Author's Note:
*** WARNING DARK AND GRAPHIC BELOW *****
Thought about leaving you all with that cliffhanger a little longer, but I'm too nice lol — Happy Thanksgiving Weekend from here in Canada, here's a present.
Also wow — 11 reviews! That's a record for a chapter so thank you!
Reviews and Comments: To ginnyweasley777: Thank you! Wow, what a chapter is definitely what I was going for! Thank you for saying this story has such depth and that I made you feel sorry for Peter until that ending. To coloredwords: It was quite a turn, wasn't it? Thank you. Male rape is something that is often overlooked and I wanted to show it as something serious. Thanks for saying Harry being awkward around Oliver and Alicia in the previous chapter will never not be funny LOL. To SucreCristal: I will take the review telling me that you hate me with the cliffy, LOL. Thank you! I consider that a compliment. To Guest: For a second you felt sorry for Peter and then his last words… well, I hope you'll see what's next. Poor Sirius, he was provoked and he acted. Thank you for saying you're totally obsessed! To alix33: Yes, those last words did burn away all sympathy and empathy that Sirius and Remus may have had. Thank you.
To Steelcode: Who is going to stop Sirius? You think Harry will. Yes, Peter is a jerk and yet we do feel sorry for him. Thank you! To Mz-CrayZ: Thank you! To Guest: Yes, Peter was being psychologically and physically terrorized. I wanted to show that he was pushed into betraying them, it wasn't something he woke up one day and decided to do. Yes, I wanted to show that male rape does happen and should be addressed. Was Peter just trying to incite Sirius or did he mean his words? Well, you'll find out here. Yes, I hope Sirius isn't arrested either! Thank you! To Lost: Thank you! We don't want Sirius to go back to Azkaban, no. But thanks for loving my Peter backstory! To M: Ha, glad I made you feel bad for Peter, but yes, it doesn't mean you have to like him or forgive him for backstabbing James and Lily. To Claire Fraser: Thank you!
Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!
CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT:
The One With Peter's Trial Part II
"Dawlish, Anderson! Contain Black!" Kingsley shouted as two Aurors each moved to stop Sirius from plowing his fist in Peter's face a second time.
Harry, Remus, and McGonagall all stood up the moment that Sirius had jumped down into the pit to approach Peter. Remus grabbed Harry's arm, holding it tightly to prevent him from going down after Sirius. McGonagall had her hands over her mouth and she was shaking her head.
Auror Dawlish and Auror Anderson held Sirius' arms behind his back, shaking him roughly to get him to calm down. It was obviously what he needed because he paled and looked towards Harry and Remus.
"Lord Black!" Kingsley declared angrily, his eyes narrowed on Sirius who was standing rather stiffly in place. "I understand that this must be hard for you, but we both know that Pettigrew is on trial here and he knows that he has nothing left to lose. No matter how hurtful his words may be."
"He provoked him, Shacklebolt!" McGonagall exclaimed, her eyes stern. "No one truly believes that James and Lily Potter deserved to die! And the boy I once knew certainly doesn't believe it now."
Peter was panting heavily, blood dripping down his face from his broken nose. "What? Don't like to hear those words, Padfoot? Afraid they might be true?"
"You fucking piece of shit!" Sirius exclaimed, angrily, struggling in the arms of the Aurors again. "They were your friends! Your family! How dare you sit there and claim that they deserved to die at the hands of that maniac?" Sirius shouted.
"Silencio!" Kingsley exclaimed, pointing his wand at Sirius. "Lord Black, if you do not sit quietly in this courtroom, we will ask you to leave. Don't make me charge you with assaulting a prisoner and interrupting an official investigation or I will personally send you back to Azkaban! Do you understand?"
Rage was vibrating from him, but he nodded, his eyes moving to Harry. Harry was watching him, his eyes wide and fearful and Sirius realized that he had to contain his anger. McGonagall was right about something, Peter knew how to push his buttons, he always had and he was letting him. He couldn't afford to let Peter push them now. He wasn't going back to prison. He wouldn't desert Harry like that.
He wasn't going back to Azkaban.
"I demand Black be arrested for assaulting my client!" The lawyer standing next to Pettigrew shouted.
"Black was provoked and no charges will be laid against him," Kingsley exclaimed. "We both know they would never stick. You can have a ten minute recess. Anderson, fix Pettigrew's nose. Lord Black needs to take a moment outside of the courtroom to compose himself."
