Peter Pettigrew, scrambling to his feet, stared around the room, eyes wide. "R...Remus!" He said, attempting a cheerful tone. "H...How are you?"
"Very well, thank you." Said Lupin, smiling pleasantly. "You, on the other hand, aren't going to be so well in the near future."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Pettigrew asked.
"He means that he's gonna let me at you. I'll blow off more than just a damned finger!" Sirius growled, starting forward. But Lupin turned and grabbed him by the shoulders,sighing and holding him back.
"Not yet, Sirius. We've still got a story to tell, unfortunately. So for the time being..." Lupin began, quickly turning and, in one swift move, summoned Pettigrew's wand and bound him with magical ropes. "Behave yourself until we're done, Peter, or I will let Sirius on you."
Pettigrew just nodded, swallowing hard.
"Sit." Lupin then commanded, looking at Sirius. Sirius scowled in reply, fought the stare with one of his own, then made a noise and turned to sit on the edge of the ragged, old bed.
"And you lot, put your wands away." Lupin said, turning to the students. "I'll summon them like I summoned Peter's if you don't. I won't have the Shrieking Shack destroyed. There are a lot of memories here for me."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"He's... he's a... a..." Hermione started, looking at Lupin strangely.
"A werewolf, yes." Lupin finished for her. "...How long have you known?"
"...You kept disappearing. Professor Snape seemed very keen on studying werewolves when he substituted for you." Hermione said, not quite meeting the older man's gaze.
"I knew you smelled different." Solieyu commented, glaring outright at the man.
Lupin chuckled softly. "I'm sure I would. Albus has informed me, of course, of your condition..."
"What condition?" Hermione asked, turning to look at Solieyu.
"I'm a vampire." Solieyu commented in a very offhanded way. This caused Tonks and Harry to look at each other in confusion. Given that it had taken thier friend upwards of three years to inform them, he didn't seem very phased to be explaining it to a room full of relative strangers.
"Ooh, I knew it had to be something like that!" Hermione said, eyes bright. "At first, I thought you might be a werewolf too, but the patterns didn't match up."
"So lemme get this straight." Ron said, letting out a disbelieving laugh. "I'm in the room with a werewolf, a vampire, a murderer, and a pervert? Oh, that's just great."
"A pervert?" Lupin asked.
"HIM!" Ron said, pointing an accusing finger at Pettigrew. "He had free reign of the Burrow! Oh, yuck, he's probably watched Ginny changing and stuff!"
"N-no..." Pettigrew began, feebly. "I...I would never..."
"Quiet, Peter." Lupin said. "Anyway, I'm a werewolf, yes. And yes, Albus knows. As I'm sure you've seen, Mr. Reinhardt, he's got a bit of a soft spot for people that most would consider to be 'dark creatures.'"
"Indeed." Solieyu said, crossing his arms.
"Now then. Come on, wands away, all of you." Lupin said. When the students did as they were told, he smiled and turned to Sirius. "Now then. Sirius, you're going to have to begin this. I only know a small part of it."
"Well," Sirius began, chancing a look aside at Harry. "The long and short of it is this: I was convinced Voldemort--" He glared at Pettigrew, who had hissed violently at the sound of the Dark Lord's name "--VOLDEMORT would come after me, as I would seem like the most obvious choice. Everyone knew James and I were best friends in school. Hell, half of the school knew I had left home to stay with him."
"What?" Harry asked, now turning to look at Sirius. "Why would you be staying with my dad?"
"Because of my parents." Sirius said, the look on his face somehow growing darker. "I couldn't stand their pure-blooded bulls--" A cough from Lupin caused him to pause, then reword his sentence. "...Their pure-blooded nonsense any longer. Mother never did like me very much, and father was always off on 'business' trips. So I jumped ship and stayed with your dad and his family, Harry.
"Anyway... When your parents decided to go into hiding, they had originally decided on me as their secret keeper. I just couldn't sit well with that, because I knew I would be the first person Voldemort would come after. So I convinced them to switch. I didn't kill Lily and James, Harry... though I might as well have, since I sent them to their deaths by saying that he was a better choice." Sirius spat, fury in his eyes as he stared at Pettigrew, who was avoiding Sirius' gaze as best he could.
