Months went by after Derek discovered the cure to Lycanthropy. Things were going great for Derek after he sat down with the Daily Prophet with that interview. He learned that hundreds were given the special treatment and now were living a peaceful life freed of Lycanthropy.
Since the end of term was vast approaching, he had been studying up on his upcoming exams. He had remained in the common room to study, only coming out for either classes, Quidditch, mealtimes, and teatime with Lupin.
One day near the end of the year, Derek was having some tea with Lupin and they were also looking at a strange parchment that he had confiscated earlier from Harry and Ron. It was the Marauders Map.
"So this map shows everyone everywhere at Hogwarts and on the grounds?" Derek asked.
"That's right. The three of us use to do a lot of sneaking around at night, mostly on full moon nights, and roamed the grounds in our animal forms. In fact, I was more like myself despite being in my werewolf form because I was with my friends." Lupin explained.
"Amazing! I bet this is one project that took so long to ma-wait a minute." Derek said until he cut himself off until he saw a strange name that seemed eerily familiar to him. "That's a particularly strange name." Derek said while looking at the grounds by Hagrid's hut.
"And what name is that?" Lupin asked while looking at him.
"Peter Pettigrew." Derek answered.
Lupin's eyes widen when he said that. He was all too familiar with him. Peter was Wormtail, a fellow marauder, and supposedly the one that was killed by Sirius Black, A.K.A Padfoot.
"That's not possible." Lupin said with a concern in his voice.
Derek looked down back at the grounds and adjusted one of the pages a bit.
"Then who's this over here?" Derek asked while pointing at the name 'Peter Pettigrew' on the map so Lupin can see.
Lupin scurried over and looked down. It finally began to hit him the moment when he saw the name: Sirius Black is innocent. It only made things worse when they saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione heading straight for the hut.
Just then, Lupin saw another name appear on the map nearby them.
"Oh no…Harry!" Lupin yelled while running back to his desk.
"Professor? What's wrong?" Derek asked while standing up.
"SIRUS BLACK IS HERE!" Lupin shouted.
Derek looked back at the map and indeed he saw Sirius's name on the map. Derek quickly pulled out a piece of paper and wrote a message while Lupin was getting prepared for the worst-case scenario.
They made it to the grounds of Hogwarts. Derek whistled loudly to call for Orphelia. The both of them saw the hawkowl flying towards them at a high speed. She extended her wings to brake and landed on his arm.
"Hey girl." Derek said while giving her an owl treat. She happily ate it and squawked in happiness. "Take this to Dumbledore and have him meet us here." Derek said when he gave her the letter.
After Orphelia flew off, Derek and Lupin headed off towards where they last saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione from the Marauders Maps. They saw a large tree that began to have a mind of its own.
Lupin quickly pulled out his wand and aimed it at the tree.
"Immobilus!" Lupin yelled just before the tree hit them. It froze in place. "Come Derek and quickly before the Whomping Willow regains movement again." Lupin said before he led him down into a secret tunnel underneath the tree.
Derek looked down and saw lots of roots, dirt, and a rocky pathway.
"Where does this lead to?" Derek asked while sliding underneath.
"This leads to an abandoned shack just outside of Hogsmeade Village. Me and my old friends come with me down this pathway way every full moon so they can be there with me when I transform. Despite being illegal Animagi, it was worth it for them." Lupin explained just before they reached the shack.
Upon entering from underneath, Derek saw how completely old, slashed, and ragged the place was. They heard voices coming from above them. They ran up and Lupin was the first to enter a room with Harry, Ron, Hermione, along with a man wearing ragged prison clothing. He looked thinned and starved with messed up hair and had an appearance like he was barely alive. Crookshanks was also there on top of Sirius.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Lupin shouted as he aimed his wand at Harry, who had his wand targeting Sirius Black.
"What the!?" Harry yelled before he had a chance to react.
Hermione quickly grabbed her wand, only for her to freeze up when Derek fired a Prismatic Pulse right by her. Derek entered the room with his eyes glowing and glared at them.
"Sirius…where is he? Peter?" Lupin asked while looking at Sirius. Sirius slowly pointed towards Ron's direction. They saw a familiar rat being held by him.