Sirius nodded as Kingsley lifted the silencing charm and Auror Dawlish led him from the courtroom. The door closed behind him and he turned to the stone wall, kicking it savagely. His fist hit it next, again and again as he bloodied his hands.
"Sirius!" A voice exclaimed from behind him, startling him from his beating.
Hands gripped his waist and he turned around, the touch calming him, and when he saw her there, eyes full of worry, he simply collapsed to his knees. He pressed his face against her stomach and breasts, arms wrapped around her tightly and tears rolled down his face.
"I didn't expect it to be this hard… I… I have never hated and pitied and loved someone so much at the same time," he whispered. "I couldn't control myself in there. And Harry… what must he be thinking to hear this and to see me," he babbled. "I can't go back… Zee… I can't go back."
"Shh," Zee whispered, running her fingers through his hair. "I know." She bent down to kiss him softly and removed his arms from around her waist to touch his bleeding hands. "You're not going back. Let me heal these."
Sirius shook his head, folding his hands together. "They're fine."
Zee held her hand out for his and simply looked at him until he sighed, putting his injured hands on top of hers and letting her heal them. "There." She kissed his hands softly and he stood up, his legs shaky. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be here right for nine. I tried to get the departmental meeting moved, but Dobson wouldn't hear of it."
He shook his head and tugged her up against him. "It's fine. You're here now." He buried his face in her neck, sighing as he breathed in her scent, cinnamon and jasmine.
She just held him for a full two minutes, neither of them speaking. Then he shifted, kissing her neck as he pulled away and nodded at her.
"Okay, let's go inside."
Zee offered her hand and he took it, clutching it tightly as they stood up and moved back towards the door marked IX. He opened the door to Courtroom IX and they walked inside. The healer was still looking over Peter as Sirius led Zee up to the spot where Remus and Harry were sitting. Sirius wrapped an arm around Harry when he sat down, kissing the top of his head.
"I'm sorry, Prongslet. I shouldn't have overreacted like that."
Harry hugged him tightly. "It's okay. I get why you did. Hi, Zee."
Zee smiled at him, leaning in and kissing Harry's cheek and then Remus'. "Hi, Harry, hi, Remus. I'm sorry I'm late."
Harry nodded, smiling at the warmth that her kiss had given him as Zee wrapped an arm around Sirius' waist, sitting close to him, her hand clasped tightly in his for support. Harry held Sirius' other arm, linking his left arm with Remus forming a tight unit and he smiled at his uncle.
"Where's Tonks?"
Remus nodded down towards the staging area. "She was in interrogation this morning, but she said that she has guard duty on Pettigrew for the afternoon. She should be here soon."
It was another ten minutes before everyone was settled and Kingsley resumed the trial. Harry's stomach was clenching uneasily as he sat nestled between his two fathers, each holding each other as if for dear life. Some of the things that he had heard horrified him and he knew that he would have nightmares, but he couldn't convince himself to leave. Sirius and Remus needed his support and if he was completely honest with himself, he needed to be here too. He needed to understand what his parents had done to warrant their friend betraying them.
He had suffered, Harry could see that, and he had been backed into an impossible corner in deciding to become a Death Eater, but where did it go from there? How had it escalated to this extreme?
Harry watched as Kingsley got the attention of the court. "If everyone is ready, I would like to continue to question Mr Pettigrew on the charges of betraying the Potters." He tapped his wand on the podium and nodded. "Mr Pettigrew, you stated to the court that James and Lily Potter deserved to die. Why would you claim this? They were twenty-one years old, new parents, and childhood friends to you. What had they done in your eyes to warrant their deaths?"
Pettigrew began to rock back and forth in his chair now, the shackles clinking as he moved. "If they just would have given the Dark Lord what he wanted, they would still be alive."
"What did He Who Must Not Be Named want, Mr Pettigrew? Are you saying that he didn't want to kill them?"
Pettigrew shook his head. "He wanted their child dead. Harry Potter should have died, not James and Lily. I sent him after their child."
Kingsley frowned. "Why would he want a toddler dead? What was the purpose of it?"
Pettigrew shrugged. "The Dark Lord has his reasons for all. He said that the Potter boy had to die, that he had to be taken care of in order to create a new world, that a filthy half-blood like him didn't deserve to be loved when his Mudblood mother was nothing, but a lowly creature not good enough to lick the dirt from his boots. He said that James Potter could live, even with the Mudblood as long as they gave him the child. He said it would be painless. They could have another child if they so desired but this one — this particular boy — had to die."
