "On the count of three. One—two—THREE!"
A blue-white light burst out of their wands and hit Peter with visible force. The rat twisted, hanging in midair. A huge light emerged from the rat, and suddenly, Peter-the-man was standing in the place where Scabbers had been. His eyes were darting around the room madly, and Sirius was glaring at him with more hate than he had for Snape.
"Well, hello, Peter." Remus said naturally. "Long time no see."
"S-Sirius… R-Remus…" Peter squeaked. Sirius saw his eyes fly to the door. "My friends… my old friends…"
Sirius shook his head and tried not to laugh, as he raised Snape's wand. He was ready; his time had come at last—
But Remus looked at him warningly, and Sirius lowered his hand reluctantly.
"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died." Remus said casually. "You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed—" He looked at Sirius, and they chuckled.
"Remus, you don't believe him, do you…? He tried to kill me, Remus…" Peter said desperately, beads of sweat covering his face.
"So we've heard." Remus said callously. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so—"
"He's come to try and kill me!" Peter cried, pointing at Sirius with his middle finger, as his index was missing. Sirius raised an eyebrow. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too… You've got to help me, Remus…"
"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out." Remus said, faking a comforting voice.
"S-sorted things out?" Peter gasped. Sirius watched his eyes move over the boarded up windows and then back to the door. "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? When nobody has before?" Remus asked him, trying to sound confused.
"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Peter cried out shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"
Oh, that was too much. Sirius started to laugh. "Voldemort, teach me tricks?" He repeated. That was rich… But Peter flinched hugely when he heard Sirius say His name. "What, scared to hear your old master's name? I don't blame you, Pete. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"
"Don't know what you mean, Sirius—" Peter tried to act puzzled, but his sweating brow gave him away.
Sirius shook his head again. "You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years. 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." He was exaggerating of course, but it was working. Peter's sweating doubled, if that was humanly possible. But then again, Peter wasn't human enough for that saying to apply… "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, but he was shivering. He looked at Remus for support. "You don't believe this—this madness, Remus—"
"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat." Remus shrugged.
"Innocent but scared!" Peter exclaimed. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban—the spy, Sirius Black!"
That was it.
"How dare you!" Sirius snarled. "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." Sirius was clutching his hands in fists so tight, his knuckles cracked. "You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us… me and Remus… and James…" Sirius shook his head in disgust.
"Me, a spy? You must be out of your mind… never… don't know how you can say such a—"
"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it." Sirius said wrathfully and Peter took a step back. "I thought it was the perfect plan… a bluff…" Sirius said, turning to pace a step or two. "Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you…" Sirius spat at Peter. He looked at Wormtail, biting back tears that were already burning his eyes. "It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."
Peter started muttering to himself… but Sirius could care less. This was the man who had betrayed his best friends… and Peter dared to lie about it to Sirius and Remus's faces? He dared to call Sirius the spy?
"Professor Lupin?" Hermione ventured. "Can—can I say something?"
"Certainly, Hermione."
"Well—Scabbers—I mean, this—this man—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 squeaked. "Thank you! Do you see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair on Harry's head! Why should I?"
"I'll tell you why." Sirius growled. "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 sure that he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you?" Sirius looked at him expectantly, but Peter refused to look at him. "Why else did you find a wizarding family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your dear old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him…"
Peter opened and closed his mouth, looking like a fish, before Hermione interrupted again.
"Er—Mr. Black—Sirius?"
Sirius stared at her, surprised that she would even address him… let alone call him Mr. Black.
"If you don't mind me asking, how—how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?" Hermione asked him, looking a little frightened.
"Thank you! Exactly! Precisely what I—" Peter started, but Remus shut him up with one of his classic looks.
"I don't know how I did it," Sirius said softly. But he did his best to explain it—everything from when he found the newspaper article to the escape, to the adventures around Hogwarts—everything except his visit with Belle.
When he had finished, he looked at Harry, who finally didn't look away. "Believe me." Sirius begged. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."
Harry was staring in Sirius's eyes, and Sirius could swear he saw something click into place. And Harry nodded.
"NO!" Peter screamed, and he fell to his knees. He crawled towards Sirius, begging and pleading. "Sirius—It's me… it's Peter… your friend… you wouldn't…"
But Sirius just kicked Peter away. "There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them."