"Professor…what's going on?" Harry yelled.
"We have found evidence to prove that Sirius here is actually innocent from his actions years ago." Derek said while Lupin lowered his wand, gave Sirius a helping hand up and embraced him like a brother.
"NO! I DON'T BELIEVE THIS! After all this time, you and he are friends." Hermione shouted at Lupin.
"Ms. Granger, please give me a moment to explain." Lupin begged her.
"Enough of this Remus. Let's kill him!" Sirius spoke in a rather raspy and cold voice.
"WAIT!" Remus shouted as his old friend.
"I'VE WAITED FOR TWELVE YEARS FOR THIS VERY MOMENT! I CAN FINALLY PROVE MY INNOCENTS! DO NOT TELL ME TO WAIT REMUS!" Sirius exploded at him.
Everyone just froze up from how he shouted at Remus like that. Derek saw Sirius's aura and knew that he was telling the truth all this time.
"Sirius, we know you've been waiting for this. Don't you think Harry and the others deserve to understand more?" Derek asked him.
"What's it to yo-WHA!?" Sirius was cut off when he saw Derek's eyed glowed once again, startling him. "Okay, fair point." Sirius said while calming down and Derek's eyes dimmed.
"You don't need to tell me more. You were the one that sold my parents to Voldemort. That's all I need." Harry said while getting up.
"And besides, I've covered up for you as a werewolf. I trusted you." Hermione pointed out.
"Was…a werewolf. Haven't you been getting any of the news? A cure was found by yours truly. Or perhaps you need a demonstration of my magic?" Derek asked in a threatening voice and his eyes glowed once again.
"Enough Mr. Night. We will settle this later." Lupin said.
'Derek, he's right. There's no need to lose your head yet. We have an innocent man to aide.' Plutonia said in his head.
Derek's eyes dimmed while looking back at Lupin. He slowly backed away.
"Now then. About my explanation. Peter, Sirius, and I were friends with James and Lily at Hogwarts years ago. We were about as close as brothers in a way. James, Peter, and Sirius knew of my condition, and we met up here with them an Animagi, and we would roam the grounds. We knew the grounds, and all of Hogwarts so well, we created the Marauders Map that I had collected recently. We gave each other nicknames. I was Moony, Sirius was Padfoot, Peter was Wormtail, and James was Prongs. When Derek saw Peter and showed the proof to me, I realized that Sirius was innocent after all." Lupin explained.
"The map is lying. Pettigrew is dead." Harry said.
"The Marauders Map never lies." Sirius said, cutting him off. "Just like how it can identify James underneath the Invisibility Cloak back in our days. When I saw Peter on that Daily Prophet article in his Animagus form, I saw that as the golden opportunity to finally prove my innocence and escape from Azkaban. Pettigrew is alive, and your friend there is holding him." Sirius explained as he pointed at said rat.
"Scabbers is Scabbers. He's been with my family for-""Twelve years?" Sirius interrupted Ron.
"So what?" Ron asked.
"Don't you think that, even with house care, the age of your is unusually long?" Sirius asked while still keeping his eye on the rat.
"Anyway, I acted as the conscious of the group, though it was rather faulty. Especially since James and Sirius had run-ins with Severus Snape." Lupin continued.
"Snape? What does he have to do with anything?" Harry asked.
"He was in our year. Sirius let slip to him about where I went every night of the full moon. Had it not been for James interfering that night, I would've killed him. I was very thankful that I didn't kill him, or worst bite him." Lupin answered.
"That would explain why he has a bit of a grudge against you professor." Derek said.
"Snape…he here?" Sirius asked.
"He is the Potion's Master Sirius." Lupin said.
"As for Peter himself, after we graduated from Hogwarts and fought against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, James and Lily were eventually targets of Voldemort. We learned of a prophecy that centered on you Harry." Lupin continued.
"Harry…I as good as killed them. I was originally meant to be a secret-keeper to hide their whereabouts. Unfortunately, I thought it was too obvious. So I suggested Peter to be the secret-keeper." Sirius added.
