Chapter 39 The Truth Does Set you Free
Hermione let out a scream. Sirius jumped to his feet, but I jumped up and kept myself between him and Snape.
"What are you wearing, Zwart?" He asked.
"My sneaking clothes." I answered, returning the same malice in my voice.
Sirius chuckled behind me.
Snape made a noise with a flick of his wand, a plain black dress was conjured out of the air. I slipped it on.
"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," Snape threw the Cloak aside, making sure to keep his wand pointed at Lupin. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you…"
I didn't like the look on his face.
"You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here? I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did… Lucky for me, I mean, lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you and Zwart running along this passageway and out of sight."
"Severus -" Lupin tried to speak.
"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, I even told him I had a suspicion that Zwart was involved after the Halloween feast. I almost had her with the second time Black had come in, but there was no proof that she took the list of passwords from Longbottom." Snape sneered.
"But, here is the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout -"
"Severus, you're making a mistake," Lupin said urgently. "You haven't heard everything - I can explain - Sirius is not here to kill Harry -"
"Two more for Azkaban tonight," Snape's eyes were glittering with triumph. "I'm sure the Minister will send Zwart too, but we will just have to wait and see…"
Sirius gripped my arm and pulled me behind him.
"I won't let her be taken there." He snarled.
"I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this…" Snape ignored Sirius. "He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin… a tame werewolf -"
"You fool," Lupin said softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"
There was BANG! And thin snakelike cords twisted around Lupin's ankles, wrists, and his mouth. Sirius let out a roar and went to attack Snape, but Snape turned his wand to Sirius.
"Give me a reason," Snape whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."
Sirius stopped where he was. I couldn't see his face, but I could see Snape's and it was full of hatred.
Hermione was the one to surprise me when she stepped forward, "Professor Snape - it - it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w - would it?"
"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer, his daughter, and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."
"But if - if there was a mistake -"
"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape looked and sounded deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Sparks flew out of his wand, which was pointed at Sirius's face.
Hermione, thankfully, fell silent.
"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape whispered, clearly enjoying this moment. "How I hope I would be the one to catch you…"
"The joke's on you again, Severus." Sirius snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to castle" - he jerked his head towards Ron - "I'll come quietly."
"Up to the castle?" Snape said in a silky tone. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be pleased to see you, Black… pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay…"
I felt myself pale at that. I took a cautious step forward and grabbed Sirius's hand. I wasn't ready to lose a parent I just got.
"You - you've got to hear me out," Sirius croaked, squeezing my hand. "The rat - look at the rat -"
Snape looked like he was beyond all reason. I reached through my dress to my wand, ready to send out sparks the minute we got out of the Willow.
"Come on, all of you." Snape snapped his fingers and the ropes binding Lupin flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too -"
There was motion behind, and I was surprised, but relieved, to see that Harry had blocked the door.
"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," Snape snarled. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin -"
"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry spoke up. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"
"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," Snape hissed. "Get out of the way, Potter!"
"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN -"
"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape's pale face started to grow red. "Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black - now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"
Harry raised his wand in a split second and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
Only there were two other voices that had joined his. Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall. He had been knocked out.
"You shouldn't have done that," Sirius let go of my hand and turned to face Harry. "You should have left him to me…"
"We attacked a teacher… We attacked a teacher…," Hermione whimpered. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble -"
Sirius bent down to untie Lupin from his bonds.
"Thank you, Harry." Lupin said, standing up and rubbing his wrists.
"I'm still not saying I believe you," Harry told Lupin.
"Then it's time we offered you some proof," Lupin turned to Ron. "You, boy - give me Peter, please. Now."
Ron clutched Scabbers to his chest. Sirius turned to me and held his hand out. I pulled out my wand and made sure Harry and Hermione watched me when I gave it to him.
"Come off it," Ron said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean…" He looked at Harry and Hermione. "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat - there are millions of rats - how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"
"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," Lupin turned to Sirius. "How did you find out where he was?"
Sirius put his wandless hand into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, he smoothed it flat and hold out to show everyone.
It was the photograph of the Weasley family when they won their money to go to Egypt. And on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.
"How did you get this?" Lupin asked.
"Fudge," Sirius answered. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And Cassie's letter." He added as an after-thought. "There was Peter, on the front page… on this boy's shoulder… I knew him at once… how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to where Harry and Cassie were…"
"My God," Lupin's voice was soft, looking at the photograph. "His front paw…"
"What about it?" Ron said defiantly.
