Harry walked back to the common room. He had to find a way to expose
Malfoy. Reading his mail was useless.
"Anything new?" Ron asked.
Harry sighed. "He sent a letter."
Hermione looked up from her book. "And?"
Harry shook his head. "It was exactly what we needed, but we can't use it. He wrote to his mother, saying that he would get his parents out of Azkaban, and that he was getting help from 'an old friend.' I think he means Wormtail. But we can't tell people that we read his mail, so its useless."
Ron frowned. "So there's nothing we can do?"
Harry shook his head. "He said in his letter that he would visit her after school ended. I think that may be when he gets her out. Now we just need to figure out how."
Hermione nodded. "Is it even possible?"
Harry shrugged. "How would I know?"
He sat down and pulled out his books. He sat silently, studying, for what seemed like hours. Finally, Harry decided to go to bed. He looked at his watch. It was almost midnight, and Harry could barely keep his eyes open. He went upstairs and fell asleep instantly.
Harry found himself walking down a hallway. It was dark and dusty, and smelled like it had never had fresh air in it. there were bars lining the hall. Harry looked to his left, and there was a door of bars. He tried it, but it didn't open. Someone laughed from the other side. Harry tried a door on the other side of the hall. The same thing, but a two people laughing behind it. he continued to the end of the hall, trying doors on both sides until he reached the end. Just as he reached for the handle, Sirius came and leaned on the bars.
"It's not use, Harry. We can't get out. That's the whole point." He looked dark and sullen, and he backed into the shadows.
Harry started to panic. "Can someone let me out?" he noticed a door he hadn't tried on the other end. He reached for it.
"You can't leave us here like this, Harry." Sirius' voice came from the other end of the hall. More voices came, and faces emerged at the doors. "Don't leave us here! You've let us down!" they said. Harry pulled the door open and ran out. He squinted in the light, and when his eyes focused, the Minister of Magic was standing in front of him.
"Did you get anything from it?" He asked. Harry shook his head. "We were counting on you, Harry. You've let us down!" He shook his head with pity, and walked away.
~
Harry's eyes jerked open. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. It was early, but Harry knew he couldn't get back to sleep. He got dressed and went down to the common room to study, but could not concentrate. He knew what that dream had meant, but what could he do about it? he wouldn't be able to solve everything at once. But now he knew what he needed to do first. He had to get Sirius off. Without Sirius, Harry would not be able to get anywhere.
He took out a piece of parchment and started writing. Thoughts, ideas, anything. He wrote for almost an hour and a half. By the time Hermione and Ron had ventured downstairs, Harry had a plan.
"So what do you plan to do?" Ron asked when Harry told them he had to get Sirius out.
"It might take a while, but I definitely think it can work." Harry said. "Everyone thinks that Sirius was is Death Eater, right?"
Ron nodded, and Hermione looked on skeptically.
"Well, all the Death Eaters have the tattoos on their arms! Sirius doesn't!"
Hermione sighed. "Not all of them do. Only the higher ranked ones. And besides, he could take it off. Tattoos are removable."
Harry shook his head. "But everyone thought Sirius was his right hand man! Of course he would have the tattoo! And he couldn't take it off. Snape couldn't get his off. All of the old Death Eaters would have tried to get it off!"
Hermione shook her head. "I don't think it is enough."
"If we can get them to give him Veritaserum, he can tell them exactly what happened. He can't lie with it."
Ron sighed. "I think it's useless, Harry."
"Not it's not!" Harry said. He could feel his face heating up with anger.
"Harry, don't get angry at us. It's not our fault. I think that if you want to prove that Sirius is innocent, you need Wormtail."
Harry smiled. "Fine."
They looked at him. "Harry, mate, are you alright?" Ron asked.
Harry kept smiling. "I said fine. All this means is that I have a new first job. I need to find Wormtail."
Hermione almost laughed. "Harry, you have no idea where he is! How on earth do you expect to find him?"
