The Twist In Azkaban
By The-honest-aludras
Summary: AU What would happen if the infamous Shrieking Shack scene didn't go quite the way it did in HP3? What if something interfered with the usual HP timeline – in a way that no-one could have predicted? And what repercussions could then resound through all the books? Join Harry on a journey which JK Rowling certainly never intended!
Disclaimer: Again, we are poor students who drink coffee in the cafe below where JK wrote HP1 (but then upstairs is currently a Chinese buffet resturant), while JK Rowling herself owns everything. As with all fanfic writers, we're playing in the worlds the writers create.
Notes: Again, OC alert! This picks up from the Shrieking Shack scene, British edition of HP3 p252.
…"It's Sirius Black!"…
…"We're up here!"…
The door flew open as two people fell through it, both armed with their wands ready. It was like a tableau, with every person in the room completely frozen, including the two newcomers.
"Expelliarmus" cried Professor Lupin, and all four other wands in the room flew towards him. As if that one word had broken the tension, Aludra Wedgewood grabbed her wand back and dashed towards Ron, who was still lying on the floor.
Harry no longer knew what to feel. His Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was still standing there surveying the scene, holding Harry's only way to avenge his parents, and he was utterly confused as to how either him or Aludra knew where they had been.
The silence which remained, broken only by Ron's moans and Aludra's murmurs, was suddenly shattered by one word, in Lupin's quiet yet shuddering voice.
"Where?"
Harry turned to look at Lupin, but the man's gaze went straight past him, towards Black. Harry frowned, and glared at Black, who held Lupin's gaze silently. Without breaking the look, he gestured towards where Aludra was helping Ron sit up, causing every eye to swivel towards them. They both froze and glanced each other, then back towards Lupin uncomprehendingly. But Lupin wasn't looking at either of them directly – in fact, Harry could tell he was lost in his thoughts.
"Why? I mean, we could… the only reason… no, not for all these years… could he… would he?" The man suddenly spun round and speared Black, still huddled on the floor, with his gaze, demanding an answer, "would he? Because you must…" Black slowly closed his eyes, and Lupin's hand went to his forehead. "It should have been obvious…" muttered Lupin, as Black turned his gaze, not accusing but simply accepting, back to the man before him.
Harry was now completely bewildered. He glanced at the other occupants of the room: Hermione was frowning, Ron looked as bewildered as he himself felt, while Aludra's wide and unblinking eyes were fixed on the two men before her. "Professor, what are you on about?"
Lupin sighed at Harry's question, but stepped past him to hold out his hand to Black. Black stared at the hand for a moment, then looked up at the face of its owner and accepted the gesture. As he was helped to his feet, Harry was sure his mouth had dropped open, and began backing away from the murderer and his professor.
As Hermione began shrieking, Harry had to shake his head to rid himself of the loud angry buzzing which drowned out her words. How could Lupin betray them like this? Eventually he could focus enough to understand what she said.
"All this year, we've trusted you, you've helped Harry, how could you do this to us!"
If things hadn't been so terrible, Harry would have laughed at how closely Hermione's words mirrored his inner voice. Lupin and Aludra both tried to hush her, but Ron was shaking his head – both he and Harry knew that once Hermione started she wouldn't stop until she had finished.
"I can't believe it, you've helped him into the castle all those times – he tried to murder Ron! – and what did you do? Nothing! We can't trust you, you're both in league to kill the last Potter! Harry, get away from that werewolf!"
There was the sound of a whipcrack and Harry, whose attention had been focussed on the paling Lupin, spun round. Aludra had slapped Hermione smartly across the face, and the hysterical girl was now wide-eyed and shaking, but silent. Aludra rolled her eyes and glanced at Harry, shrugging her shoulders at his amazement. "Carry on Remus," the older girl said, bending back down to help Ron sit up again.
Harry focussed his attentions back on to the now white man, after throwing a suspicious look at Aludra. Lupin sighed, as if resigned to telling them everything.
"Here, you should probably take your wands back." he said, tossing Harry, Ron and Hermione their wands. They caught them in surprise, and glanced at each other. "I helped Harry because he needed help with the Dementors – hardly evidence that I want to kill him, Hermione. As for Sirius, well… I haven't been helping him enter Hogwarts, I have no idea how he could get into Gryffindor Tower. But yes, on one thing you are correct… I am a werewolf."
Harry felt as though his insides had turned to lead. His favourite teacher, a werewolf? Ron looked just as nervous, and tried to edge away, only for his damaged leg to move sharply and he stopped with a whimper. Hermione was still standing motionless, while Aludra was sitting next to Ron, calmly listening as though this was no shock to her.
"How could Dumbledore not have known, I mean, he wouldn't have put us at risk if he knew you were a werewolf?" Harry questioned. Lupin shook his head, "Oh no, Dumbledore knows what I am, he has done since I was at school here. He trusted me when no-one else would."
"Apparently that was deserved." Hermione appeared to have re-discovered her voice. "You've been helping Black-"
"No I haven't Hermione." Lupin sounded frustrated, "I can explain everything, well, with Sirius' help…"
Harry doubted very much that Lupin could explain how exactly he was in league with the murderer of his parents, in any possible way that could satisfy him, and was ready to say so until a quiet voice stopped him.