"And that lead to Peter, who I assumed was working under Voldemort, was able to tell him the location." Derek said while piecing the puzzle together.
"Exactly. The very next morning, when I found that Peter was gone from a safehouse we had for him, and mind you that there wasn't a struggle, I tracked him down in an alleyway in London, attempting to bring him to justice for betraying us all." Sirius explained.
"Which he retaliated by causing that explosion that killed those muggles. But how did he…?" Derek was asking until he cut himself off.
"The ministry found a finger in the aftermath, believing I was the one that killed them all. But then I realized that not only did he fake his death, which I should mentioned he tried twice courtesy of that cat there." Sirius said while pointing at Crookshanks. "I used my own thoughts of innocence to survive in Azkaban as an obsession, rather than a happy thought. When Minister Fudge arrived with a Daily Prophet, I saw that very same rat missing a toe." Sirius added.
Lupin then finally realized it.
"My God…such brilliance." Lupin said.
While they were talking, Derek sensed something coming from underneath. He tapped into his magic, and saw a lifeform coming their way.
"Guys! Someone's coming." Derek pointed out.
As if it was on cue, Snape revealed himself from underneath an Invisibility Cloak, wand raised at Lupin and threw the cloak to the side.
"Very useful Potter, I thank you." Snape said with a cold, sneering voice.
"Severus, I…" Lupin was saying until Snape stepped forward towards him, cutting him off.
"I told Dumbledore you were helping someone into the castle, and now…here's the proof. To think that you would use this old dump as a hideout." Snape said.
"Professor, it's not like that. We have evidence to prove Sirius's innocence." Derek said.
Snape slowly looked towards him with his cold, blank eyes.
"Why are you here?" Snape asked him.
"He's with me. He and I saw a man we all thought was dead on the Marauder's Map. Peter is here Snape, the one who really betrayed James and Lily Potter that night on Halloween twelve years ago." Lupin said.
"This won't get us anywhere Lu-" Sirius was saying until Snape had his wand right in between his eyes.
"Give me a reason to do it, and I'll graciously deliver it." Snape threatened.
"Professor please! Just listen for a moment!" Hermione begged.
"Ms. Granger, you, Potter and Weasley are already facing suspension for being out-of-bounds. The three of you and Mr. Night, who I question, all of you." Snape said.
"Rumor had it that you had a grudge with these people in the past. How would you like to get back at Pettigrew, the man who really led to the deaths of James and Lily, once and for all?" Derek asked him.
Snape stopped for a moment, until he glared back at Derek. He sighed a bit and slowly lowered his wand.
"Very well, I'll let you have this fun. Go on then, show me the proof." Snape demanded.
"With pleasure." Sirius said while turning back towards Ron. "Hand over the rat boy!" Sirius demanded.
"NO! LEAVE US ALONE!" Ron shouted while struggling to fight him off.
"Give it to him Ron." Derek said while pulling out his wand. He then walked towards Sirius, who had a grip on the rat, and presented him his wand. "You might need this." Derek said.
As Sirius took the wand, the wand reacted to his touch and shocked him a bit, causing him to drop the wand. Derek quickly picked it up.
'Relax, he is innocent. You can trust him.' Derek thought while looking back at the wand.
The wand calmed down and allowed Sirius to take it.
"Ready Remus?" Sirius asked while aiming the wand at Scabbers.
"As ready as I'll ever be Sirius." Lupin said while raising his wand at the rat.
"One…two…THREE!" Sirius shouted.
Sirius dropped Scabbers, and blue lights shot out of their wands, causing him to freeze in the air. Grey smoke began to materialize around him, and the rat fell to the floor. Within the smoke, a man began to grow out from it. He looked rather old, grey hair, and he had a rat like expression on his face with long front teeth. He was rather tubby and had tattered clothing. He had unruly fingernails, and a ring finger was missing.
"Why hello Peter…long time no see." Lupin said while they continued to aim their wands at him.
Snape was taken aback. Not only were they telling the truth all along, but it all began to make sense to him now. He slowly aimed his wand at Peter.