"None of that, Sirius." Lupin said, walking over and placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "It's as much my fault as yours. Because of my condition--"
"Oh, HANG your condition, Moony, it wasn't because of that. You were just gone all the time. No one could ever get ahold of you." Sirius said, waving a dismissing hand. "Anyway, Lily and James agreed to switch. When I found out what Wormtail had done, I chased after him. I finally cornered him on that street. Then he started yelling about how I was the traitor. Filthy little rat faked his own death and left me to face the charges. Very clever, I must admit, Wormtail. Blowing off one of your own fingers to act as evidence."
Sirius rubbed the bridge of his nose before continuing. "My time in Azkaban... it's fuzzy. I can't remember much of it. I spent most of the time in my dog form. The Dementors don't affect animals as much, so it was easier to handle. Then that bumbling idiot Fudge paid me a little visit during a routine trip. He had a copy of the Prophet on him. Asked if I could have it. The fool agreed and that's where I saw the picture of Wormtail. A few days later, I slipped by the Dementors when they came to bring me my meal. They can't see like we can. They can only sense potential food. And danger, I suppose. But as I was underweight and weak, I made it out, though the swim to land damn near killed me.
"As soon as I hit the shore, I made my way here. I waited, watching people go about their daily schedules. You're damn good on a broom, Harry. I tried keeping the Willow from destroying your old broom. Didn't do such a good job of it though. Hope the new one makes up for it, though." Sirius said.
"So you did send it, huh?" Harry asked.
"Yup. And no arguing about the price. The Black family vaults are far too full. I'd rather they be spent on things we can enjoy rather than what my parents used it for. I snuck into Gryffindor Tower after I happened across a list of passwords someone had left out in the open." Sirius continued.
"Neville..." Hermione and Ron groaned at the same time.
"What?" Tonks asked.
"He always has trouble remembering the password. So he started writing them down." Hermione explained.
"Didn't meant to scare you." Sirius said, glancing Ron's way. "I just figured Harry would be sorted into the same house Lily and James were in."
"Weren't close enough to notice the colors on my robes?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not as such. My eyes have gotten rather bad. Blame spending months in pitch black cells." Sirius explained.
"Alright, that answers a couple things." Tonks began, slowly turning towards Lupin. "So what's all this about you making that Map?"
"Ahh, yes." Lupin began, chuckling. "Well, it wasn't just me. Your father, Harry, helped. As did Sirius and Peter. We used the names we called each other so as to not get in any trouble. Sirius and James decided to give me the name 'Moony,' what with my condition and all. Sirius is Padfoot, Peter is Wormtail, and James was Prongs."
"Why Prongs?" Harry asked.
"Turned into a stag." Sirius said, shrugging. "Biggest one of the lot of us. After we worked out Moony's little problem, we worked out a way to make things less difficult on him. So the three of us became illegal Animagi and joined Moony during his transformations."
"Nice of you." Solieyu commented, dryly.
"It was." Lupin said. "All my life, I had been treated differently because of my condition. The Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts, you know. When that time rolled around, Poppy Pomfrey would escort me out to it, hit the knot that stopped the tree, and showed me to this place."
"Of course, Moony's unfortunate habit of being noisy during the full moon led people to believe this old place was haunted." Sirius said, smirking crookedly. "We did little to try and change the public's thought on that, of course. The Shack was loaded with wards to keep anyone from even getting close to it, though."
"Yes. Most of the damage done to this place was done by me." Lupin said, glancing around the room. "So... have we any other questions to answer?"
"...You really weren't the one to get my parents killed?" Harry asked, looking straight into Sirius' eyes.
"I swear." Sirius said, returning the gaze. "If I had known what Wormtail was planning to do, I would've remained the secret keeper myself."
"And you would've gotten killed!" Pettigrew suddenly screeched. "The Dark Lord would have tortured you... would have killed you!"
"Better to die protecting my friends than being the reason they're dead!" Sirius barked, getting to his feet.
"I'm afraid I have to side with Sirius this time, Peter." Lupin said, holding Pettigrew's wand out to the side, where Sirius took it. "It's regrettable that you were so weak, Peter. I honestly expected better of you."
"You don't understand!" Pettigrew whined. "I had no choice! He would have killed me if I hadn't done what he told me!"
"Then you should have died." Growled Sirius.
"I don't believe for a moment that you were somehow tricked into doing his bidding, Peter." Lupin said, sighing as he drew his own wand. "You always did gravitate towards those with more power than yourself. You always wanted to become stronger by any means neccessary."
"No... n-no..." Pettigrew began, working out what was happening. Quickly, he turned and stared pleadingly in the direction of the students. "P-please! Harry! You... you must know that... that I didn't want Lily and James to..."