Harry shrugged. "I've just got to wait. It's been a while since the last attack. I don't think it was Malfoy both times. He would not have been able to attack me like I was attacked the first time. I think it was Wormtail. And I think that the reason that I haven't been attacked again is because Malfoy can't do it. he didn't even hurt me when he tried, but when Wormtail tried, I was unconscious for two weeks. They know now that it should be Wormtail attacking me.
"I think it's just that he hasn't been able to get here. When he does get here, he'll attack me. But he won't hurt me this time. This time, we'll be ready for him. And we'll catch him."
Hermione smiled weakly. "Harry, you are completely insane."
He grinned. "Darn right I am."
"So how do you expect to catch him?" Ron asked, as they walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
"By being alert and ready for him at all times. I'm going to try to be in large groups most of the time. Not to keep me safe, but to make it so that he has very few chances to attack me. That means that I will know when he is going to attack me. I can be ready for him whenever I am alone."
Hermione took out her book as soon as they sat down. "this is certainly not guaranteed." She muttered.
Harry shrugged. "Nothing I ever do is guaranteed."
* * * * *
Nothing happened for the rest of the week. Than nothing happened for the rest of the month. It was already April, and Harry was starting to get discouraged. But he wasn't giving up. He was still alert at all times. He spent most of his time studying in the common room, because it was the only place that he could be alone and still focus on his studying.
Exam preparations were getting even harder. Harry barely had time for Quiddich anymore, he rarely made it to more than one practice a week. Luckily, Ginny agreed to take over for him when he wasn't there.
"Keep your broom steady, don't swerve so much when you don't need to!" Harry called to Katie. "Watch the ball, Ron! Look where you're going, Dent! I don't want you to hit someone!"
He watched them play. They were really good.
"Okay, it's time to go inside!" Harry called out. Everyone flew in. Someone grabbed the bludgers, and the balls were put into the box. Harry noticed something run across the sideline as he closed the box. He stood up and leaned towards Ron. "He's here. Keep a watch on me, but don't let him see you."
Ron nodded and walked back with the rest of the team while Harry put the ball box in the shed. He gripped his wand as he turned around. There was no one there. He took a deep breath and walked quickly towards the school. He could hear Wormtail behind him, but he didn't turn around. If Harry hadn't known Wormtail was behind him, he would not have noticed the sound, and then he would be in trouble. Just when he thought that Wormtail was getting sufficiently close, he spun quickly around and produced the full body bind spell.
It worked. Wormtail was behind him. And he couldn't move. Harry hadn't expected it to be nearly that easy. He had thought that Wormtail would attack him first, that there would be a big fight.
He leaned down to where Wormtail was lying, looking petrified. "Well, Mr. Pettigrew, it seems I overestimated you." He said, while Ron ran up to them.
"I told Ginny to go get Dumbledore." He said. Harry nodded.
As if on cue, Dumbledore came striding out of the school. He looked down at Wormtail, frowning. He then looked up at Harry. Harry expected him to smile, congratulate him, something of the sort.
He didn't. He frowned. "That was very reckless, Harry. You should have told a teacher that you expected to be attacked again." He paused. "Although, if you had, you would most likely not have caught him, so I supposed that it is alright."
Harry smiled. "Thank you, Professor."
"I have alerted the Minister, he should be arriving shortly. You may come to my office, both of you. And you might want to get Miss Granger."
Harry nodded, and he and Ron went up to the Gryffindor common room. "Hermione!" Ron called when he got in. A few people, mostly the fifth and seventh years, looked at him angrily. "Hermione! We got him! Come on!"
Hermione's eyes widened, and she followed them to his office. "What do you mean, you got him?" She asked as they ran.
Harry grinned. "You'll see."
"Come in." Dumbledore's voice carried through the door. Harry opened it, and the three of them walked in. The Minister was there, as were two Ministry guards and Wormtail, still in his full body bind.
"So it is true, then." The minister said, pacing the room.
Dumbledore nodded. "You didn't believe them. They were telling the truth. Professor Snape," he motioned to Snape, whom Harry had not noticed was sitting in the corner. "has kindly brought along some Veritaserum, which we shall now give to Mr. Pettigrew here."
Pettigrew's eyes were darting from person to person. He was looking for someone to help him. He avoided looking at Harry completely.