"He's got a missing toe," Sirius was blunt.
"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple… so brilliant… he cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transformed," Sirius nodded. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself - and sped down into the sewer with the other rats…"
"From the sounds of it, he finally grew a backbone after you all left Hogwats. And at the worst time." I said.
Sirius nodded his agreement.
"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" Lupin asked, turning back to the ginger. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."
"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right -"
"Twelve years, in fact." Lupin interrupted. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"
"We - we've been taking good care of him!" Ron said, trying to hold onto what he's known.
"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" Lupin asked. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again…"
"He's been scared of that mad cat!" Ron pointed at Crookshanks.
"He's been losing weight since before Hermione got Crookshanks. You went into the shop to buy him a tonic to see if it would help him get better. Then Crookshanks attacked him." I kept my voice soft.
"This cat isn't mad." Sirius said, his voice hoarse. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no do. It was a while before he trusted me… Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me…"
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, slightly breathless.
"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't… so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me… As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table…" Sirius answered.
"So you didn't give them to him?" Hermione turned to me.
"I was told not to help Sirius. If Scabbers knew I was onto him, he would have disappeared earlier." I said, looking at Sirius.
He patted my head and cupped my cheek before turning back to the conversation. The out of character moment gave me the shivers and I had to shake myself out of them.
"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it…" Sirius said, "this cat - Crookshanks, did you call him? - told me Peter had left blood on the sheets… I supposed he bit himself… Well, faking his own death had worked once…"
"And why did he fake his death?" Harry asked furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"No," Lupin shook his head. "Harry -"
"And now you've come to finish him off!" Harry didn't want to listen.
"Yes, I have," Sirius gave Scabbers another evil look.
"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.
"Harry," Lupin said hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time, we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down - but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father - Sirius tracked Peter down -"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP! HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"
"But it's so obvious." I said, keeping my voice calm.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Sirius and James were best friends, right? So when Lily and James had to go into hiding it would be obvious that Sirius would know where they are. That would put him in danger of actually giving them up if he got caught." I explained slowly.
"I as good as killed them," Sirius croaked out. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me… I'm to blame, I know it… The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed , and their bodies… I realized what Peter must've done… what I'd done…"
"Enough of this." Lupin suddenly had steel in his voice. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."
"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked tensely.
"Force him to show himself," Lupin answered. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."
Ron hesitated, but he finally handed Scabbers over. And the rat made more of an effort to escape. Twisting and turning as he squeaked away.
"Ready, Sirius?" Lupin asked.
Sirius nudged me to that I was by Harry by the door incase anything happened.
"Together?" Sirius asked.
"I think so," Lupin nodded, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand. "On the count of three. One - two -THREE!"
There was a flash of blue-white light, Scabbers was frozen in midair for a moment. There was another flash of light and Scabbers started to grow really fast. He transformed into a short man, shorter than me. He had a bald spot on his head, and he looked like he had lost a lot of weight in a short time. Something tickled behind my eyes.
"Well, hello, Peter," Lupin's tone was pleasant. "Long time, no see."
"S - Sirius… R - Remus…" Pettigrew's squeaky voice gave me disgusted shivers down my spine.
My brain was starting tickling, something was trying to make a connection.
"My friends… my old friends…"
Sirius's arm rose, but Lupin seized his wrist.
"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking down there on the bed -"
"Remus," Peter gasped, beads of sweat at his temple. "You don't believe him, do you…? He tried to kill me, Remus…"
"So we've heard," Lupin's voice was cold. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so -"
"He's come to try and kill me again!" Peter squeaked. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too… You've got to help me, Remus…"
Sirius's face dropped all emotions, just watching Peter.
"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," Lupin said calmly.
"Sorted things out?" Peter squealed, looking around at the windows and doors. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"
"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" Lupin asked, his brow furrowed.
The tickling in my brain reached my nose and it felt like I had to sneeze, but it didn't at the same time.
"When nobody has ever done it before?" Lupin finished asking.
"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Peter shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"
Sirius let out a mirthless laugh.
"Voldemort, teach me tricks?"
Peter flinched.
"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" Sirius sneered. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"
"Don't know what you mean, Sirius -" Peter muttered, again looking at the windows and door.
He made an effort not to look at me.