"It seems strange that he would use the tainted blood as an excuse to kill the child, but then claim James and Lily Potter could have more children. What wasn't he telling you?"
Pettigrew stared ahead. "The boy was dangerous. The boy had to die. Kill Harry. Kill Harry. Kill Prongs II. Kill the baby," he said, rocking more dangerously now as tears began to fall from his eyes. "I tried to stop him. I… Prongs II, my little baby nephew, who I loved to play with. His eyes would light up when he saw me and I didn't want him to die. I tried to say no… I tried to find out why he wanted him dead, but I didn't know. I couldn't figure it out. I tried to pretend like I didn't know… but the Dark Lord always knows when he's being lied to. He always knows."
"How long did you try to delay him?"
"Months," Pettigrew said desperately. "Months I tried to delay him. I gave up other Order members. I killed Mary McDonald for him. I gave him Marlene McKinnon and I listened to them beg me why when they found out that I betrayed them, but I did it… because they weren't little Harry. Their deaths didn't matter."
"You're saying that you tried to protect the child?"
Pettigrew nodded, tears streaming down his face. "I tried and every time I didn't give the Dark Lord what he wanted, he tortured me. I had prepared myself to die at his hands. I was ready. And then… and then Sirius convinced James to make me Secret Keeper."
"How did this change things?" Kingsley asked.
Pettigrew closed his eyes. "They trusted me. I knew that what I had been doing was wrong and I knew that they were trusting me with their lives and I wanted to come clean, to tell Sirius that he couldn't choose me; to admit to the truth."
"What stopped you?"
"The Dark Lord forced me to make an Unbreakable Vow to keep my agenda hidden until I had done what the Dark Lord asked of me."
Kingsley nodded. "So, the Potters made you Secret Keeper and then what happened?"
Pettigrew swallowed, his watery blue eyes staring blankly ahead. "I tried to pretend that I didn't know where they were, but every night after Sirius checked in, Bellatrix was waiting for me. She would torture me and… we'd… she'd force me to have sex with her or she'd…" he paled slightly now. "Or she'd hold me down while her husband raped me."
"They would both rape you?"
He nodded. "By the eighth day, I couldn't… I couldn't take it anymore. And I came home from work and Bella wasn't there, but the Dark Lord was."
Kingsley nodded and picked up another phial from the bin. "I'm going to show this memory to the court."
He poured the memory into the basin and once more amplified it across the courtroom so that the audience could view it.
"Peter, Peter, Peter," Voldemort chanted, twirling his wand between his long fingers as he watched the short man grovel before him on his knees. "Bella tells me that you've been most uncooperative."
"Please, don't make me do this," he begged, tears running down his cheeks. "Please!"
Voldemort reached down and cupped his chin, lifting his head up. "You must like it when the Lestranges take you. Do you enjoy it when they fuck you? Is that what you want to happen again? Tell me where they are or I will force you to take your mother's life, to torture her endlessly, rape her, let the Lestranges have a go and make you watch, and then I will kill you myself. Give up your friends, Wormtail. Isn't that what they call you? Wormtail. A snivelling excuse of a name, rat-like just like you are. Choose now. Your mother and ultimately your own life or the life of one child."
Pettigrew stared up at him, tears rolling down his cheeks and he began to sob. "Godric's Hollow, the house on the corner of Third Street."
And then he began to sob harder, tears falling from his eyes like rain as he rocked back and forth on his knees, his hands covering his face.
Voldemort pat his head like a child. "Good boy. Bella, help our friend get to his mother's house and put him in place. If he gave me false information this time, I'm going to watch him hurt his mother."
Peter's sobs grew louder as Voldemort Disapparated.
Kingsley took the memory down and nodded to the jury. "I'd like to call for a lunch break. Court will resume in one hour. Anderson, Dawlish, bring Mr Pettigrew back to the dungeons."
Harry turned to look up at Sirius. He was clutching his hand so tightly that Harry couldn't feel it anymore and Zee was running her free hand up and down Sirius' arm. He turned to Remus, whose face was cold and hard as he watched the Aurors haul Pettigrew up from the chair and cart him off.
"They threatened him," Harry said simply. "He wanted to save his mum and his own life."
Sirius nodded curtly, but didn't speak.
Remus stood up, putting his arm around Harry's shoulders, kissing his temple when he stood up next to him. "Come on; let's take a break."