Snape pried open his mouth and poured in a few drops of the potion.
Half an hour later, he had told them everything.
The minister stared at him, wide eyed. "This means. . . that means. . . oh my goodness! I feel so silly!"
"I believe an apology is in order for Mr. Black."
Fudge shook his head. "But Mr. Potter said he was dead!"
Dumbledore smiled. "He was, but things have changed. He is alive again."
Fudge got rather red in the face, and said, "That is preposterous! I cannot believe that such a thing is possible!"
Dumbledore smiled. "Than we shall tell you that we were mistaken, and he has been alive the entire time."
Fudge frowned. "Fine, fine. If you bring him in, we will give him the Veritaserum, just to check."
Dumbledore nodded. "One moment. Minister, I will have to ask you to leave the room for a moment." Fudge, looking confused, nodded and walked out the door, the two guards taking Wormtail and following.
Dumbledore then took a handful of Floo powder from a pot by the fire , and threw it in. "Twelve Grimmauld Place." He said, and stuck his head in the fire. "Good evening, Sirius. Do you think you could come over here for a moment?"
He pulled his head out, and a moment later, Sirius came out of the fire. "Hello," he said. "what can I do you for?" He smiled.
Dumbledore opened the door, and Fudge came back in. Sirius blanched. "No. . ." he said. Then, of course, the guards brought Wormtail in, and Sirius frowned. "What's going on?"
Fudge looked quite nervous in front of Sirius. He obviously still didn't believe that Sirius was innocent. "We would like to give you Veritaserum, Mr. Black. Just to make sure that Mr. Pettigrew's story checks out."
Sirius nodded. They gave him the Veritaserum, and he told them the exact same story Wormtail had. Harry could not stop grinning the entire time.
"Well, Minister, I think everything is in order, is it not?" Dumbledore asked.
Fudge, still looking slightly confused, nodded. "Very well. Mr. Pettigrew will be taken straight to Azkaban, where he will serve a life sentence, under high security. Mr. Black, you are officially a free man."
Sirius stood up and shook his hand. "Thank you, sir."
Fudge smiled weakly. "I suppose I should be telling the Prophet about this."
Dumbledore nodded. "I suppose you should."
Fudge nodded, and he, the two guards, and Pettigrew went into the fireplace. A flash, and they were gone.
"Sirius, if you would like to stay here as a guest for tonight, you are welcome to. You might want a change of scenery tomorrow from your house."
Sirius nodded. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. I would be delighted."
Harry was very happy that not only was the next day a Saturday, but it was their second last Hogsmeade trip.
"This is going to be great!" Harry said.
Sirius smiled. "We have done things before Harry. And it's not like you don't get outside."
Harry grinned. "No, but the fact that you are off the hook won't be in the papers until Monday. That means that everyone is going to be really funny."
Ron laughed. "It's true. When ever anyone finds out, only a few people have, they get all weird."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "This just means that people are going to be attacking him."
Sirius grinned. "I can take care of myself, Hermione."
Hermione smiled. "Of course you can."
They walked out of Sirius' room and out to the gate. Harry was right; people did stare, and they got a few screams out of the girls.
They walked through the town that morning, going into the candy store and the Three Broomsticks. When they sat down in the Three Broomsticks, Madam Rosemerta (A/N I think that's her name) refused to serve them, until Harry explained that Sirius had been pardoned. But they still had fun.
Harry went to sleep that night smiling. He was so much closer to finishing everything. Sirius was free, that was his first goal. And Wormtail was captured, that was his second. Now all he had left to do was expose Malfoy. Other than the people in jail, Malfoy and his friends were the only people who were still a threat to Harry. If he could get them out of his life and into Azkaban, he would be free. Free of the bad things that always happened to him.
Free of why Cho left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
there was chapter 17. I hope you liked it, and I hope you all got the hints. They were fairly obvious. I can't believe I got all the way to chapter 17! I am so proud. This is my longest chapter yet! I'm sorry if it is sort of vague, I wrote it while I was very, very sleepy.
Ugh, this is so annoying. My internet connection doesn't work. It is so slow that I am going to write back to all my reviewers in my next chapter.