"Don't you talk about them." Harry growled, in a manner not unlike Sirius'. "You don't have the right to even say their names."
Tonks and Solieyu glanced at one another. It was rare to see Harry as worked up as he currently was. No one else might notice the change that had come over him, but they did. Tonks had seen Harry fuming in a quiet rage only a few times in the past. She briefly wondered if Harry was about to try blowing up Pettigrew like he had done to his Aunt last summer.
Pettigrew switched tactics, looking at Ron now. "M...Master... Please..."
"Don't call me your master, you sicko!" Ron said, looking thoroughly disgusted. "You slept in my BED..."
"I... I would have been killed..." Pettigrew said, his voice shaking. "The Dark Lord would have killed me..."
"You could have protected Lily and James. But you chose not to. You should have realized - if Voldemort didn't kill you, then we would." Lupin said. As Sirius took up the spot beside him, both aimed their wands down at the thin man, who let out a whimper. "Goodbye, Peter."
"No!" Harry said suddenly, rushing forward and getting between the two groups.
"Harry..." Lupin said.
"He's the reason they're dead!" Sirius roared.
"Yeah... but do you really think mum and dad would want you two to become killers just because of him?" Harry asked, looking from one man to the other. "We'll take him back to the school. I'm sure the Dementors are hungry. They've not had anything to feed on this year. They've been restless lately."
Sirius' eyes shone. "You know... I like the way you think."
"The way I see it..." Harry said, turning to stare down at Pettigrew. "He deserves worse than death. So let them feed."
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Ron bounced grumpily through the air, muttering darkly under his breath. Next to him, Hermione just patted his arm comfortingly. Lupin, who was leading the group back through the tunnel, was also the one toting Ron about. He had healed up the boy's broken leg as best he could before they had set off.
Sirius and Harry were in the rear of the pack, Sirius hovering Pettigrew (upside-down) through the air. Tonks and Solieyu walked between the two groups, though Tonks kept glancing back to Harry, whose eyes seemed to be glazed over.
"I'm sorry." Sirius murmured softly, gently nudging Harry's arm.
"Huh? ...What for?" Harry asked.
"...Dammit, I'm not sure. Everything? Being the reason the bloody Dementors are here at Hogwarts, being responsible for Lily and James' deaths..."
"You weren't responsible." Harry said. "And... and I don't blame you. You were set up. You couldn't have predicted that he would turn on you all."
"I should have." Sirius said. "He never was much of a wizard, always clinging to those stronger than he was. The only reason me and Moony let him hang around us was because James insisted. He was nice like that."
"Seems like he and mum were always being nice to everyone." Harry said. "I haven't heard anyone say anything bad about them, anyway."
"Well, almost everyone." Sirius said, chuckling. "Never did like Snape..."
"Snape? ...Severus Snape?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. How'd you know?" Sirius asked, frowning.
"He teaches Potions nowadays." Lupin called from the front.
"What! Snivellus is teaching? What's the world coming to?" Sirius said, shaking his head. He then glanced at Harry, who had snorted loudly. "What're you laughing at?"
"'Snivellus'?" Harry repeated.
"Ah yes. Our glorious nickname for him. He was always a loner, brooding off under a tree and reading. Probably reading books filled with angst and how not to wash your hair. Tell me, has he figured out how to work a shower yet?" Sirius asked.
"If you're asking about his hair, then no. Rather greasy." Harry said.
"Some things never change." Sirius said.
"So... uh... what are you gonna do now?" Harry asked, frowning.
"Well, I'm hoping that turning Wormtail in will at least let me have a trial. The Ministry saw fit to just throw me into Azkaban without one, see." Sirius explained.
"What!" Harry cried. "But... but that isn't..."
"Fair? No, it isn't. But those were the times. I don't like it, but there you go. Anyway, once Wormtail's handed over to the Ministry - hopefully to be Kissed by the Dementors - then... I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead. I... was thinking... and, don't get me wrong, I'm sure you're happy where you are, but... once I became a free man again,I was wondering if you'd like to come and stay with me. I don't know if anyone's told you, but Lily and James made me your godfather."
Harry stared at the man. "W...what?"
"Right, nevermind." Sirius said, quickly. "It was a stupid idea. I just thought--"
"What are you talking about? I'd love to come and stay with you!" Harry exclaimed.
"What?" Sirius said, blinking.
"The Dursleys... Dumbledore saw fit to throw me in with mum's sister and her family. They haven't exactly taken good care of me." Harry said.
