"But they can't!" I cried. "It's not fair! When?!"
"Tonight at sunset." She said, bursting into tears again. I pulled her into a hug and patted her back.
Sometimes I wonder if we didn't hope enough.
Mwppmwppmwppmwppmwpp
I walked quickly and quietly through the halls, down towards Hagrid's hut. I had a feeling Hermione and the others would be doing the same thing in not too long, but I would be gone by then. No sense in sticking around to be judged by the orange one and the boy who lived. I walked silently through the damp grass, the bottoms of my jeans getting all wet along with my converse that I wore.
I knocked on Hagrid's door, and could hear loud crying from inside.
"Who is it?" He yelled.
"It's Rita! Let me in, it's cold out!" I whisper-yelled, pulling my jacket closer around me. He opened the door with a frown.
"You ain't supposed to be out this late, yer gunna get into trouble." He said, opening the door anyways. I walked in.
"Yeah but I thought you could use some company, ya know when they do the execution." I said. He shrugged.
"But ye ain't staying fer that- ya don't need to see it." He said while placing a plate of cookies on the table. I learned from past experiences that Hagrid's cookies were usually rock hard, so I didn't take one.
"Well, on the bright side, at least now Buckbeak won't have to put up with spending a day around the Slytherins ever again." I said, thinking back to our very first Care Of Magical Creatures class. I opened my mouth to say something else, when a loud knock interrupted me. Hagrid asked who it was like he had done when I knocked.
"It's us! Harry, Hermione, and Ron!" Potter said through the door. I mentally groaned. They came a lot sooner than I thought they would...
He opened the door and I looked off somewhere, wishing I wouldn't had come tonight. Or earlier, at least.
It took a while for them to notice me, but once they did Weasley yelled,
"What is she doing here?!" I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"I have every right to be here as you do, Ronald." I said in a board tone-cause in all reality this was getting quite boring. I was getting sick of people hating me when I haven't even done anything.
"Ron, she's just here to support Hagrid- just as we are!" Hermione defended, giving me a small smile and wave
" I don't get why you are even friends with her! She could be just as bad as her-" I turned towards the table and grabbed a cookie from the plate, chucking it at Ron.
He cursed and ducked, the cookie hitting the wall. I think the wall was more damaged than the cookie.
Potter sighed and turned to Hagrid, "Here we go again. They've been fighting all week!" He sat down at the table, and I leaned further away. Hermione grabbed a jug of something and gave a small shriek.
"Ron! Ron, look!" She said excitedly, pulling out a fat lump of grey.
"Scabbers!" Ron yelled, taking what I guessed was his long lost rat from Mione.
"I think you owe someone an apology." Hermione said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yeah, yeah. When I see Crookshanks again remind me to tell him I'm sorry." He said sarcastically.
"She meant her, you dunderhead!" I said, irritated that he was still mad at my friend for something that didn't even happen- and something she couldn't have controlled anyways.
"No one asked for your opinion, Black!" Weasley yelled back, and before soon it had turned into a full blown shouting match.
"-Oh that's rich! Yes, well I guess you'll grow up to be a muggle-obsessed ministry worker like your father, right?!" I yelled.
"Hey! You can't talk about my family like-" he said, but Hermione cut him off.
"Shh! Guys, they're coming!" She said, and we all looked out the window. I could see the executioner's axe reflecting the Sun's last bits of rays.
"You all best get going, don't want any of ya getting inter trouble." Hagrid said. I nodded and was the first one out the back door, speed-walking back to the castle once the coast was clear. I didn't want to be close enough to hear it. I'm guessing the others put the cloak that Hermione told me about on, cause when I turned around they were gone. I could hear that stupid rat squeaking before it came darting past me, soon followed by Ronald. I rolled my eyes. Him and that stupid rat.
"Ron, no!" Potter yelled, throwing the cloak off him and Hermione. They ran after Ron and with a sigh and roll of the eyes I followed after them. I didn't have anything better to do. I stopped suddenly as I saw where the rat was running to. He had lead us straight to the old crazy tree, I forgot what it was called.