Sorry!
-unolimbo
"Anything new?" Ron asked.
Harry sighed. "He sent a letter."
Hermione looked up from her book. "And?"
Harry shook his head. "It was exactly what we needed, but we can't use it. He wrote to his mother, saying that he would get his parents out of Azkaban, and that he was getting help from 'an old friend.' I think he means Wormtail. But we can't tell people that we read his mail, so its useless."
Ron frowned. "So there's nothing we can do?"
Harry shook his head. "He said in his letter that he would visit her after school ended. I think that may be when he gets her out. Now we just need to figure out how."
Hermione nodded. "Is it even possible?"
Harry shrugged. "How would I know?"
He sat down and pulled out his books. He sat silently, studying, for what seemed like hours. Finally, Harry decided to go to bed. He looked at his watch. It was almost midnight, and Harry could barely keep his eyes open. He went upstairs and fell asleep instantly.
Harry found himself walking down a hallway. It was dark and dusty, and smelled like it had never had fresh air in it. there were bars lining the hall. Harry looked to his left, and there was a door of bars. He tried it, but it didn't open. Someone laughed from the other side. Harry tried a door on the other side of the hall. The same thing, but a two people laughing behind it. he continued to the end of the hall, trying doors on both sides until he reached the end. Just as he reached for the handle, Sirius came and leaned on the bars.
"It's not use, Harry. We can't get out. That's the whole point." He looked dark and sullen, and he backed into the shadows.
Harry started to panic. "Can someone let me out?" he noticed a door he hadn't tried on the other end. He reached for it.
"You can't leave us here like this, Harry." Sirius' voice came from the other end of the hall. More voices came, and faces emerged at the doors. "Don't leave us here! You've let us down!" they said. Harry pulled the door open and ran out. He squinted in the light, and when his eyes focused, the Minister of Magic was standing in front of him.
"Did you get anything from it?" He asked. Harry shook his head. "We were counting on you, Harry. You've let us down!" He shook his head with pity, and walked away.
~
Harry's eyes jerked open. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. It was early, but Harry knew he couldn't get back to sleep. He got dressed and went down to the common room to study, but could not concentrate. He knew what that dream had meant, but what could he do about it? he wouldn't be able to solve everything at once. But now he knew what he needed to do first. He had to get Sirius off. Without Sirius, Harry would not be able to get anywhere.
He took out a piece of parchment and started writing. Thoughts, ideas, anything. He wrote for almost an hour and a half. By the time Hermione and Ron had ventured downstairs, Harry had a plan.
"So what do you plan to do?" Ron asked when Harry told them he had to get Sirius out.
"It might take a while, but I definitely think it can work." Harry said. "Everyone thinks that Sirius was is Death Eater, right?"
Ron nodded, and Hermione looked on skeptically.
"Well, all the Death Eaters have the tattoos on their arms! Sirius doesn't!"
Hermione sighed. "Not all of them do. Only the higher ranked ones. And besides, he could take it off. Tattoos are removable."
Harry shook his head. "But everyone thought Sirius was his right hand man! Of course he would have the tattoo! And he couldn't take it off. Snape couldn't get his off. All of the old Death Eaters would have tried to get it off!"
Hermione shook her head. "I don't think it is enough."
"If we can get them to give him Veritaserum, he can tell them exactly what happened. He can't lie with it."
Ron sighed. "I think it's useless, Harry."
"Not it's not!" Harry said. He could feel his face heating up with anger.
"Harry, don't get angry at us. It's not our fault. I think that if you want to prove that Sirius is innocent, you need Wormtail."
Harry smiled. "Fine."
They looked at him. "Harry, mate, are you alright?" Ron asked.
Harry kept smiling. "I said fine. All this means is that I have a new first job. I need to find Wormtail."
Hermione almost laughed. "Harry, you have no idea where he is! How on earth do you expect to find him?"
Harry shrugged. "I've just got to wait. It's been a while since the last attack. I don't think it was Malfoy both times. He would not have been able to attack me like I was attacked the first time. I think it was Wormtail. And I think that the reason that I haven't been attacked again is because Malfoy can't do it. he didn't even hurt me when he tried, but when Wormtail tried, I was unconscious for two weeks. They know now that it should be Wormtail attacking me.
