Late One Night
Disclaimer: I don't own incredibly much, except for Romulus and Maria.
Thank yous: NativeMoon, ThouandI, Brunette89, im no muggle, Sarahamanda, cutieak88, Summer, Yoblossom, frk-werewolf, Ginny-and-Draco-fan, CrazedLunatic, Eve27, Goddess of Gorgeousness, Fallen Angel of Hell, Sasami Tombo, PISSED OFF, broken-heart1990, Hobey-ho, Black Panther Wolf, AllyCatHerm19, lilo, Eleonora1, yeah-i love hp too, and we3.
ThouandI: No it probably wasn't the most appropriate place to leave off, but it was nearly midnight and I had to go to bed (school next day) and I had really wanted to post the chapter. That and I'm just mean and I wanted to leave it hanging. Glad you liked it!
Cutieak88: A silver burn? Its what happens when a werewolf touches silver, well in my mind that's what happens, I haven't really read up on werewolves or anything, but that's the common belief.
Yoblossom: He he he, well I'll try not to make something else bad happen, I don't want the angry mob after all :-P
Frk-werewolf: Yes you were right! Teehee, siriusly… He he, I had a feeling you'd pick up on the 'Siri going after Slytherins' bit, and once again, you are right, I have that frisky image in my mind too :-P
Ginny-and-Draco-fan: Romulus was introduced into the story during the Christmas chapters as Remus' twin brother. Don't mean to nit pick but its Roman mythology, not Greek.
Black Panther Wolf: Hermione isn't a werewolf or an Animagus so she won't be changing into any sort of animal to frighten Pansy. What do you mean about the Weasleys?
Eleonora1: Gosh you give long reviews. The parents that were tortured were Severus and Remus. The Grangers are actually muggle relatives of Remus', as we know he is a half-blood, there might be more about them soon. He he, I don't know why I always have Remus arguing with his family or not speaking to them, its just me. Glad you like the way I portray Lucius!
Ok, there were too many reviews to individually answer but thank you to you all for reviewing! I hope I haven't missed anyone off the list at the top.
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Chapter 15: Silver Burn
It had been an hour since Hermione, Ron and Harry had found Maria lying unconscious outside the Room of Requirement. The little girl was in the school Infirmary now, both her parents had been informed and Madame Pomfrey was still working on her, it seemed there were far more silver burns on her than just the one on her wrist that Hermione had seen.
Hermione was sitting on one of the hospital wing beds with her legs crossed; she was miserably picking at the blanket on the bed. She felt this was all her fault, she shouldn't have left her sister in the common room, Maria had been her responsibility for the afternoon and she had screwed up big time.
Remus was leaning against the wall beside one of the windows, gazing out at the night sky; he was incredibly pale and extremely worried. A bad silver burn was enough to make him very weak for days, but he had no idea how badly it would hurt a young werewolf like Maria.
Severus had been pacing the infirmary for a good twenty minutes now, a mingled expression of worry and fury on his face. He hadn't said a word since after he had arrived and seen the state his youngest daughter was in, but even then it was only a string of rather profane words. He also hadn't so much as looked in Hermione's direction since he had arrived.
Sirius was still there but he had decided to keep his mouth shut, the last thing he wanted was to annoy Severus Snape further when he was still too weak to defend himself. He soon drifted off to sleep, Madame Pomfrey had had him up and about today and it had exhausted him.
Hermione sighed and got off the bed, the silence was really beginning to get to her. She went over to the window Remus was at and silently put her arms around his waist in a hug, she felt him hug her back and rest his chin on top of her head. She had only come to Remus because unlike Severus, he didn't seem to be silently blaming her for this, but Remus never blamed someone unless he had a cause to. Severus on the other hand, would blame whoever was nearest to him at the time.
…
Meanwhile, Harry, Ron and now Ginny who had been filled in on what had happened, were sitting up in the Sixth Year Boys' Dormitory on Harry's bed with the Marauders Map open between them.
"So, you think whoever did it might still be here?" questioned Ginny as she frowned at the map.
Harry nodded, "Trust us, the map never lies, Gin. Hopefully anyone out of place, if they're still in the school, will show up."