"Um, Hermione? Maybe we should-" I started, only to break off in a scream as a big black dog shot past me towards the others.
"HERMIONE! DUCK!" I yelled, running towards them. Hermione looked behind her before pushing Potter down with her. The dog jumped straight over their heads and towards Weasley. He gave a high pitched shriek, and if the situation had been different I would have laughed at how girly it sounded.
"RON!" Hermione and Harry yelled, surging forward. I caught hermione's arm but Potter wasn't so lucky.
"Hermione! The tree!" I yelled and she looked up just in time to see a long branch swing out and knock her friend down.
"Harry!" She yelled, breaking out of my grip and running forward. I face palmed and ran after her. I tried dodging the branches but I wasn't too good at it. Soon the tree was swinging all three of us around, and Hermione had the smart idea to throw Harry down into the hole where the dog had dragged Ronald through.
"Are you coming?" She yelled to me.
"Yeah, but I'll go after you!" I yelled back, not liking how high I was. I was dreading having to jump down.
"Okay!" She yelled back, before slipping down the hole just as the others had. I took a deep breath and counted to three.
"One-two-three!" I yelled, dislodging myself from the branch and dropping unceremoniously into the hole. I landed on the hard ground with an 'oof'. I groaned as I stood up, not bothering to brush off the dust as I saw Harry and Hermione already running down the tunnel. I sighed and ran after them, and by the time I had entered the shack-like building they were just rounding the corner into a room upstairs. I ran faster, not liking this place and slid past the door on accident, before crashing loudly into the wall.
HPOV
Hermione and I ran into the room where we heard Ron's yells coming from, and heard a loud crash behind us out in the hall. We paid it no mind, however, as Ron pointed to the corner behind the door. The door slowly started to swing shut, just as Rita came running in, getting a face full of the door, and yelling loudly. She slipped in through the crack and ran over to us.
"Okay, I know I'm covered in dust and bits of wood, but come on. I don't look that horrible!" She said. Hermione simply grabbed her shoulders and turned her around.
"Oh. You, sir, could use a very long bath." She said, before clearing her throat and taking a deep breath, and then letting out a very loud, long scream.
Hermione raised an eyebrow at her friend, "Better?" She asked. Rita nodded,
"Much, thank you." She said, running around Hermione so she was further away from her dad.
"Expelliarmus!" Black said, but it came out as more of a croak. All of our wands-minus Ron's, who's he already had- flew from our hands and into his left hand.
"I knew you would come after your friend, brave like your father you are. Would have been much smarter to go for a teacher, but it makes it a lot easier for me." He said.
"Ow, Rita, you're hurting my arms!" Hermione whispered over her shoulder.
"Sorry," She said, letting go of Hermione's arms, her knuckles still a pure white from holding on.
"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to get through us first!" Ron said, trying to stand up.
"Sit down, before you make your leg worse." He said but Ron ignored him.
"Y-Yeah, Rita too!" Hermione said, stepping in front of me.
"Hermione!" Rita squeaked, trying to pull her back.
"Touching. But only one will die tonight." He said.
"Why's that?! You never seemed to care about killing innocent people before! Gone soft in Azkaban, have you?" I asked, wishing for my wand back.
"Harry!" Hermione said as Rita squeaked in fear again.
"HE KILLED MY PARENTS, HERMIONE!" I yelled.
I leapt forward, knocking Black down. I forgot about how much smaller and younger I was than this man who had committed many murders, and only thought about how I wanted my wand back.
RPOV
I groaned as Harry leapt forwards and started punching my father. The stupidity of boys! He was going to get himself killed! And of course, Hermione ran towards them and tried to help Harry. My father's hand wrapped around Harry's throat, and he said something that I missed. I may not like Potter, and he may not like me- but I wasn't going to allow my father to kill him as easily as he had betrayed his parents.