"I think it's just that he hasn't been able to get here. When he does get here, he'll attack me. But he won't hurt me this time. This time, we'll be ready for him. And we'll catch him."
Hermione smiled weakly. "Harry, you are completely insane."
He grinned. "Darn right I am."
"So how do you expect to catch him?" Ron asked, as they walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
"By being alert and ready for him at all times. I'm going to try to be in large groups most of the time. Not to keep me safe, but to make it so that he has very few chances to attack me. That means that I will know when he is going to attack me. I can be ready for him whenever I am alone."
Hermione took out her book as soon as they sat down. "this is certainly not guaranteed." She muttered.
Harry shrugged. "Nothing I ever do is guaranteed."
* * * * *
Nothing happened for the rest of the week. Than nothing happened for the rest of the month. It was already April, and Harry was starting to get discouraged. But he wasn't giving up. He was still alert at all times. He spent most of his time studying in the common room, because it was the only place that he could be alone and still focus on his studying.
Exam preparations were getting even harder. Harry barely had time for Quiddich anymore, he rarely made it to more than one practice a week. Luckily, Ginny agreed to take over for him when he wasn't there.
"Keep your broom steady, don't swerve so much when you don't need to!" Harry called to Katie. "Watch the ball, Ron! Look where you're going, Dent! I don't want you to hit someone!"
He watched them play. They were really good.
"Okay, it's time to go inside!" Harry called out. Everyone flew in. Someone grabbed the bludgers, and the balls were put into the box. Harry noticed something run across the sideline as he closed the box. He stood up and leaned towards Ron. "He's here. Keep a watch on me, but don't let him see you."
Ron nodded and walked back with the rest of the team while Harry put the ball box in the shed. He gripped his wand as he turned around. There was no one there. He took a deep breath and walked quickly towards the school. He could hear Wormtail behind him, but he didn't turn around. If Harry hadn't known Wormtail was behind him, he would not have noticed the sound, and then he would be in trouble. Just when he thought that Wormtail was getting sufficiently close, he spun quickly around and produced the full body bind spell.
It worked. Wormtail was behind him. And he couldn't move. Harry hadn't expected it to be nearly that easy. He had thought that Wormtail would attack him first, that there would be a big fight.
He leaned down to where Wormtail was lying, looking petrified. "Well, Mr. Pettigrew, it seems I overestimated you." He said, while Ron ran up to them.
"I told Ginny to go get Dumbledore." He said. Harry nodded.
As if on cue, Dumbledore came striding out of the school. He looked down at Wormtail, frowning. He then looked up at Harry. Harry expected him to smile, congratulate him, something of the sort.
He didn't. He frowned. "That was very reckless, Harry. You should have told a teacher that you expected to be attacked again." He paused. "Although, if you had, you would most likely not have caught him, so I supposed that it is alright."
Harry smiled. "Thank you, Professor."
"I have alerted the Minister, he should be arriving shortly. You may come to my office, both of you. And you might want to get Miss Granger."
Harry nodded, and he and Ron went up to the Gryffindor common room. "Hermione!" Ron called when he got in. A few people, mostly the fifth and seventh years, looked at him angrily. "Hermione! We got him! Come on!"
Hermione's eyes widened, and she followed them to his office. "What do you mean, you got him?" She asked as they ran.
Harry grinned. "You'll see."
"Come in." Dumbledore's voice carried through the door. Harry opened it, and the three of them walked in. The Minister was there, as were two Ministry guards and Wormtail, still in his full body bind.
"So it is true, then." The minister said, pacing the room.
Dumbledore nodded. "You didn't believe them. They were telling the truth. Professor Snape," he motioned to Snape, whom Harry had not noticed was sitting in the corner. "has kindly brought along some Veritaserum, which we shall now give to Mr. Pettigrew here."
Pettigrew's eyes were darting from person to person. He was looking for someone to help him. He avoided looking at Harry completely.
Snape pried open his mouth and poured in a few drops of the potion.