"I bet it was Umbridge," said Ron glaring at the bed. "She'd do anything to get rid of werewolves or Hagrid…"
"You can't jump to conclusions, Ron." Replied Ginny in a near perfect impression of Hermione. "Anyway, why would Umbridge attack a five year old? I didn't think she knew who Maria belonged to anyway."
"She probably found out somehow…remember what she said to Snape last year before she put him on probation?" said Ron moodily. "She said Lucius Malfoy always spoke highly of him, so maybe she's been speaking to Malfoy. If anyone knew it would be him."
Harry sighed and spoke quietly, "You heard what Hermione said, Lucius Malfoy is on our side. I mean, if he wasn't he probably would've done some damage to her by now during those Imperius Lessons."
"True."
Ginny was gazing at the map closely, she gasped suddenly, "Oh my god…Peter Pettigrew…"
"What?!"
Harry and Ron squabbled over the map until Ginny pulled it off them and pointed to the place where the small sign said Peter Pettigrew was standing in the castle. "He's skulking around outside the infirmary."
Harry's eyes widened, "Of course…" Ron and Ginny both looked to him questioningly. "When Voldemort came back he gave Wormtail a silver hand as a reward…"
"And Maria's a werewolf." Finished Ginny slowly.
"We have to tell someone." Harry jumped up and sprinted out of the dormitory. Ron and Ginny soon followed him.
…
Dumbledore was now in the infirmary to see if Madame Pomfrey had made anymore progress in healing Maria's burns and also to see how the little girl's distressed parents and sister were.
"Calm down?" Repeated Severus disbelievingly. "Both of my children have been attacked in the last few months and you expect me to calm down?!" No one could blame him for shouting at the Headmaster though; he and Remus had just been told Maria might not make it.
Hermione blocked out her father's ranting and raving and gazed at the floor of the infirmary, she let her eyes wander under the beds on the opposite side of the infirmary. She was so deep in thought about her sister that she nearly didn't see the plump brown rat that was peeping out from behind the leg of one of the beds. It didn't register in her head until a few seconds later, as she did a double take she saw it scurry across to another bed leg, she saw something glimmer at its front end. "…Oh my god…" she glanced around at the adults and noticed that none of them were paying her the slightest bit of attention, so she got up off the bed she had been sitting and crept slowly over to the bed that the rat was currently under.
Remus, at the moment, was sitting beside Maria's bed refusing to speak to anyone, his irate lover in particular because they would no doubt start arguing, they always did when bad things happened and especially when it involved their children. He just couldn't believe it, who in their right mind would attack a harmless, innocent five year old? What had his little girl done to deserve nearly being killed? The only person he could think of that would know Maria was a werewolf and want to get rid of her, was Umbridge, she had worked at the Ministry and she knew about him so she had to know his daughter was a werewolf as well. The only other person he could think of was Wormtail, he knew the man had been given a silver hand by Voldemort upon his return, but as far as he knew, the rat knew nothing of Maria. But of course, he couldn't be sure what Lucius said at Death Eater gatherings.
Romulus was talking to Madame Pomfrey when he noticed his niece under one of the infirmary beds, holding something furry down with her hands, "Hermione, what are you doing?" Everyone else in the infirmary turned to her and raised their eyebrows curiously.
"Rat hunting," replied Hermione, she kept a tight grip on the brown rat and rolled out from under the bed and got back to her feet. She held onto its tail tightly and held it out in front of her, "My sister's attacker."
Remus was back on his feet now and glaring murderously at the rat in his oldest daughter's hand, he attempted to move towards it but he felt Severus grab his arms and hold him still. "Let go of me!"
"Don't be stupid, Remus." Muttered Severus as he kept his tight grip on Remus, who was obviously attempting to try and murder the rat, if only he could get to it.
Dumbledore took the rat off Hermione and examined it, "Are you positive this is Pettigrew, Hermione?" he examined the silver paw closely.
"Yeah."
"Very well." Dumbledore aimed his wand at the rat and a jet of light shot out of it. He let go of the rat as it started to squeak and grow like a sped up film of a growing tree. Within seconds, Peter Pettigrew was cowering in the middle of the circle of people that was made up of Remus, Severus, Hermione, Dumbledore, Romulus and Madame Pomfrey. "Hello Peter, we have not seen you for some time."