Hanging back to join in the hushed conversation, Tonks piped in, "You should see his body. All scarred up and stuff. I hope you do take him, just so I won't hafta worry about him turning up bloody and half-dead at our place again."
"AGAIN?" Sirius cried.
"I'll tell you later." Harry mumbled, glancing ahead at Ron and Hermione.
Sirius nodded slowly. "Alright. Just remember that you do." And then, turning to Tonks, he asked, "How's Little Andi doing these days, anyway?"
Tonks snorted. "Mum'll have a fit if you call her that. She's fine. Got a job at the Ministry. Boring stuff, I think, but she seems happy enough with it."
"Sounds about right. She never did like standing out alot. Just wasn't her way. Who'd she marry?" Sirius asked.
Tonks scowled. "Ted Tonks. Lovely man."
Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"I don't see much of him anymore." Tonks explained simply.
"Ahh."
The group walked in silence after that. Once they were at the other end of the passage, Lupin turned around. "Sirius, if you'd be so kind?"
"My pleasure." Sirius said, grinning before shifting into his dog form and scampering up and out the hole. There was a faint noise as he shifted, which no one seemed to hear. Then the distinct sound of the Willow pitching a wobbly, then all went silent.
"Follow me!" Lupin then said, climbing out of the passage with Ron (and now Wormtail) in tow.
"What a day." Harry said as the group got a safe distance away from the Willow. "I'm just glad it's almost over. I can't wait to crawl into bed."
"Better not say that, mate. You'll jinx things." Tonks said.
"Don't see how." Harry said, shrugging.
"Um... I think I know how." Solieyu said. He was glancing over his friends' shoulders. The group turned and saw Wormtail and Ron on the group, with Hermione kneeling next to the redhead. Sirius was standing in front of Lupin, clutching his shoulders and shaking him every so often.
"Damn it." Harry growled, running up. "What's going on?"
"Full moon!" Sirius cried. "Moony, snap out of it! You can't do this now! We've got to get Wormtail up to the school! I know you can hold off! You've got to!"
"Hermione! Get Ron out of here! Go get Dumbledore!" Solieyu called out. The bushy-haired girl looked up, surveyed the scene quickly, then nodded and got to her feet, levitating Ron into the air and hastily retreating back up towards the school with him.
"Harry - get Tonks out of here, as well." Solieyu growled.
"What? Leon, what's..." Harry began.
"I thought you did research about werewolves." Solieyu said, turning to glare at him. "You did see the part about them being unable to control themselves once they change, didn't you?"
"Crap." Harry swore.
"Yes. So get Tonks out of here. You two aren't going to be able to do much." Solieyu said.
"Well what about you?" Tonks asked.
But before Solieyu could reply, Lupin let out a strangled cry that caused everyone's attention to snap to him. Sirius was backing up slowly, quickly sending a warning glance to the three Ravenclaws before shifting forms and adopting a defensive pose. From next to them, Solieyu performed a shift of his own, changing into his overly-large wolf form.
"Crap." Harry swore again. "Tonks...?"
"I can't just leave him!" Tonks said, motioning towards Sirius. "He's family! And innocent! AND he's gonna get you outta that hell hole Dumbledore sticks you in every summer! We've got to do something!"
"Yeah, but what?" Harry asked.
"I don't-- oh crap, MOVE!" Tonks said, shoving Harry hard before flinging herself off in the other direction. She was just in time, as seconds later a massive wolf - far larger than Solieyu's form - burst through, growling savagely. Moments later, Sirius and Solieyu were chasing after it, heading towards the Forbidden Forest.
"All alone, are we?" Came the voice of Peter Pettigrew, who was on his side and looking amused.
"Shut up!" Harry said. "What the hell do you look so pleased about, anyway?"
"With Remus off chasing the moon and your little friends gone... there's no one stopping me from doing this." Pettigrew said. And, before either Harry or Tonks could do something, Pettigrew had shifted forms as well. Once more a rat, it was quickly lost in the darkness.
"Damn it!" Harry exclaimed. "Tonks, come on! We've got to go after him!"
"This night keeps getting better and better." Said the girl, taking off after Harry.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Can you see anything?" Harry whispered.
"No. Can you?" Replied Tonks.
"If I could, I wouldn't have asked." Harry said.
"Right, sorry. Not thinking clearly right not. It's damn creepy in this forest." Tonks said.
"I'll happily agree with you there." Harry said. "Dammit, this is just insane. We're gonna end up getting eaten by Acromantulas at this rate."