"R…Remus? S…S…Sirius? My old friends!" Peter said before trying to make his way to the exit, but he was intercepted by Remus and Sirius.
"And just where do you think you're going? You and all of us have a little score to settle after what you did to James and Lily." Lupin said.
"Please! I didn't…mean it!" Peter yelled.
Derek's eyes glowed, and he saw all the lies within this man. He may not have his wand at the moment, but he still has his own magic to fight.
"If the Dark Lord was after me, his supporters would've gone after the better target. The spy—Sirius Black!" Peter continued.
"How dare you! Me, a spy!? I never thought you were the one slipping information to Voldemort. You always like being around friends that can protect you. They were us. Me, Remus, and James. Voldemort killed them on your information, and yet he still met his demise." Sirius pointed out.
"Perhaps maybe we should take him to the castle, and the Dementors can have the both of you instead." Snape said.
"NO!" Peter shrieked with fear, and he once again tried to get out of there, only to be hexed backwards by Snape. Peter began shaking for his life, until he looked over at Ron. "Please, dear master Ron, you wouldn't let them do this to me would you? I was your rat!" Peter asked him.
"Get away from me creep!" Ron yelled while processing that this man, in a way, slept with him.
"Please! I didn't mean for any of this! The Dark Lord has powers you can't imagine. And Sirius…" Peter said while looking back at the innocent man. "What would you do!?" Peter yelled.
"I would've died! I would've died to protect them!" Sirius yelled.
Peter than looked at Harry and gasped a bit.
"Harry, you look just like your father. He wouldn't want me killed. Your father James, he would've shown me mercy!" Peter yelled while crawling towards Harry.
"Get off! I think we should take you to the castle." Harry said while looking down at Peter.
"Bless you, Harry. I knew that you would—" But before Peter could say anything else, a wand was put right at his neck.
"Get up!" Snape sneered, and Peter did just that.
"I said we will take you to the castle. The Dementors can have you instead." Harry said.
Peter began to shake more and stumbled backwards. Derek tripped him and he landed on his back. Derek then pinned him down and looked deep into his eyes.
"You think Voldemort was intimidating, I'll give you something else to be intimidated from." Derek said with anger and his eyes glowed once again. He fired a Prismatic Pulse right by Peter's head, causing him to shriek. "Had enough!?" Derek yelled.
Peter was frozen up from that attack, causing him to submit to how powerful he truly was.
Snape and Lupin forced Peter up and Derek got behind him. Harry, Ron, and Hermione got up and aided Ron. Sirius still had Derek's wand at Peter's neck as they began to leave. Crookshanks led the way out with his tail raised high.
After they left the passageway out of the Whomping Willow, they began to make their way towards the castle. Just then, they began to see a light coming from behind the mountain.
"Oh no! He hasn't taken his potion tonight! He's not safe!" Hermione yelled with fright.
Everyone stopped and saw the moon coming out, and its light bathed upon them.
"It begins…the truth." Derek said with a smile. He then looked towards Lupin. "How you feel professor?" He asked.
"A little hesitant a bit despite the treatment, but I feel no different. Perhaps I should make evening walks from now on to get more use to this." Lupin said.
Hermione froze up with shock realizing that Derek was telling the truth all along. To her, she did not like to be proven wrong, and she believed that the story of their being a cure was nothing but hogwash.
She then looked towards Derek, who looked back at her a bit. His eyes glowed briefly, and he winked at her.
"So…does this mean that we have to change your nickname, Moony?" Sirius asked with a teasing grin.
Lupin chuckled from that a bit.
"Sirius, you know I've grown out of that name." Lupin said.
Just when they were reaching the castle, Dumbledore was standing humming to himself while gently stroking Orphelia on his arm. At the very sight of them, Orphelia flew right to Derek's shoulder.
"Mr. Night. I got your message, and…" Dumbledore said before cutting himself off at the sight of both Sirius and Peter.
"P…p…professor? How…how wonderful to see you. GYAH!" Peter shrieked just as Dumbledore pulled out his wand at him.
"Peter…Pettigrew. I had a hunch that something seemed fishy when I saw that message by Derek. And now…here's the evidence needed." Dumbledore growled a bit.