Peter looked around the circle of people in horror, his eyes then darted to all the possible exits he could see, but he didn't dare move, he knew he was in for it.
Remus made another attempt at trying to get to Pettigrew, but Severus had an almost bruising grip on his upper arms.
It was then that Lucius walked into the Infirmary. The blond man stopped dead upon seeing Pettigrew on his knees in the middle of the circle of murderous looking people, he merely raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Well, well Wormtail, cocked up again I see?"
Peter turned towards Lucius and pointed a silver finger at the blond, "You! You traitor! I was doing the job you messed up!" he shrieked, but it didn't seem to be having any affect on Lucius who continued to regard him coolly. "Our Lord is very angry!"
Lucius casually rested his hands on the top of his cane, "Not as angry as he'll be when he finds out you've been caught and possibly murdered by the family of the child you just tried to kill."
"How do you know what happened?" Questioned Dumbledore suspiciously. Though Lucius was his only remaining spy within Voldemort's circle he still wasn't entirely certain about the man.
"There's a group of anxious Gryffindors in the corridor," replied Lucius nodding towards the Infirmary door. "They said they saw Wormtail here on a map or something."
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows, "When we looked for Maria on there we couldn't see anybody out of the ordinary…"
Lucius smirked again, "You left the school and came back, Wormtail?"
Peter stuttered his reply, "W-what's y-y-your p-point?"
Lucius opened his mouth to reply but he went motionless upon seeing Sirius appear curiously from inside his cubicle.
"You!" The curiosity disappeared from Sirius' face and was instantly replaced by a look of absolute fury upon seeing Peter on his knees in the middle of the Infirmary. He started to lunge at Pettigrew but Romulus grabbed him around the waist and by one arm to hold him back, just like Severus was doing with Remus. "Let me at him!"
Hermione glanced around at the adults, Madame Pomfrey was standing there in shock, and Lucius was practically frozen to the spot his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Sirius. Dumbledore was surveying Pettigrew silently down his long nose, Romulus, who looked rather confused, had loosened his grip a little on Sirius who had already given up on struggling but he was glaring darkly at his former friend. And Severus, who had fixed a very nasty look on Pettigrew, was still holding Remus (who was still struggling wildly against his bonds) tightly.
Hermione, on the other hand, wasn't entirely sure what to do, she really wanted to attack and inflict pain up on Pettigrew for harming her little sister, but then she thought that if he was hurt or killed then Sirius would never be set free. Harry deserved to have his Godfather free and able to look after him.
Dumbledore finally broke the silence, he turned to Romulus first, "Romulus, please set up protective wards around the Infirmary so that certain people can not get in, then will you go to the Ministry and find Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks. Alert them of Pettigrew's arrival." Romulus nodded, he hesitantly let Sirius go and headed out of the infirmary. "Severus, do you still have a supply of veritaserum?"
"Yes." Severus' voice was a bit strained; he was getting quite exhausted from trying to hold Remus still. "Its in my…storeroom."
"Good." Dumbledore turned his attention to Hermione. "Hermione, will you go and get the veritaserum from Severus' storeroom, then find Professor McGonagall and bring her here."
Hermione, like Romulus, hesitated before nodding and leaving the Infirmary. Almost as soon as she had left she was hounded by Ron, Harry and Ginny, who had been watching keenly as Romulus set up the wards.
"What's happening?"
"Is she ok?"
"Are you ok?"
"We saw Wormtail-"
"On the map!"
Hermione held up her hand, "Guys, I know, I have to go. I'll find you later." With that, she took off down the corridor as quickly as she could; she had nearly made it to the dungeons when Professor McGonagall stopped her.
"Granger! No running!"
Hermione skidded to a halt in front of McGonagall, panting, "Professor Dumbledore…wants to see you in the Infirmary…"
"Why? What happened?" Questioned McGonagall curiously.
Hermione tried to catch her breath, and she lowered her voice, "Peter Pettigrew, he's in the Infirmary, I think he attacked my sister… I have to get dad's veritaserum." After McGonagall nodded, she ran off into the dungeons and straight to the Potion master's storeroom.