I ran towards them, trying to pry Harry away from the fight, trying to unclench my father's hand from his throat, but finally gave up and went for the wands instead. They gave a flash of white sparks, one of them catching on my cheek. I hissed and yanked harder, trying to pull them out of his grasp.
"ARG!" I yelled, having to stop to unlatch Crookshanks from my leg.
"YOU STUPID CAT! OOO WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU- HERMIONE! COME GET YOUR STUPID TRAITOR CAT!" I yelled angrily, rubbing my ankle from where he had bit me. I kicked him across the room. Hermione kicked Sirius in the face, and he immediately let go of Harry as Ron dived for the wands. Crookshanks came back, trying to get Harry's wand, and I jumped and landed painfully on my knee, but I still got the wand first. I stood up and turned towards Harry to give him back his wand. Harry jumped back, glaring at me. I rolled my eyes.
"Oh cut it out, you big git! I'm giving it back to you!" I said, handing him his wand as Hermione handed me mine.
Ron laid down on the four poster that I hadn't noticed before, looking quite green. Harry turned back to face my father, his wand pointing straight at his heart. I held onto Hermione's arm again, but much less so than before.
"You going to kill me, Harry?" He asked, laughing slightly. It made me wonder if Azkaban had taken all of his sanity like the minister had said.
"Just as you killed my parents." He said. Crookshanks jumped on his chest, and settled over where Harry was pointing his wand. I groaned.
"Freaking traitor." I said. Hermione looked angrily at her cat.
"Get off." My father murmured, trying to push off the cat.
"I won't deny it. But you don't know the whole story." He said, back on the topic of Harry's parents.
"The whole story? The whole story is that you sold them to Voldemort! That's all I need to know!" Harry yelled at him, gripping his wand tighter.
"No-no, you don't understand-" he started, but Harry cut him off.
"I do understand! You think I don't?! Every time a dementor is near, I hear my mother screaming for mercy! And you think I don't understand?!" I looked up at Harry, realizing that he dealt with a lot more than anyone thought. My father's face twisted into a pained expression.
"What do you think I hear?! All day long, every day in that horrid place-surrounded by Dementors every second! All day long I hear my daughter screaming and crying, and I can't do anything to stop it! Nothing at all! And I hear that all. Day. Long!" He yelled. I will admit- I was a bit surprised that that was one of his worst memories. Harry stood there for a few minutes, his wand still pointed at my father. We could hear faint footsteps down stairs, growing louder.
"UP HERE WE'RE UP HERE! SIRIUS BLACK! COME QUICKLY!" Hermione suddenly yelled, and I put a hand over my ear.
"Blimey Hermione! You don't have to bust my eardrum!" I said. Just then Professor Lupin came running into the room with his wand raised and a shocked expression on his face. He looked to my father and Harry where his wand was still pointing at the cat that had taken it upon himself to protect my father, no matter how pointless. Lupin looked around the room at all of us, before yelling out,
"Expelliarmus!" All of our wands flew to him, I groaned.
"Not again!" I said in exasperation. I couldn't believe that Lupin had done that.
"Where is he, Sirius?" He asked. I have to admit, I was very confused by that point.
My father raised a shaky hand and pointed over to Ron who was still looking quite green.
"But then why would he hide for so long? 12 years is quite a long time to spend as a rat. unless...unless you guys switched without telling anyone?" Lupin said.
"Professor, would you care to explain this to us? I think we are all a bit miffed." I said, rolling my eyes, trying to keep the bitterness and slight sarcasm out of my voice, but of course failing. I gasped as Lupin bent down and helped my father up, hugging him as if he had just found his long lost brother.
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione yelled, "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM! ALL THIS TIME!" I looked between my father and my godfather, thoroughly confused.
"No, no I haven't." He said, trying to calm her down.
"I didn't tell anyone-I've been covering up for you!" She said. I looked at her, my eyebrows furrowed. Covering up for him? What's that supposed to mean?
"Hermione, calm down. Let me explain!" He said.