"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," Sirius said. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter… They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them… I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information… and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways… If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter -"
"Don't know… what you're talking about…" Peter said, his voice getting more shrill.
He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked at Lupin, "you don't believe this - this madness, Remus -"
"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat." Lupin managed to keep his voice even.
I took that moment to turn around and rub my eyes. Harry reached out and tapped my shoulder, but I gave him a small smile to let him know I was okay.
My brain was just giving me a hard time and I didn't know how to stop the tickling.
"Innocent, but scared!" Peter squealed. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban - the spy, Sirius Black!"
I felt my face contort in anger but I didn't turn around.
"How dare you," Sirius growled, sounding like his animagus form. "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people, who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter - I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us… me and Remus… and James… and Karen."
The tickling in my brain turned into a stronger feeling, and I actually had to sit down and put my head in my hands.
"Cassie, are you alright?" Lupin asked.
"I'm fine." I said, not looking up.
"Me, a spy… must be out of your mind… never… don't know how you can say such a -" Peter didn't hear my little conversation with Lupin.
"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it." Sirius hissed. "I thought it was the perfect plan… a bluff… Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you… It must have been the finest moment in your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."
Peter started to mutter under his breath. I didn't catch any of what he was saying.
"Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked timidly. "Can - can I say something?"
"Certainly, Hermione." Lupin said courteously.
"Well - Scabbers - I mean, this - this man - he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working with for You-Know-Who, how come he never tired to hurt Harry before now?" Hermione asked.
"There!" Peter tried to sound triumphant, but he didn't. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair on Harry's head! Why should I?"
"I'll tell you why," Sirius answered. "Because you neve did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you, Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him…"
My brain hurt more and I took to squinting at Peter's back.
'What are you trying to tell me?' I asked myself.
"Er - Mr. Black - Sirius?" Hermione piped up.
Sirius jumped from being addressed so formally.
"If you don't mind me asking, how - how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?" Hermione asked.
"Thank you!" Peter gasped. "Exactly! Precisely what I -"
"Oh shut up you rat." I said from behind him.
He looked over his shoulder, but he didn't look at me.
"I don't know how I did it," Sirius answered slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me… but it kept me sane and knowing who I am… helped me to keep my powers… so when it all became… too much… I could transform in my cell… become a dog… Dementors can't see, you know…" Sirius swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions… They could tell that my feelings were less - less human, less complex when I was a dog… but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand…
"But then I saw Peter in that picture… I realized that he was Hogwarts with Cassie and Harry… perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again…"
Peter was shaking his head, but he didn't say anything.
"... ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies… and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors…
"So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive… It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it… It wasn't a happy feeling… it was an obsession… but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring me food, I slipped past them as a dog… It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused… I was thin, very thin… thin enough to slip through the bars… I swam as a dog back to the mainland… I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, Cassie thought I was just a dog who followed her this far. She fed me. But when she told me she was going to the Malfoy's for Christmas I had to warn her what they could do. So I showed myself to her. She's kept my secret with her ever since. I did come out once, to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry…"
Sirius looked at me, then turned to Harry.
"Believe me," Sirius croaked. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."
I looked over at Harry and held my breath. It felt like an eternity before Harry finally nodded.
"NO!" Peter fell to his knees.
"Sirius - it's me… it's Peter… your friend… you wouldn't…"
Sirius kicked his leg out and Peter recoiled.
"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them." Sirius snarled.
"Remus!" Peter turned to Lupin.
"You don't believe this… wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd change the plan?"
"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter." Lupin said. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" Lupin asked casually over Peter's head.
"Forgive me, Remus." Sirius nodded.
"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," I caught the way he said 'Padfoot' and it warmed my heart. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?" Lupin rolled up his sleeves.
"Of course," Sirius sounded just slightly happier, but just slightly. "Shall we kill him together?"
I looked up at Harry sharply.
"You wouldn't… you won't…" Peter gasped.
He suddenly scrambled towards Ron. I stood up and my head started to hammer.
"Ron… haven't I been a good friend… a good pet?"
I stumbled a bit and Harry caught me. Hermione looked at me sharply. Lupin even cast a glance at me.
"You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you… you're on my side, aren't you?" Peter was saying.
"Treasure, your Uncle Wormy is here to visit us!" My mom was smiling down at me as I played with my toys.
"Uncwe Wormy!" I couldn't pronounce my L's.
I waddled my way over to the plump man who looked down at me with a smile.