"Harry… just give them a chance." He slowly turned around to face Aludra, who had risen and was now just behind him, leaning against one of the broken bedposts with her arms folded. As he watched, the girl turned her gaze from where it had rested solemnly on Black and Lupin back towards Harry, before he finally spoke.
"Why? Why should I give either of them a 'chance'? Black's admitted he betrayed my parents, Lupin's, well, he's obviously friends with Black, so accessory to murder should just about do it." Harry faced up to the taller girl, eyes glinting dangerously. "And what is it to do with you anyway?" he continued, voice rising steadily, "it's my parents he betrayed, my life he ruined, where do you think you feature in all that? And why are you defending them? What's in it for you? Maybe it's you who's in league with Black, maybe you're the on-". Once again a sharp crack echoed through the Shrieking Shack.
"And maybe you're verging on the hysterical, Potter", hissed Aludra. She had her wand out, and her dark green eyes flashed. Still reeling from the shock of her blow, Harry vaguely thought about something he had heard regarding the volatile temper of red-heads. He realised everyone else was staring on in disbelief, at the famous Harry Potter being lectured by someone – that is, someone other than Snape.
"Now listen carefully to me, Potter" she spat the word as Malfoy might have done, "I'm rather involved in this case, and I have a definite interest in its outcome. So you'd better put aside any preconceptions about the people in this room" she jabbed him in the chest with her wand, "because I'll put you in a body-bind right now if you're not planning on listening. So what's it to be? Will you listen to what they have to say?"
Harry dumbly nodded, thinking that it was probably safer to humour the obviously angry girl than to argue and risk the Full Body-Bind – after all, in the three years he had known her, he had never seen her act like this. Aludra looked him up and down once, then, seemingly satisfied with what she saw, turned back to Ron who had slipped down again in shock at the scene which had just played out before him. Glancing back at Professor Lupin, he was surprised to see a small smile on his lips, but failed to notice the smirk that Black quickly hid. Harry decided to ask the question which had been annoying him since Lupin and Aludra first arrived.
"So, if the two of you haven't been helping him" Harry glared at Black, "how did you know we were here?"
"Ah, well, we have… different stories on that one", replied Lupin, glancing at Aludra rather nervously, although she did seem to have calmed down. The girl's eyes flicked towards him, then she smiled lightly.
"I happened to be looking out the Tower common room window. I saw a great black dog," here she smiled slightly at Black and Harry's eyes narrowed, before she looked back to Lupin, "and of course I knew it was Sirius. As soon as he attacked the trio, I dropped everything and ran, bumping into you", nodding at Lupin, who continued the story.
"I was in my office, tracking the, trio did you call them?" Lupin smiled wanly.
"How?" interrupted Hermione curiously. Lupin sighed.
"The Marauders' Map of course. Anyway, I wa-"
"How do you know how to work the map?" questioned Harry. Lupin and Black exchanged a glance, and Lupin turned to Harry.
"Because I'm Moony, at school my friends and I were called the Marauders. A better question would be how do you know how the map works?" Lupin's steady gaze never left Harry, who suddenly felt nervous.
"The Weasley twins", he muttered quietly, and Lupin grinned wryly.
"Obviously. As I was saying, as I watched the Marauder's Map, I saw you leave Hagrid's, but…. I thought the Map was finally malfunctioning, that the charms were wearing off after all these years. What I saw had to be impossible. But then I saw Sirius move across the grounds in his animagus form, and realised he was aiming for the same thing."
"What!" cried four voices.
"Sirius began to pull two figures into the will-"
"One! It was only me!" shouted Ron.
"Not according to the map, Ron. Let me finish!" said Lupin, holding up a finger to forestall the other arguments which he could see coming. "The map said that three figures entered the willow first, before two continued after them. As soon as I had verified what I saw, and assured myself that I wasn't delusional or hallucinating, I left my office and headed for here, meeting Allie on the way."
"But what did you mean, another figure? I know the Map can't malfunction, how many times did I hear the stories about it? Who did you see?" Harry wondered why Aludra sounded so desperate in her questions, and what stories did she mean? Lupin looked straight at her to reply.
"Someone who should be dead." Aludra frowned at the floor, hand on Ron's shoulder as she thought about what Lupin had said. Suddenly her eyes flew open, and her gaze flickered to Ron, and then between Lupin and Black.
"You can't be serious. I mean, we would have noticed…" Her voice trailed off as she ran a hand through her hair. "There was so little proof either way, only what we knew already," a pause, and then, "Or rather what we thought we knew?"
"What are you all on about? Does one of you want to explain this to the rest of us?" demanded Harry, feeling angry at Lupin and Aludra for speaking over his head.
"Ron?" said Lupin, "would you mind if we took a look at your rat?" Ron glanced between the three who apparently knew what the mystery was.
"Um… why? I mean, what could Scabbers have to do with anything?" Ron looked nervous, not that Harry could blame him.
"That's no rat" muttered Black, whose sunken eyes were fixed firmly on Scabbers. Lupin and Aludra both glanced at him and at each other, before Lupin nodded slightly.
"Ron, we need to look at him" murmured Aludra quietly, "please?" Ron frowned.
"Fine, but first you have to tell me why."
"Because that's no rat" repeated Black, "it's an animagus."
"An animagus" continued Lupin, "called Peter Pettigrew."