Zee helped Sirius to his feet and the four of them slowly moved out of the courtroom.
"There's a bistro across the street that has a nice clubhouse; let's go there and grab a bite, yeah?" Zee suggested. "I think that it would do the three of you some good to get some food in your systems."
Remus nodded and they followed her quietly up the stairs and into one of the elevators to take them out of the Ministry.
Tonks was in the atrium when they came up and she took one look at them, moving to engulf Harry tightly in her arms and kissed his cheek. "Hi, Harry, how are you?"
He shrugged. He didn't have an answer for her. What was he supposed to say? He nodded towards Remus and she smiled, moving to wrap her arms around her mate and kissed him deeply, holding him close.
"And you?"
Remus nodded. "Much the same. It's harder than I imagined to sit there… to see how it all went down. Did you… did you already view all of his memories?"
Tonks nodded. "Most of them, yeah. I watched some of the interrogation and the collection of evidence. He agreed to take truth potion for the entire trial. He's guilty and he knows it."
"We're going to the bistro across the way for lunch, will you come with us?" Zee asked her, her arm still wrapped around Sirius' waist as they walked.
Tonks smiled. "Yes, I will."
The five of them ate in silence. Harry could see that no one quite knew what to say or how to talk about what they had just witnessed. He wanted to hate the man who had betrayed his parents; wanted to wish him dead for what he had done — but after watching what had happened to him, how far Voldemort had pushed him… he wasn't sure if hate was truly what he felt.
He pitied him.
He pitied the man who had once been a friend and who had lost everything in trying to save it. He pitied him and it left a cold lump in his stomach that made him uncomfortable.
He excused himself to go the bathroom. He was staring into the mirror when Sirius came in and he quickly made to wash his hands.
Sirius placed his hands on Harry's shoulders and bent his head down to rest on the top of his. "I know, Prongslet, I'm feeling it too."
"He didn't want to betray them. He tried to… to save me."
Sirius nodded, tears in his eyes. "I know. But he did betray you and your parents and… he made his own bed and when he had to lie in it — he was too far gone to get back out."
"He just wanted to save his parents," Harry said, tears in his eyes. He wiped at them furiously. "He didn't want to betray them."
Sirius turned Harry around and held him close to his chest, his head resting against Sirius' heart. He rubbed his hand up and down his back, his own tears pouring down his cheeks.
"Are you sure that you want to stay for the rest of this, Harry? It's okay, if you want to go home. You don't have to stay."
Harry shook his head and clung to Sirius tighter. "I can't leave you alone."
Sirius smiled and kissed the top of Harry's head. "I'm not alone, Prongslet. I have Remus and Zee and Tonks and Minnie."
Harry tilted his head back to look up at him. "You need me here, too."
Sirius brushed his fingers through Harry's hair and nodded. "Yeah, I do," he said honestly making Harry smile as he kissed his forehead. "Are you going to be okay?"
Harry nodded. "I want to stay until the end."
Sirius nodded. "All right." He kissed Harry's forehead again and then moved to wash his hands. "We'll get through this together. We're a team you and me."
Harry smiled as Sirius finished. "Yeah, we are a team."
Twenty minutes later they were sitting back in the courtroom waiting for Pettigrew to be brought back in. Harry smiled at McGonagall when she moved to sit with them and Dumbledore sat next to her.
Kingsley stood up before he spoke. "The morning has been full of charges. Mr Pettigrew has pled guilty to being a Death Eater, to working for He Who Must Not Be Named resulting in the death of a few select witches and wizards, and for giving You Know Who the location of the Potters with the knowledge that he planned to kill Harry Potter. I want to move onto what happened to make Mr Pettigrew a fugitive from the law. Auror Dawlish has given Mr Pettigrew a new dose of Veritaserum before bringing him back before the court."
Harry watched as Tonks kept her wand ready and on her guard as she stood near the door as Pettigrew was once again brought into the courtroom and chained and spelled to the chair.
"Mr Pettigrew, I would like for you to tell the court now what happened after You Know Who left you with Bellatrix Lestrange with the intention of going after the Potters."
Pettigrew licked his dry lips and his voice cracked as he spoke in a blank tone that reflected the truth potion that he had been given. "We went to my mother's house. She tied my mother to a chair and she used the Cruciatus on her. I begged her to stop, but she just kept torturing her and when she did, she laughed. She laughed at my mother's pain and this went on for hours."
"Did your mother understand what was going on?"
He shook his head. "No. But I told her."