"Hello Cassie!" He picked me up and spun me around once.
I giggled loudly and he put me down when he was done spinning.
I didn't pay attention to their conversation and went back to playing with my toys. There was a flash of light and a thud.
"Mommy?" I asked, looking up from my toys.
"Your mummy is going to take a walk with me. We'll be right back." Uncle Wormy had bent down.
"I can't be weft awone." I said, looking up at the man.
"She'll be gone only for a few minutes. She will be right back!" He promised.
I didn't understand at the time. But she didn't come back… Dumbledore was the one who came and got me.
I missed what was said in the moment I had the flashback, but my brain no longer hurt. And I was angry.
"What. Did. You. Do. To. Her." My voice was sharp.
Peter flinched and looked at me, he was groveling at Hermione's feet.
"You. I remember you. Uncle Wormy." I snarled.
Lupin and Sirius shared a look of surprise.
"Cassie -?" Harry asked.
"You were the last person - no - YOU TOOK MY MOTHER!" I shouted.
Sirius had a look of realization on his face.
"She was found in a park, dead." Hermione whispered.
"What." I was shocked.
"Peter had a crush on your mother." Lupin explained, looking at Peter with disgust.
"She didn't want to have children. She was disowned when she tried - tried to suppress her abilities. She didn't want to pass them on, but -" Lupin looked at Sirius.
"I know the rest." I said calmly.
Lupin blinked and gave a nod, looking at Peter.
"Peter… Did… Did you kill Karen?" Sirius asked slowly.
"I thought she was raped. Imagine my surprise when young Cassie was able to change her appearance. I knew Karen had feelings for me, she was just in denial." Peter had a change of personality.
"She only saw you as a friend." Lupin's voice was soft this time.
"She loved me!" Peter snarled finally looking at me.
"So you killed her." I said, my voice hollow.
Harry took a sharp breath and this time, he took my hand.
"She didn't understand that I was willing to protect her." Peter snarled.
"You were offered her a place in Voldemort's ranks. And you killed her when she said no?" I snarled back.
Peter suddenly started to cower again.
"When she denied you, you sold Lily and James to Voldemort." Sirius had pulled Peter way from Hermione and was shaking. "Do you deny it?"
Peter burst into tears, cowering on the floor.
"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord… you have no idea… he has weapons you can't imagine… I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant for it to happen… He-Must-Not-Be-Named forded me -"
"DON'T LIE! YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION FOR A YEAR BEFORE KAREN, LILY, AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!" Sirius bellowed.
"He - he was taking over everywhere!" Peter gasped. "Wh - what was there to be gained by refusing him?"
"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has have ever existed?" Sirius said with fury. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"
"You don't understand!" Pettigrew whined. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"
"THERE YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" Sirius and I roared together.
Harry decided to hold me rather than just my hand. I didn't have my wand, but I felt like I could kill him with my bare hands.
"DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"
"Kill him." I said, feeling the tears start to form in my eyes.
"You should have realized," Lupin said quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."
I watched as they raised their wands.
"NO!" Harry shouted, letting me go and racing to stand in front of Pettigrew. "You can't kill him," Harry was breathless. "You can't."
"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Sirius snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you dead, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."
"I know," Harry said. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors. He can go to Azkaban... but don't kill him."
"Harry!" Pettigrew gasped, flinging his arms around Harry's knees. "You - thank you - it's more than I deserve - thank you -"
"Get off me," Harry spat, wrenching Pettigrew's arms from him. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because - I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers - just for you."
I took a minute and really thought about it. If the Minister saw that Pettigrew was alive, then he would have to let Sirius go as a free man…
Sirius and Lupin lowered their wands.
"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry." Sirius looked in my direction before turning to Harry again. "But think… think what he did…"
"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does…"
Pettigrew wheezed on the ground.
"If they see him, alive, then the Ministry will have to let you go." I said, speaking to Sirius.
His eyes widen and he looked down at Pettigrew.
"Very well," Lupin nodded. "Stand aside, Harry."
Harry didn't move.
"I'm going to tie him up," Lupin explained. "That's all, I swear."
Harry stepped out of the way. I enjoyed watching Pettigrew wiggling on the floor in his bindings.
"But if you transform, Peter." Sirius growled, pointing his wand at Pettigrew. "We will kill you. You agree, Harry?"
Harry made sure Pettigrew was looking at him before nodding.