"This was the man that supposedly led to James and Lily's death headmaster." Snape said while not taking his eyes off of him.
"The secret-keeper betrays us all." Dumbledore said.
"Professor…please!" Peter yelled. But before he could say anything else, Dumbledore simply waved his wand and a bright red light shot out with a gunshot right at his chest. "Oof…ow." Peter said before losing conscious.
"Remus, help get Ron to the hospital wing. Harry, Hermione, go with Sirius. Derek…what will you do?" Dumbledore asked.
"I'll go with them. After all, I did tag along with Professor Lupin." Derek answered.
"Alright. Severus, you're with me to summon some Dementors to take Peter to the ministry." Dumbledore said.
"With pleasure." Snape said before casting a levitation charm at Peter.
"As for the you children, I'll meet up with you in the hospital wing a bit later. For now, be safe." Dumbledore said to them.
After they arrived at the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey easily tended to Ron, and soon enough, despite being skeptical at first, she did what she could for Sirius.
"Hey…kid." Sirius calls to Derek. He goes to him and sits next to the now treated Sirius. "I owe you my life, no…to all of you. But to you most of all." Sirius added while placing a hand on his shoulder.
"So I guess finding the cure to lycanthropy wasn't enough for this year. I got to aide an innocent man from preventing him from getting a fate worst than death? What a year." Derek said.
Sirius presents the borrowed wand back to Derek.
"Hopefully, next time we meet, that it will be less…eventful." Sirius said while Derek takes back his wand.
"Derek…how can I ever thank you for saving the only family I got left?" Harry asked as he approached Derek.
"Family?" Derek asked.
"From what I overheard; Sirius is my legal godfather. And thanks to the actions tonight, he's very likely gonna be a free man." Harry explained.
"I see. Well…I guess we could become better friends?" Derek asked.
"I owe you so much. So why not?" Harry asked before chuckling.
"And to think…Peter slept with me for ages…I could use a memory charm on me to forget that. I'd turn to Lockhart, but he'll probably not remember it." Ron said.
"Dare I even ask?" Derek asked.
"Let's just say…he used my old broken wand to use a memory charm on us in the Chamber of Secrets, but it backfired on him." Ron explained.
"Derek…" Hermione said while approaching him while holding her arm. "I'm…very sorry for my behavior earlier. Maybe I could learn a few things about your magic some day?" She asked.
"I could teach you what I can do, but you won't be able to use it since you lack the color in the eyes. Plus, I saw the good inside you. It's alright." Derek said while smiling.
After all that had happened, Derek's bond with the trio grew stronger than ever, Harry especially.
Just then, the doors opened, and Dumbledore along with a man wearing a green suit, a green bowler hat, and his hair is short and grey.
"Ah Harry! Harry how good to see you all alright." The man said.
"Minister Fudge, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.
"Minister? As in…the Minister of Magic?" Derek asked while quickly standing up.
"You must be Derek Night. How wonderful it is to meet you at long last. That discovery you made definitely made this world a safer place from werewolves." Fudge said while shaking his hand.
"That's right. It is great to meet you as well Minister Fudge." Derek said.
Fudge then turned his attention to Sirius, who just looked at him like nothing's happening. Fudge was taken aback a bit form what he had learned when he was informed on the situation that has transpired. After the Dementors told him that they have Peter Pettigrew, and even seeing him in person, everything began to change.
"Sirius Black…we will be having you stand for a retrial. Given the circumstances, I believe some much-needed treatments are in order for you." He said.
"Agreed. I do owe them all for help proving it. How long do I have to wait for the retrial?" Sirius asked.
"I say…by weeks end. I recommend that you stay here with supervision just in case until then." Fudge said.
"Consider it done." Sirius said.
"As for you two, Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger. A word with you outside?" Dumbledore asked them.
"Sure." Hermione said as she and Harry began to leave.
"As for you Mr. Night, how about you return to the common room? The way for you there will be easier. You've had quite a night. Good night." Dumbledore said.
"Good night Sirius, Minister, professor, good night to you all." Derek said as he left the wing and returned to the common room.