"I'm going to show a new memory to the court," Kingsley said, picking up a new phial and adding the memory to the Pensieve.
A woman in her fifties with light blonde hair was tied to the chair as Peter knelt before her.
"Please Mum, just do what they want or they'll kill you."
"Petey, my Petey, what has happened to you? Tell me why this is happening to us?"
Peter wiped tears from his eyes. "It's my fault, Mum. It's all mine. I tried to save Dad and they… they tortured me and now… he's going to kill Jamie and little Harry and Lily."
"He's going to kill them?"
Peter nodded, rocking back on his knees as he sobbed. "He's going to kill them, Mum, and it's all my fault. It's all my fault. I told him where Jamie and Lily and Harry are to save you. I did it to save YOU, Mum."
Mrs Pettigrew stared at him for a moment as if she didn't recognize him. "My life is not worth the life of those three innocents and definitely not worth the life of that precious child. Peter, you love that little boy! How could you ever do something to endanger his life? Peter, you should be ashamed of yourself."
"I'm so sorry, Mum," he sobbed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it, I swear, I didn't mean it."
Bellatrix backhanded him. "Stand up you snivelling git and stop crying. What you did was help your Master, your Lord, and you should be honoured that he gave you the task! You should be on your hands and knees thanking him for this wonderful opportunity!"
Peter stood up now, his eyes burning with rage. "Honoured? You think that I should be honoured to have just sent my best friends to their death? Just because you'll do anything the Dark Lord says including whoring yourself around doesn't mean I should feel honoured to do the same thing."
Bellatrix glared at him. "I may whore myself, but you whored information and killed precious Order members by spying. And I know one thing, Wormy, when my cousin finds out that you betrayed that blood traitor he loves so much, he's going to come after you. And do you really think that I'm going to protect you?"
His wand moved fast and he blasted her out of the house. He turned to look at his mother, leaned down to kiss her cheek.
"Mum, I'm sorry, I can't… you know too much now. This is for your own protection. I love you." He kissed her cheek and then pointed his wand at her. "Obliviate!"
Mrs Pettigrew's face softened and she looked around in wonder as Peter untied her. "Hello, Pete, what are you doing here, darling?"
"Just popped in to say hi, Mum. I have to go." He kissed her cheek just as Sirius stepped into the kitchen.
"Sirius, my love, it's so wonderful to see you. Did you come by for a spot of breakfast?"
Sirius shook his head. "No, Mrs P. I need to talk to Pete."
Peter paled and turned to run, but Sirius grabbed his robes just as he Disapparated.
Sirius caught himself, wincing as they landed haphazardly in the middle of a crowded Muggle street.
"Pete!" he yelled as Peter turned to run away from him. "Think being in a crowd of Muggles is going to save you, Wormtail?" Sirius exclaimed, grabbing Peter by the shoulder and punching him in the face.
Peter fell to the ground, his nose bleeding. "S-S-Sirius!"
"Don't you even start with me, Pete! You tried to turn us against the other! You tried to convince James and I that Remus was the spy! Did you do the same to Remus? Is that why he said that he couldn't trust me? Did you tell him that I was the fucking spy?" He kicked Peter in the ribs and Peter whimpered. "And it was you all along! You spineless little worm! WE TRUSTED YOU!"
He raised his wand, but Peter was faster and he was blasted back by the explosion, his ears ringing.
"HOW DARE YOU BETRAY JAMES AND LILY, SIRIUS? HOW DARE YOU?" Peter bellowed into the crowd, blood dripping from his right hand.
Sirius jumped to his feet, his ears ringing and his wand out. Then his eyes widened as he watched Peter transform into a rat and make a beeline for the sewer. Sirius slipped in the blood of the bodies near him as he tried to go after him just as six Aurors Apparated around him.
"Sirius Black, you are under arrest! Drop your wand!"
Peter watched from the sewers as Sirius Black was arrested and he turned and disappeared into the tunnel, following the other rats to freedom.
Kingsley pulled the memory out and placed it back into the phial.
"Mr Pettigrew, you faked your own death after murdering twelve Muggles with your Blasting Curse. You chopped off your own finger and transformed into a rat — your Animagus form — and disappeared. Is this accurate?"
"Yes," Pettigrew said, quietly. "It's all true."
Kingsley nodded. "Now, the last charge laid against you is the fact that you remained hidden from the wizarding world at large for eleven years. How did you accomplish such a feat?"