"Right." Lupin was suddenly businesslike. "Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I won't try to heal you."
"Not my first time making a splint." I said, feeling proud about it.
"You've broken bones before?" Sirius asked.
"Oh no, but I grew up in an orphanage and sometimes accidents happen and I picked up a thing or two from older kids who knew what to do." I answered.
"You grew up in an orphanage?" He asked.
"You two have been meeting in secret since December and you haven't told him anything about you?" Hermione asked.
"I was mostly asking about him," I shrugged sheepishly.
"So he doesn't know about your scars?" Ron asked, standing up and able not to wince from the pain.
"The one on her face?" Sirius asked, looking around at us.
"Uh -" I said.
"Really, Cassie?" Hermione rolled her eyes but gave a laugh.
"Well, when you're a free man, I'll tell you all about my scars." I smiled at Sirius.
"You better." Sirius said, giving me a pointed look.
"What about Professor Snape?" Hermione asked, finally looking at the Potion's Master.
"There's nothing wrong with him." Lupin had made his way over to Snape and was checking his pulse. "You were just a little - overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er - perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back in the can take him like this…"
Lupin muttered "Mobilcorpus" and Snape started to float in the air. He was floating like a puppet, though his head lolled unpleasantly. Lupin picked up the Invisibility Cloak and tucked it away in his pocket.
"And two of us should be chained to this," Sirius nudged Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."
"I'll do it." Lupin said.
"And me." Ron was savage as he stepped forward.
Sirius handed me back my wand, and took Snape's from the bed.
When Harry, Ron, and Hermione stunned Snape, his wand had flown out of his hand and landed on the bed.
Sirius conjured up manacles and chained Pettigrew's left arm to Lupin's right, and Pettigrew's right arm to Ron's left arm. Hermione went after Ron to make sure he didn't fall.
Crookshanks lead the way out, Lupin went out first with Pettigrew and Ron falling behind him. Hermione checked back towards us. Sirius guided Snape forward with his wand, and Harry and I brought up the rear.
"You know what this means? Turning Pettigrew in?" Sirius suddenly asked, turning to us.
"You're free." Harry answered.
"Yes…" Sirius said, nodding. "But I'm also - I don't know if anyone ever told you - I'm your Godfather."
"Yeah, I knew that." Harry nodded.
"Well… your parents appointed me your guardian," Sirius said stiffly. "If anything were to happen to them…."
Harry and I waited. I could go live with Sirius, he was my blood relative. But what was he trying to tell Harry?
"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle," Sirius said. "But… well… think about it. Once my name is cleared… if you wanted a… a different home."
I grabbed Harry's hand, realizing what this meant.
"What - live with you?" Harry said, accidentally cracking his head on a rock on the ceiling. "Leave the Dursley's?"
"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," Sirius said quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd -"
"Are you insane?" Harry and I asked.
Harry's voice was croaky.
"Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"
My smile was huge, you could see it in the darkness.
"You want to?" Sirius asked, turning to face us.
Snape's head started to scrape the top of the ceiling, but Sirius didn't seem to care.
"You want to? You mean it?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, I mean it!" Harry nodded.
"And of course, Cassie would move in with us." Sirius said, returning my smile.
"We're like siblings anyways." Harry said, squeezing my hand.
Sirius's grin somehow got bigger. We didn't say anything else as we finished the long journey back to the tunnel's entrance. Crookshanks must have touched the knot because Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron made it out without having to fight the branches.
Sirius got Snape out and let Harry and I go first. Lupin reached down and gave me a hand up.
"Will you come live with us?" I asked quietly.
Lupin stumbled before turning around and facing Pettigrew, "one wrong move, Peter."
Silently, we started our back to the castle, but a pit of dread started to grow in my stomach.
Lupin had not taken his potion this week. And Snape was taking him a goblet of it.
"Professor!" I said, breaking the silence.
Ron and Pettigrew ended up bumping into Lupin. The clouds had moved, revealing the rising full moon…
"Oh, my -" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"
"Run," Sirius whispered. "Run. Now!"
"Ron!" I said, trying to run forward.
Sirius caught both Harry and I and threw us backwards.
"Leave it to me - RUN!"
I AM SO SORRY FOR HOW LONG THIS CHAPTER IS! But at the same time, I'm not. We're getting closer to the end. And the next chapter is going to be a doozie!
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Awritingbookworm: I'm glad to hear that I didn't disappoint!
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