"No! Harry don't listen to him! We can't trust him-he's been helping Black into the castle! He wants you dead too-he's a werewolf!" She said, and I gasped in shock.
What the bloody hell.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked. Lupin looked at me, worry and sadness in his expression.
"I didn't want you to hate me, I-"
"Well it's a little too late for that, isn't it?" Ronald yelled at him, still clutching his rat that was desperately trying to escape.
"Just listen- please. I have not been helping Sirius into the castle, and I most certainly don't want Harry dead. But I cannot deny that I am a werewolf." He said.
"Wait-is that why anti-shampoo gave us that essay? So we would figure it out?" I asked. It took a great deal of effort for Lupin not to laugh at the joke I made at Snape's expense.
"Yes, yes I assume he will be very happy to find out that Hermione's figured it out." He said.
"Anti-shampoo? Who's that?" My father asked, looking at Lupin.
"Snape. He's a professor here now, teaches potions." Lupin explained.
"Rita, that's not a very nice thing to call a teacher..." Hermione whispered.
"He's not a teacher-he's a freaking slimed bat escaped from Hell!" I whispered back to her. She merely shook her head at me.
I tuned back into the other's' conversation.
"If you hadn't been helping him, how did you know we were here?" Harry asked, giving Ron and Hermione back their wands, but not giving me mine.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, "I gave you your wand back!" He begrudgingly handed me my wand, and I snatched it out of his hand, putting my hands on my hips and frowning.
"The map." He said.
Harry gasped, "You know how to work it?"
"Of course, I helped make it. I'm Moony, that's what my friends called me at school."
"You wrote-?" Harry said in surprise, but Lupin held up a hand and continued.
"The thing is, is that I had been watching it carefully, knowing that you four would try to sneak out of the castle tonight. And I was right, wasn't I? See the thing is, even with your invisibility cloak, you still show up on the map-"
"How did you know about the cloak?" Harry asked.
Lupin merely laughed, "With the amount of times I saw your father disappear under it, it would be a very big shame if I didn't know. Anyways, twenty minutes later I saw you exit Hagrid's hut and walk back across the grounds, but then you were five." I did the math in my head a few times, pointing to each is us as I counted.
"What?" I said.
"No we weren't!" Ron said.
"I didn't believe it, thought the map was malfunctioning. There was no way that he could be with you-"
"No one was with us!" Hermione said, throwing her hands in the air.
"And then I saw another dot. Sirius black, and then I watched him collide with you, pulling two of you into the tree-"
"No! It was just me!" Ron said angrily.
"No Ron. There was two. May I see your rat?" He asked, walking towards Ron.
"Scabbers? But what has he got to do with this?" Ron asked.
"Everything." My father said, watching as Ronald pulled out the fat, balding rat.
"What?" I asked.
"That's not a rat." My father said, now on his feet again.
"How is that not a rat?" Harry asked.
"Well Harry, he does look more like a hairball than a rat..." I said, earning a glare from Ron.
"That's my rat you're talking about! Maybe you should choose your words more carefully!"
"Hm. No, no, hairball is what I meant (A/n: if you get this reference I love you). Unless you would prefer me to call him a moldy hamburger?" I asked sarcastically. Ron growled. I stuck my tongue out at him, and Hermione whacked me on the arm.
"Ow!" I said, rubbing where she had hit me.
"Well, then stop acting like a child!" She said.
"But I am a child, technically," I said, smiling crookedly. She frowned.
"Hey! Can anyone please explain how that is not a rat!" Harry yelled over our bickering.
"That, Harry, is an animagus. By the name of Peter Pettigrew." Lupin said.
"What? Can't be-impossible! He's dead! Blown to bits! Boom! Gone! Poof!" I said. My father shook his head.
"That's what he wanted everyone to believe."
Everything was silent for a moment.
"Your both mental." Ron said.
"Ridiculous!" Hermione squeaked.
"You killed him!" Harry yelled. He shook his head.