By the time he returned, he got into his sleepwear and just gazed at the moon.
'That was a very noble thing you did earlier. We're all very proud of you Derek.' Plutonia said to him.
'If only things didn't have to be this way. The question I want answered now is…why did Peter do it? Slip information to Voldemort?' Derek asked.
'You saw it in him, the fear, the cowardice, all of it. It was clear to me that he was trying to find the right person that can really protect him. But for now, get some rest. We'll hear more of this later.' Plutonia suggested.
By the next morning, Derek saw in the Daily Prophet that the news of Peter Pettigrew being captured and Sirius being innocent was all over. Many students were very frantic that a supposed mass murderer was in the walls. Fortunately, the reality of what happened got to them. Although many didn't believe it at first, the weekend will answer it all.
The retrial commenced that Saturday, and Peter continued to plead his innocence. Sirius, along with Dumbledore, Lupin and Snape stood as witnesses. Minister Fudge questioned why the others weren't there, but Dumbledore stated that they have had enough excitement for a while.
Peter was found guilty of all charges pressed against him. In the Daily Prophet, Fudge stated to the press, 'In many ways, I have seen activities firsthand that made me have sleepless nights. But this…this has brought to me much relief knowing that the true traitor of the Potter's can be at peace. Sirius Black, falsely accused of the actions made, has been awarded Order of Merlin First Class, and will make a full recovery to become an Auror. As for Peter Pettigrew, the defendant for murder, false accusation, and multiple felony placed on him, was be sentenced to life in Azkaban, and will likely face the Dementor's kiss.'
"I can't believe that man did all of this." Cho said while she was reading the article next to Derek.
"Tell me about it. I'm just glad that whole mess was cleaned up." Derek said.
"You know…how about you try out for Quidditch next year? We could use someone like you." Cho suggested.
"That's something I planned on when I saw that first match. But what position?" Derek asked.
When the year finally came its end, Derek packed up everything and left for the Great Hall for the end of year feast. To several people's confusion, Sirius was sitting at the staff table, despite him not being a staff member there. Derek watched him having a good laugh with a couple staff members, and saw Harry being as happy as he has ever been.
While on the train ride back to Kings Cross station, he shared a compartment with Cho, Luna and Marietta.
"So you're from Scotland. What's it like out there?" Derek asked Cho.
"It's beautiful out there. Breathtaking sceneries, wide open spaces. I can never get enough of it." Cho said.
"There's nothing special from where I live. Dad and I live out in the countries close to the Weasley's, the Fawcett's, and the Diggory's." Luna said.
"Cedric Diggory lives close by!?" Cho yelled, catching everyone's attention.
"You really have gone quite attached to him, haven't you?" Marietta asked.
"Well…in a way. But then again, Harry Potter seems really nice." Cho said while blushing a bit.
Derek was confused at what she was talking about. He chose to not question any of it though as to not embarrass himself.
After several hours, they all returned to King's Cross, where families were waiting for them all. Derek exited with his stuff and said goodbye to his friends. He got the addresses from Cho, Luna, Harry, Ron and Hermione so he could stay in contact with them from time to time.
"Derek!" Juan called out.
Derek said his godfather, along with Winston, standing there waiting for him. He ran to them and hugged them.
"I missed you guys." Derek said.
"Winston hoped that Master Derek's first year was successful." Winston said while bowing to him.
"It sure was buddy." Derek said.
"Bye Derek! Be safe for us okay!?" Cho yelled out and waved goodbye to him.
"See you next term!" Derek yelled back while waving as well.
Derek left with Juan and Winston in a ministry approved muggle car. Good thing that it was magically upgraded to hold all of his things, and no one can suspect a thing, especially from muggles. Now that his first year ended, what new tasks will come to Derek in his second year? Find out more as he prepares for said second year next time as the story continues.
And do the first year had ended. I know this was probably a bit underwhelming that not much was used from the book for that particular year, but hopefully enough of it was satisfying in the end. But next time, things are going to be rather different for the upcoming year, aside from the Triwizard Tournament. Next time…the Goblet of Fire story commences. TheD-Rock900 is signing off, see you guys next time.