"Remus!" With one down, Peter crawled desperately at Remus. "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 glared down at Peter, but then looked up at Sirius and asked casually, "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?"
"Forgive me, Remus." Sirius said with a small grin.
"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend." Remus nodded courteously. He started to roll up his sleeves, and Sirius did the same. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for thinking you were the spy?"
"Of course. Shall we kill him together?"
"Yes, I think so." Remus said, looking down at Peter grimly.
"You wouldn't… you won't…" Peter said shrilly. He whirled around and scrambled for someone to save him. "Ron… haven't I been a good friend… a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you… you're on my side, aren't you?"
"I let you sleep in my bed!" Ron shouted at Peter.
"Kind boy… kind master…" Peter grabbed at Ron's robes. "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 starkly. A very pale Ron pulled his robes out of Peter's claw-like hands.
Peter was running out of options. He turned to Hermione and seized the hem of her robes. "Sweet girl… clever girl… you—you won't let them… Help me…" But Hermione couldn't even speak. She backed up to the wall looking at Peter with a quiver. Slowly, Peter turned his head to Harry, his last chance.
"Harry… Harry… you look just like your father… just like him…"
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" Sirius roared, his whole body tense with anger. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"
"Harry," Peter breathed shrilly, shuffling towards him on his knees. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed… James would have understood, Harry… he would have shone me mercy…"
Remus and Sirius marched up to Peter at the same time. They grabbed Peter's shoulders and threw him back on the floor. Peter looked up at Sirius, quivering like the cowardly rat he was.
"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort." Sirius said, feeling his own body shudder. "Do you deny it?"
Peter burst into a set of the fakest sobs Sirius had ever had to witness in his entire life. "Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? 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!" Sirius shouted, shaking even more. "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!" Peter cried out. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"
Sirius couldn't even answer him at first. What kind of a stupid question was that?
"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed? Only innocent lives, Peter!"
"You don't understand!" Peter said immediately. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" Sirius screamed down at him. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" Sirius was shaking violently, more angry than he had ever been in his life. How could Peter talk like this? Was he insane?
Remus quietly put a hand on Sirius's shoulder, in hopes of calming him down.
"You should have realized," Remus said, so he was barely audible, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter."
"NO!" Harry ran forward out of nowhere, and put himself in front of Sirius and Remus's wands. What are you doing, Harry? "You can't kill him… you can't."
Sirius stared at him. What was he thinking?
"Harry," Sirius said softly, "this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents. 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 was breathing heavily. "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 exclaimed, hugging Harry's knees. "You—thank you—it's more than I deserve—thank you—"
"Get off me." Harry said coldly, kicking Peter's hands away from him. "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."
Sirius and Remus exchanged a look. Maybe Harry was the insane one…?
"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry." Sirius said to him. Everything inside of him was begging Harry to change his mind. "But think…" please, I've waited so long… he deserves to die… "Think what he did…" He killed your parents, and my best friends… he turned to Voldemort, just because he could… He was a spy; he ruined your life and mine…
"He can go to Azkaban. If anyone deserves that place, he does…" Harry said finally.
"Very well." Remus sighed. "Stand aside, Harry." But Harry didn't move at first. "I'm going to tie him up—that's all, I swear."
So Harry moved out of the way, and chords shot out of Remus's wand and Peter was instantly bound and gagged.
Sirius bent down so he was right next to Peter's face. "But if you transform, Peter," he pointed his wand right in Peter's face, "we will kill you. You agree, Harry?" He looked up at his godson, who nodded visibly.
"Right," Remus said, using his business voice. "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 Ron, but Sirius didn't take his eyes off Peter. He heard Remus fixing Ron's leg, but they seemed so far away. Peter may have escaped from his wrath, but the dementors would be worse, he decided.
Sirius looked up, and saw that Harry was staring at him, watching him carefully. When their eyes met, Harry looked away quickly to watch as Remus and Hermione inspected Snape.
Remus cast another spell so that the unconscious Snape could float along behind them. They were ready to go.
"And two of us should be chained to this." Sirius said, kicking Peter with his toe. "Just to be sure."
"I'll do it." Remus said, walking over to Peter.
"And me." Ron said, limping forward.
Sirius did the honors of conjuring heavy manacles out of thin air and strapping them to Ron's arm, Remus's arm and Peter's two arms.
Crookshanks hopped off the bed at last, and led the way out of the drafty room looking pleased.