"I meant to, but tricky Peter got away- not this time though!" My father said, pushing the cat away and lunging at Ron and the rat.
"Sirius no! We have to explain first!" Lupin said, holding him back.
"We can explain later!"
"They have a right to know! Just WAIT!" Lupin shouted. My father stopped struggling and stood up.
"I DON'T WANT TO WAIT ANY LONGER. I'VE DONE MY WAITING! TWELVE YEARS OF IT! IN AZKABAN!" He roared, and I flinched slightly.
"You've got to hear us out, Ron. Just keep a tight hold on Pete-Scabbers, while you listen." Lupin said, catching himself.
"But Peter is dead. A whole street full of people saw you kill him." Harry said.
"That's what he wanted you all to believe! The little prat tricked you all! He cut off his finger right before blowing up the street! And then turned, slipping down into the grate!" My father yelled. We all looked at Scabbers. Indeed he was missing a toe.
"But that's impossible. You have to be registered with the ministry to be an animagus-" Hermione started, but I stopped listening as I realized she was starting to talk about homework. Instead I took this time to brush the dust off me, and pull little bits of wood and webs out of my hair and off my clothes.
"Right you are Hermione, but the ministry didn't know about the three unregistered ones running about in Hogwarts." Lupin said as I started listening again.
He started to say something else but my father broke in.
"If you are going to tell them the story do it fast, Remus. I've waited too long already." He said. The door creaked behind him and we all looked.
"There's no one there." Lupin said.
"This place is haunted!" Ron screamed.
"No, those yells and shouts were made by me." He said as he began the story of the four of them at Hogwarts, and how my father, James, and Peter turned into animagi to help him with the moons. I listened closely to all of it, and he finally got to the part about how Snape had been suspicious all along about Remus and them.
He then went on to explain to us the trick my father had played on snape, trying to get him hurt by Lupin at one of the full moons, and how Harry's dad saved him. I groaned at that part.
"Aw man, your dad was a big party pooper, Harry. Shoulda let the stupid snake go. He had what was coming to him..." I said, earning a very hard whack over the head from Hermione, and very disappointed look from Lupin, a laugh from Harry and Ron, and a smile from my father.
"That's what I thought, hence why I did what I did." He said.
"So that's why Snape doesn't like you- 'cause he thought you were in on the joke?" Harry asked.
"That's right." The usual, drawling voice of our potions professor sneered. He took off the invisibility cloak, and I shrieked.
"A FACE LIKE THAT SHOULD COME WITH A WARNING!" I yelled, jumping backwards and knocking me and Hermione to the ground. He merely glared at me.
"Detention Miss Black. And thank you Potter, this was very useful." He said.
"Oh, I oughta..." I said, lunging forward but Hermione grabbed my shirt.
"CROOKSHANKS! It's time to come back to the right side, pledge your allegiance to us! Scratch out his eyes!" I yelled.
"For a week." He added. I groaned.
"But I already HAVE detention for a week!"
"Well then you should have thought about that before insulting a teacher." I was going to fire back with what I had told Hermione earlier, but she clamped her hand over my mouth.
"You hadn't taken your potion tonight, so I brought a goblet full to your office, lucky for me, there was a certain... Map... lying on your desk, showing you along this passageway. So I followed you, finding Potter's cloak at the base of the Whomping Willow." Harry slapped a hand to his forehead.
"Two more for Azkaban. Can't wait to see how Dumbledore takes it, seemed to think you were innocent... A tame werewolf." He spit.
"You fool! Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting two innocent people into Azkaban?" Lupin asked. Snape sneered and thin, rope like cords burst out of his wand, wrapping around Lupin's hands and ankles, making him trip and fall to the ground.
"Maybe I could even get them to take this brat," he said- motioning to me, "I would sure appreciate it, wouldn't have to deal with all those detentions she has got saved up..." He said.
His wand was still pointed at my father, so I knew he was kind of distracted. He wasn't even looking this way. I bit hermione's hand, and she gave a loud 'Eep!' Before I pointed my wand at Snape and shouted the first spell that came to mind.