"Maybe we'll luck out and they'll eat Pettigrew instead." Tonks said.
"Wishful thinking." Harry muttered. "I wish I could track him or instantly go to where he is or something. ...Sayyy, wait a minute. That might actually work."
"What might?" Asked Tonks.
"Watch. Accio Wormtail!" Harry said, hissing out the incantation.
Frantic squeaking filled the air as a rat came flying through the woods, landing at Harry's feet. The Ravenclaw smirked down at the rat. "Hullo, Peter. Nice of you to answer my call."
The rat rolled over and started rushing off again. Harry sighed and aimed at where the little vermin was headed, Accio-ing him back again. And once more, the rat tried making a break from it.
"Dammit. Tonks, will you stun that balding git this time?" Harry asked.
"Will do!" Said Tonks, readying her wand.
"Accio Wormtail!" Harry called again. And once more, the rat flew through the air back towards the two teens. However, when he landed this time, he quickly shifted back to human form.
"You'd better watch yourself, Harry." Said Pettigrew.
"Or what?" Harry asked, holding an arm out to prevent Tonks from firing her stunner just yet. "Or you'll nibble my ankles to death?"
"If you think I'm your problem in here, then you're a rather stupid Ravenclaw." Pettigrew said, letting out a croaking sort of laugh. He then drew in a deep breath. By the time Harry figured out what was happening, it was too late to do anything. Pettigrew had let out an ear-splitting yell, fired off a couple of spells at the two Ravenclaws, then one at himself, and finally transformed and scampered off again.
Harry and Tonks managed to avoid the spells, as Pettigrew was more than a little rusty with his wandwork after spending so much time in rat form. Harry tried Accio-ing him back, but nothing came this time. Frowning, Harry turned to Tonks. "You think he's actually smart enough to make it so he can't BE summoned?"
"Looks like it. What'd that idiot have to go and yell for?" Tonks asked, rubbing at her ears.
"To alert everything in the blasted forest that we're here, probably. Damn it. We can tell Dumbledore about Pettigrew. He might be able to track the little rat down. Let's go see if we can't find Sirius and Leon." Harry said, turning around and giving a venom-filled glare at the dark forest that he was leaving behind.
"Good idea, but where do we start looking?" Tonks asked.
"I dunno. But I know how we figure it out." Harry said, a grim expression setting in.
"How...?"
"We follow the cold."
"Hey, Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"When did that idiot get his wand back?"
"...I dunno."
The two eventually picked up on the sensation that Harry was dreading. It was coming from the general direction of the lake. As they ran, (hearing all manner of disturbing noises that seemed to be following them) Harry explained his plan to Tonks. The Dementors, who presumably had been without 'food' all year, were getting restless. This, in turn, was probably going to cause them to flock to any high surge of energy, like most of the school being at the Quidditch game. Meaning that a werewolf being chased by a vampire and an Animagus was likely to stir them up.
It also meant that Harry and Tonks were probably going to be thrown into the midst of the foul things eventually. But if it had to be done, it had to be done. After all, they couldn't just leave the trio out there. Lupin might be fine on his own, but Harry had a feeling that Sirius and Solieyu wouldn't be so lucky.
"There!" Harry hissed, pointing through an open line of trees. Sirius and Solieyu were standing back to back. Sure enough, a massive, black wave of Dementors was closing in from all around them. "Dammit... this isn't good. If Sirius was able to cast a Patronus before Azkaban, I doubt he can now. And Leon probably isn't going to know how..."
"Meaning you're going to have to do all the work?" Tonks squeaked.
"Something like that. Get back up to the school, Tonks. I don't want you getting caught." Harry said, turning to face the girl.
"I'm not going anywhere! Hermione went for backup, remember?" Tonks said.
"Yes, but I still don't want those things getting anywhere near you." Harry said.
"I can take care of myself. I was listening in on enough of your lessons to know the general idea." Tonks said, puffing herself up.
"Knowing and doing are two different things, Tonks. Please, just go back to the castle!" Harry said, glancing over to see his godfather and friend firing useless spells towards the Dementors. "We don't have time to argue about this!"
Tonks stared up into Harry's eyes for a brief moment before nodding. "Alright. But if you get your soul sucked out or something, I'm gonna kill you."
"I'll be alright." Harry said. "Be careful on your way back."
"You be careful out there." Tonks said.
"I will." Harry promised. "Stay safe."
And with that, he was off. Tonks watched him bolt down towards Sirius and Solieyu, then turned and took off running full tilt in the direction of the castle.