……
By the time Hermione had gotten back to the Infirmary, the roles had changed, it was now Severus being held back from Pettigrew by Lucius and Sirius, and McGonagall had her wand trained on the Potions Professor. Pettigrew had been stunned by the looks of it, Madame Pomfrey was rushing backwards and forwards from her supply cabinet and the cubicle next to Maria's, and Remus was no where to be seen.
"What happened?"
"Ah, you have the veritaserum?" Asked Dumbledore. Hermione nodded and handed the Headmaster a small vial full of clear liquid. Dumbledore pointed his wand at Pettigrew, "Enervate." He crouched down in front of Pettigrew, who was quite dazed. The old Headmaster tipped three drops of veritaserum into Pettigrew's mouth and made sure he swallowed it before he started questioning the balding man.
……
It was well after midnight and Harry, Ron and Ginny were still up in the common room, waiting for Hermione to make an appearance. Earlier, they had seen Romulus come back from somewhere with Kingsley and Tonks so they assumed Pettigrew would be taken into the Ministry soon. They couldn't really find out anything from the Marauders' Map, all that told them was where everyone was placed in the Infirmary. From the last look at it, Hermione seemed to be beside a wall, Remus was completely dormant not far away from Maria's bed and Snape, Lucius Malfoy and Sirius seemed to be in a huddle, they weren't quite sure they wanted to know what that was about. Dumbledore was in the middle of the room with Pettigrew.
Ginny yawned, "What do you reckon is happening?"
Before either of the boys could answer, the portrait opened and Hermione appeared looking pale and absolutely awful.
"Hey…" Ginny was on her feet first and she went and hugged Hermione. "Are you ok? What about Maria?"
Hermione sniffed and sat down in one of the armchairs, "I suppose you want the rundown, right?"
Ginny looked to the boys and then back to Hermione, "If you want to tell us."
Hermione sighed, "Pettigrew has been taken into custody by Kingsley and Tonks. Once the Wizengamot questions him again under veritaserum, then Sirius will mostly likely be free. Maria is, as far as I can tell, in a coma. And just to screw everything up even more, Pettigrew attacked my dad and burnt him with his silver hand and caused him to miscarry the baby."
"Moony was pregnant?"
"Oh…" Hermione rubbed her forehead, "I forgot I hadn't told you guys yet. Was being the operative word, dad was trying to kill Pettigrew after that happened, the only thing that stopped him was Lucius and Sirius who practically had to tackle him to the ground." She yawned into her hand. "I need to sleep, I'll talk to you guys in the morning."
"Night 'Mione."
"Night."
"Goodnight Hermione."
…
Severus was sitting silently in an armchair between the beds of his daughter and his lover. Remus was fast asleep, he had been given a Dreamless Sleep Potion so he could have peaceful rest, the evening had been trying on all of them, even more so on Remus now that he had miscarried. And in the bed to his left, was Maria, the little girl barely looked alive, in fact if it weren't for the slight upward movement of her chest Severus could have sworn she had stopped breathing all together.
Why did this stuff always have to happen to him and his family? Could they not have at least a little break? Of course, he knew while the Dark Lord was still around then everything would probably just get progressively worse from here. Though Severus was fairly certain that things would get worse for him without the Dark Lord's help, Dumbledore had decided to administer the Draught of Life to James Potter at the beginning of the summer. And with both Black and Potter back he knew he would be in for a hell of a time, it wouldn't matter what Remus said to any of them, old grudges died hard.
Severus sighed and sunk back into the chair, closing his eyes to get some sleep before he had to teach in a few hours. Sure, Dumbledore had told him he didn't have to work the next day but he needed something to keep himself from worrying too much.
As the exhaustion from holding back an aggressive werewolf and the fighting off of Lucius and Sirius that he had done himself took over, Severus allowed himself one last thought.
Perhaps this is all just a terrible dream…
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A/N: Ah! I'm sorry it took so long to update! I would've done it earlier in the week but wouldn't let you upload, I'm sure you all understand!
Next Chapter: (Skipping ahead, I know,) It's the beginning of the summer. Draught of Life. Sirius' freedom. How is Maria? What about Remus? Will Twelve Grimmauld Place be occupied again?