"STUPEFY!" I yelled at the same time Harry yelled,
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Along with Hermione.
Snape flew back and hit the wall with a loud bang, and blood trickled down his face a little, he was out cold. His wand flew up high in the air, hitting Crookshanks who had taken a spot next to Ron on the bed. He hissed and started gnawing on it. I stifled a laugh.
"You shouldn't have done that." My father said, getting rid of the cords that still had Lupin tied up. Hermione was shaking, and muttering under her breath.
"We attacked a teacher... We attacked a teacher..."
"Oh come on, Mione! It's not that bad! It was only Snape! And besides, I'm sure Dumbledore will understand, I know we are not the only students to try and knock out Snape!" I said, trying to make her feel better, but she just groaned more when I mentioned Dumbledore. I shrugged.
"Thank you Harry."
"I'm not saying that I believe you." Harry said in reply.
"You boy, the rat now please." My father said.
"Wait! There are millions of rats in the world-how do you know this is Peter?" Ron asked, clutching the rat tightly to his chest.
"That is a good question, Sirius." Lupin said, turning around to face the escaped convict.
He pulled a photo out of his pocket, and I noticed it had been cut from one of the Daily Prophet's. I watched Scabbers as he explained how he figured out this was the right rat. He was squirming even more than he had when we first got here, even though Crookshanks was paying him no mind. It was quite odd if you asked me- and too much of a coincidence that Ron just happened to have a rat missing a toe for the same amount of time that Peter had been dead.
"Ron. I think it makes sense. Didn't you hear that the biggest part they found of Peter was his finger? A finger seems pretty easy to cut off if you ask me." I said, interrupting the story my father was telling.
"Yes-see? Exactly my point!" He said, happy someone was starting to believe this crazy story.
"No! He was just scared of that stupid cat!" Ron said.
"He's been looking quite ill since you got back Ron, which is around the time Black escaped..." Hermione said slowly.
"You're just saying that cause your friends with his daughter!" Ron protested. She shook her head.
"Ron, it does make some sense..."
"Rats don't live that long. Unless they are magical rats or something- that sounded really stupid." I said. No wonder the hat didn't put me in Ravenclaw.
"-and that cat is not stupid- he knew Peter and I were not regular animals, he has been helping me."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"He has been trying to bring Peter to me, but he keeps escaping. Even one time he bit himself and got blood on the sheets to fake his own death. For a second time!" The rat kept squeaking loudly, and we had to start talking louder.
"And why did he need to fake his death? Because he knew you were going to kill him like my parents!" Harry yelled.
"No-Harry, listen-"
"And now you've come to finish him off!" Harry yelled again. I put my hand on his shoulder.
"Harry. Shut up." I said. He shrugged off my hand.
"Don't touch me!" He yelled. I rolled my eyes.
"Yes. I have." Sirius said.
"Then I should have let Snape take you!" Harry yelled. I shoved him over, earning myself a death glare from the kid.
"Harry, all this time we thought it was Sirius who betrayed your parents, but we have been terribly wrong! It was Peter this whole time!" Lupin said. Harry stood up and shook his head.
"No! He was their secret keeper! He said it himself! He said he killed them!" He yelled.
"Harry... I as good as killed them. I had convinced them to switch to Peter without telling anyone. No one would expect James and Lily to put a backless boy such as Peter as their secret keeper, and besides! I had my own family to take care of! If I had stayed the secret keeper, they would have come after us!" He said.
"Enough of this!" Lupin said, looking to Ron.
"Ron, please give us the-" He started, but I cut him off.
"GIVE US THE MERLIN DAMNED RAT, RONALD!" I yelled, surging forward and jumping on the bed to take him from Ron, causing dust to billow up.
"NO I WON'T LET YOU!" Ron yelled. I grabbed hold of his hand and tried to wrestle the rat from him.