"Sirius! Leon!" Harry yelled, ducking out of the way of a pair of Dementors as he joined up with the other two. "Fancy meeting you here!"
"Harry! What are you doing?" Sirius cried. "Get out of here!"
"Can't do that, Sirius." Harry said. "Leon, what happened to Lupin?"
"Dementors swarmed and he leapt clean over them. He's out theresomewhere now." Solieyu said. "Where's Tonks?"
"Sent her back towards the castle. Bit dangerous out here." Harry said, smiling strangely.
"Protecting the girl you love by running into the thick of it yourself, eh?" Solieyu asked, chuckling dryly.
"More or less. Either of you able to conjure a Patronus?" Harry asked.
"Used to be able to." Sirius gruffed.
"I've never tried." Solieyu said.
"Expecto Patronum - that's what you use. It's fueled by happy moments. I can't imagine it's going to be very easy bringing up those here. I'm having a bit of a hard time just standing here... but that's what it is." Harry said.
Indeed, the effects of the dozens of Dementors was practically overpowering. Even running on almost pure adrenaline as he was, the effect was immense. Still, the things that had happened that night were stacking slowly. He wasn't going to have to go back to the Dursleys that summer. He and Tonks could lounge around enjoying their days off. Harry wasn't sure if Sirius had a house or anything, but even an apartment would be better than Number Four.
He could just make out the sounds of the other two, trying to form a Patronus of their own. Harry could barely make their voices out due to his mother's screams in his head being so loud.
"Mum... help me..." He murmured. "Sirius is innocent... I'm going to tell Tonks how I feel... I have to survive. So please..."
But his pleas went unanswered. The Dementors, who had collectively stopped advancing when Harry jumped into the fray, began to move forward once more. To his right, Solieyu dropped to his knees, his eyes squeezed shut. Slowly, Sirius followed, gasping out for the Dementors to stay away from him.
'No... I can't let them take Leon and Sirius...' Thought Harry, dropping to one knee himself. 'Expecto... Patronum... Expecto Patronum...'
One of the Dementors pulled back its hood. A gaping void where the mouth should have been opened up, waiting to draw out a soul. It swooped in and grabbed Sirius by the shoulders, making a horrible rattling sound that Harry could only assume was the thing breathing.
'Expecto... Expecto Patronum...' Harry thought feebly as he turned and aimed his wand at the Dementor holding Sirius. 'Expecto...'
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Roared a voice in the distance.
A large, silver object crashed into the Dementor holding Sirius. The Dementor was flung off into the trees, collapsing to the ground momentarily. But the silver object didn't stop there. It made a wide sweep of the area, ramming into Dementors and throwing them in every direction away from Harry, Solieyu, and Sirius.
Eventually, the creatures made a hasty retreat when they realized they wouldn't be able to get to the three humans so long as the glowing creature was there. Sirius had collapsed and Solieyu seemed to be joining him. Harry had just enough energy to turn around and look in the direction the Patronus had been conjured from.
His vision was fading fast, and he only just was able to catch a glimpse of the figure standing across the lake, wand out. The silver creature had made its way back across to the person, who patted it on the head. Harry collapsed onto his side, his eyes closing by themselves. He had seen it with his own two eyes, but... no, that just couldn't be, could it?
"D...dad?"
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Author's Notes: Philosopher's Stone is being fixed now, by the way. Stupid FFN screwing up my
formatting when I wasn't looking. It honestly looked fine until recently. It wasn't THAT
long ago that I checked it to see what the hell people were telling me 'omg format bad'
but it looked alright. And then, on the 24th when someone on my forum (yeah, I have that
now, if you lot wanna go chat it up about my awful rewrite here c.c) and I looked, from
chapter 10 to the end, it was all botched. ...And then, after fixing one chapter, FFN
started giving me 503 errors. Apparently, just to piss me off. Hurrrrrrr...
Anyway, I'll slowly get Philosopher's Stone fixed. Gimme a few days. I'm horribly lazy when it comes to stuff like that.
I'm sure everyone knows what's coming next! The trip back through time and Sirius' escape! I'm still hoping for 19 chapters total, but it may only be 18. It depends on what I come up with regarding the last bits I have planned. But it's nothing to worry about just yet, in any case. Until next time, folks!
Post-edit note: Chapter 17 would've been up tonight as well (and I'm sorry about 16 going up at almost 3AM CST) but I just have NOT felt good today. It'll go up sometime this week, though. I've been pretty good about keeping to my schedule lately...