Chapter Thirteen: Marauders by Moonlight
"Everyone has a moment in his history which belongs particularly to him. It is the moment when his emotions achieve their most powerful sway over him, and afterward when you say to this person 'the world today' or 'life' or 'reality' he will assume you mean this moment, even if it is fifty years past. The world, through his unleashed emotions, imprinted itself upon him, and he carries the stamp of that passing moment forever."
-John Knowles
It was to a violently thrashing tree he lead them. Padfoot ducked under the branches and placed a paw on a knob at the roots, and the tree froze suddenly, allowing Harry and Ron to follow. There was a tunnel at the base of the tree, which they followed the dog into.
The tunnel was rough, long, and winding. Harry did his best to stay as alert as possible, but didn't sense any hidden monsters or danger. He was glad of the dark, as having his wand lit gave him a simple excuse to keep it out and in his hand without alerting the man in front of them. While he thought the man would probably already have made a move if he had wanted to kill them, he wasn't about to let his guard down.
The passage led them into a rather shabby building with boards nailed over every visible window. The Shrieking Shack…
Padfoot transformed back into a man, wand out.
"The rat…. give me the rat…"
"Expelliarmus." Harry muttered lazily, reaching out to catch Ron's wand as it flew from Black's hand. "The rat, whoever he is, is unconscious. He's been stunned, as you know perfectly well, and is therefore not of first priority for the moment. For now, I should like to hear some explanations."
Both Black and Ron were staring at him once again. After a moment of silence, Black asked tentatively, "How much do you know?"
Harry paused for a moment, and decided to include the few guesses he was pretty sure on. It might be best to sound informed, in this case. "I know that you are Sirius Black, also known as Padfoot, that your best friend was James Potter, that he and his wife were under the Fidelius charm but were betrayed, and that you are my godfather. I know that you have no intention of killing us, and that the rat is an animagus," he paused to access Black's reaction, and then deciding that what he'd said so far was truth, to Black's knowledge, added, "Wormtail, perhaps?" Black nodded.
"How long have you known who your dog was?" asked Black.
"I guessed it when I found you. I've been having Silas keep an eye on you while I sleep."
Black looked rather shocked, but never the less, he began to tell his tale:
"It was always the four of us when we were at Hogwarts; Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. Prongs, your father, was a stag animagus. Wormtail over there is Peter Pettigrew, and Moony is a werewolf by the name of Remus Lupin. We became animagi so that we could safely keep him company on the full moon. We had some great times, running around and exploring together… but after Hogwarts we were in the war against Voldemort, and we found out Voldemort was after Lily and James. They decided to use the Fidelius charm, as you know. We knew there was a traitor somewhere close to them. I thought it was Remus… they asked me to be their secret keeper, but I convinced them to use Peter instead. I thought I could act as a decoy, lead the enemy off track. I was sure no one would suspect they had used Peter… but on Halloween night when I stopped by to check on him, I found him gone, with no sign of struggle. I rushed to your parents' house in Godric's Hollow, only to find it in ruins. I when after Pettigrew, but he was faster, blew up the street… and then the aurors came. I never even got a trial."
"Show us Pettigrew, then." Harry replied calmly. "Ron, hand Black the rat."
Ron handed the unconscious rat over to Black, and Harry handed the man Ron's wand. Black cast a spell at the rat, and it transformed rapidly into a man, which Black used an enervate to wake.
"S-Sirius… my old friend…" The man's eyes were lingering conspicuously on the door.
"Yeah, 'cause he's obviously not your friend now." Ron muttered.
"So you betrayed my parents to their deaths," said Harry with cold conviction, doing his best to further unnerve the new-comer, "what do you have to say for yourself?"
"What could I have done? The Dark Lord… you have no idea… he has weapons you can't imagine… I was scared, I was never brave like Sirius and Remus and James. I never meant for it to happen… He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me-"
"DON"T LIE!" bellowed Black. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"
"He- he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh- what was there to be gained by refusing him?"
"Stupefy. Ronald and I have to get back up to the castle. Bring Ron's wand up to the castle later." Harry told Black after stunning Wormtail, and then he left, followed by Ron, and they walked back up to the castle in silence.
It wouldn't be until a little while later, when they where walking through the first few corridors by the front entrance of Hogwarts that they would realize that something was wrong. Time within Hogwarts does not stand still, no matter how busy you might be elsewhere. While Sirius Black sat in the Shrieking Shack staring at the stunned figure of Peter Pettigrew and reminiscing on better times, Ron and Harry had no idea how close they were to trouble, nor how soon time would be running short.
A/N: I feel slightly obligated to remind you, as many people seem to have forgotten, that Pettigrew was never thought to be dead in this universe, so catching him isn't really all that useful, and probably would only gain you a kidnapping charge if reported to the ministry (though he wouldn't be noticed missing for ages otherwise, since he has been avoiding people a bit.) If you are terribly confused, reread the first chapter of the prequel.
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