"Stop!" He yelled, trying to push me away. I bit his hand, getting him to finally let go of the rat. I held onto it tightly, and shoved Ronald, accidentally knocking him off the bed. I handed it to Lupin.
"Thank you. Ready, Sirius?" He asked.
"Together?" He asked, taking Snape's wand from Crookshanks, wiping it on his Azkaban uniform.
"On the count of three. One! Two! Three!" Lupin yelled. A flash of light came from both wands and Scabbers flew up into the air for a moment before falling limply to the floor.
Ron yelled. And then the rat started growing quickly, and soon turned into a person. It was almost as if this person was still a rat, however. His beady little eyes flickered around the room, and his hands were wringing in front of him.
"Sirius? Remus? My old friends!" He squeaked, before making a run for the door. They caught him easily, and dragged him back into the room.
"We've been having a little chat about you Peter. Maybe you can clear some things up for us." Lupin said.
"Oh no, Remus. Surely you don't believe what he has been telling you- I didn't do anything-" then his eyes landed on Harry and me.
"Oh Harry, so much likes James you look, you must believe me boy- here to kill you, he is! You too!" He said, pointing at me. I scoffed.
"Remus, you must help me! I knew he would come for me!" He said, crawling back towards Lupin.
"You knew he would escape from Azkaban? How?" I asked, my arms crossed over my chest and my eyebrow raised.
"He has dark magic! Learned it from you-know-who, I'm sure!"
My father started to laugh loudly, "Voldemort, teach me tricks?" Peter flinched.
"What? Scared of a name?" I asked. He came crawling back to Harry.
"Please, please don't let them take me! Your father wouldn't like it!" He said as I started to sing,
"Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldy-Moldy Voldemort" In the background. Harry kicked him away, and he came crawling to me. I glared at Harry.
"Thanks." I said sarcastically.
"Don't let him! Please, don't let your father kill me, child!" He said. I raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry Pettigrew, we aren't going to kill you. But we will bring you to the Dementors." I said with fake niceness. His eyes grew wide, and he crumpled to the ground.
"Wait, but if Scabbers- I mean Pettigrew- has been sleeping in the same dorm as Harry for the past three years, why hasn't he done anything?" Hermione asked. I groaned and elbowed her as the creepy guy shot up.
"Yes! Yes, exactly!"
"WHY DOES IT MATTER!" I yelled, "I'm tired, can't we just leave this for tomorrow!" I asked. They all looked at me.
"Fine. I am going back to the tower, and I am going to bed! And I swear on Merlin's pants, if any of you crazy people wake me up before 7 am tomorrow, we. Will. Have. Problems!" I yelled, jabbing the air with my pointer finger. Turning on my heel, I exited the room. I walked down the creaking stairs and back out through the tunnel, and had just reached the doors leading inside the castle when I stopped.
Maybe I had been kind of stupid, I thought, turning around and looking in the direction of the tree. I sighed and walked back down the stairs and across the grass. As I was walking in the general direction of the tree, I could hear screams and even howls from that direction. I picked up my pace before I was full out running. I was about halfway there when I saw a little black thing running towards me at an angle. It took a moment for me to realize what it was. Ron must have lost his damn rat again. I took off after the rat, and by the time he realized I was running after him it was too late. I jumped the last few feet, and landed on my stomach, the rat squirming under my palm. I quickly picked him up and pulled out my wand.
"Stupefy!" I said quietly, and he immediately stopped moving and thrashing around. I saw two people walking towards me, followed by three floating things. They looked almost like stretchers from here, which is probably what they are. The smaller form looked up and started running towards me.
"Rita! Rita! I'm so sorry!" Hermione sobbed, stopping as she got to me.
"Sorry about what?" I asked.
"Peter! H-He got away! They're going to give Sirius to the Dementors for sure!" She sobbed. I still had my hands behind my back.
"No they won't." I said. She looked up at me and wiped her nose. She shook her head.
"There's no way anyone will believe us!" She said.
"Well, they will have no choice once they see this," I said, holding out the stupefied rat.