Half an hour later, he had told them everything.
The minister stared at him, wide eyed. "This means. . . that means. . . oh my goodness! I feel so silly!"
"I believe an apology is in order for Mr. Black."
Fudge shook his head. "But Mr. Potter said he was dead!"
Dumbledore smiled. "He was, but things have changed. He is alive again."
Fudge got rather red in the face, and said, "That is preposterous! I cannot believe that such a thing is possible!"
Dumbledore smiled. "Than we shall tell you that we were mistaken, and he has been alive the entire time."
Fudge frowned. "Fine, fine. If you bring him in, we will give him the Veritaserum, just to check."
Dumbledore nodded. "One moment. Minister, I will have to ask you to leave the room for a moment." Fudge, looking confused, nodded and walked out the door, the two guards taking Wormtail and following.
Dumbledore then took a handful of Floo powder from a pot by the fire , and threw it in. "Twelve Grimmauld Place." He said, and stuck his head in the fire. "Good evening, Sirius. Do you think you could come over here for a moment?"
He pulled his head out, and a moment later, Sirius came out of the fire. "Hello," he said. "what can I do you for?" He smiled.
Dumbledore opened the door, and Fudge came back in. Sirius blanched. "No. . ." he said. Then, of course, the guards brought Wormtail in, and Sirius frowned. "What's going on?"
Fudge looked quite nervous in front of Sirius. He obviously still didn't believe that Sirius was innocent. "We would like to give you Veritaserum, Mr. Black. Just to make sure that Mr. Pettigrew's story checks out."
Sirius nodded. They gave him the Veritaserum, and he told them the exact same story Wormtail had. Harry could not stop grinning the entire time.
"Well, Minister, I think everything is in order, is it not?" Dumbledore asked.
Fudge, still looking slightly confused, nodded. "Very well. Mr. Pettigrew will be taken straight to Azkaban, where he will serve a life sentence, under high security. Mr. Black, you are officially a free man."
Sirius stood up and shook his hand. "Thank you, sir."
Fudge smiled weakly. "I suppose I should be telling the Prophet about this."
Dumbledore nodded. "I suppose you should."
Fudge nodded, and he, the two guards, and Pettigrew went into the fireplace. A flash, and they were gone.
"Sirius, if you would like to stay here as a guest for tonight, you are welcome to. You might want a change of scenery tomorrow from your house."
Sirius nodded. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. I would be delighted."
Harry was very happy that not only was the next day a Saturday, but it was their second last Hogsmeade trip.
"This is going to be great!" Harry said.
Sirius smiled. "We have done things before Harry. And it's not like you don't get outside."
Harry grinned. "No, but the fact that you are off the hook won't be in the papers until Monday. That means that everyone is going to be really funny."
Ron laughed. "It's true. When ever anyone finds out, only a few people have, they get all weird."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "This just means that people are going to be attacking him."
Sirius grinned. "I can take care of myself, Hermione."
Hermione smiled. "Of course you can."
They walked out of Sirius' room and out to the gate. Harry was right; people did stare, and they got a few screams out of the girls.
They walked through the town that morning, going into the candy store and the Three Broomsticks. When they sat down in the Three Broomsticks, Madam Rosemerta (A/N I think that's her name) refused to serve them, until Harry explained that Sirius had been pardoned. But they still had fun.
Harry went to sleep that night smiling. He was so much closer to finishing everything. Sirius was free, that was his first goal. And Wormtail was captured, that was his second. Now all he had left to do was expose Malfoy. Other than the people in jail, Malfoy and his friends were the only people who were still a threat to Harry. If he could get them out of his life and into Azkaban, he would be free. Free of the bad things that always happened to him.
Free of why Cho left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
there was chapter 17. I hope you liked it, and I hope you all got the hints. They were fairly obvious. I can't believe I got all the way to chapter 17! I am so proud. This is my longest chapter yet! I'm sorry if it is sort of vague, I wrote it while I was very, very sleepy.
Ugh, this is so annoying. My internet connection doesn't work. It is so slow that I am going to write back to all my reviewers in my next chapter.
Sorry!
-unolimbo