Pettigrew swallowed, his dry lips chafing as he spoke. "I stayed with the rats for a few weeks, trying to gauge what had happened. I knew that the Dark Lord had fallen, I knew that Harry Potter had survived, but I didn't know anything else. I tried to find protection, to find safety, but everyone I knew believed that I was dead. I knew that Bellatrix would be shouting for my death after I had cursed her and ultimately led the Dark Lord to his downfall by giving him the Potters' whereabouts. For months, I wandered the cities, unsure of where to go or what to do and then one day I saw a wizard walking with his son and I made my way over to them. The boy had red hair and he seemed to take an interest in me so I let him pick me up. He asked his father if he could keep me as a pet and the father agreed. He called me Scabbers."
Harry's eyes widened and he looked at Sirius. "Percy's old rat!"
Sirius nodded, shushing him, his eyes on Peter.
"So, you went home with a wizarding family?" Kingsley prodded.
Pettigrew nodded. "I did. They adopted me and I listened and I learned. Sirius was accused of my murder and blamed for the death of James and Lily. He had been imprisoned. I knew I couldn't find Remus because he thought I was dead and I thought that the moment I approached him, he would kill me on the spot. My mother also was led to believe that I was dead. The Death Eaters… they blamed me, claimed that I gave the Dark Lord false information on the night of his death. I knew that I had nowhere else to go so, I stayed as a rat. And when the family that took me in went to sleep, I changed back into myself and I searched their house for anything to help me, any sign that I could live my life safely once more, but I knew… the Death Eaters who hadn't been caught by the Ministry, those who walked free, they would kill me. So, I hid."
"Who were these other Death Eaters that you were concerned about? Lestrange including her husband, Rodolphus, Avery, and Rookwood were all imprisoned. Rosier was killed. Name the others who concerned you."
"I never learned who they were. The Dark Lord thought it was better if only he knew the names of his loyal servants. No one knew more than five or six of the other Death Eaters at any given time."
"How long did you stay with this wizarding family pretending to be a rat, a family pet?"
"Five years," Peter said smoothly.
"Why did you leave after five years?"
Pettigrew swallowed. "I thought that I was safe there, I figured that no one would find me and then I learned that Sirius had been released from prison, that he had proven that I was still alive somewhere, and I panicked. I thought that I would be safe with the family who took me in, but a few months after his release, Sirius showed up at the house with Harry for the youngest child's birthday party and I knew that if he saw me, it would be over. So, I ran."
"Where did you go?"
"I lived with another wizarding family for a bit and then I went to Hogwarts, lived near the gamekeeper's hut for a while, but Sirius spent a lot of time there too so, I ran further and I came to Muggle London."
Kingsley nodded, tapping his wand on the page to record something. "When did you first decide to start following Lord Black?"
"About a year ago," Pettigrew admitted. "I watched him leave the hospital one day and I knew that I had to speak to him."
"Why?"
Pettigrew shrugged. "Eleven years is a long time to live as a rat with a guilty conscious."
"You were seeking redemption?"
Pettigrew shrugged again, his eyes moving to where Sirius and Remus were sitting with Harry between them. "He looks like Jamie sitting there between you. The spiked up messy black hair, the same face. It's ironic, isn't it, that you two would be flanking him the way that you used to flank James? I never quite fit in, did I? Not really. I didn't mean for it to happen the way it did. I never meant for anyone to get hurt."
He bowed his head and let out a long sigh.
"I didn't mean it," he said again, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I just… I didn't want to die."
Kingsley held up his wand to keep the silence of the room. "Let's give the jury some time to make a decision. Recess."
Sirius stared down at Peter, his grey eyes meeting the watery blue ones. "He's not even sorry — did you even hear him bloody apologize? He just wants to ease his guilty conscience."
Remus squeezed his friend's shoulder. "He apologized to his mum, Siri."
"He intentionally sought me out, but he didn't even offer an apology — what was he hoping to gain?"
McGonagall reached over to squeeze Sirius' hand. "I think that he was hoping you'd kill him, take away his pain for him, and stop forcing him to live a life as a fugitive full of guilt for the crimes that he committed against his friends."
Remus nodded. "I agree with Minerva, Sirius. He's past seeking redemption, but too cowardly to take his own life. He wanted you to do it for him and he was banking on your rage taking over, on you letting your temper get the best of you. But eleven years is a long time and you've changed. He had no way of knowing that you would never risk leaving Harry to exact revenge on him."
Zee kissed Sirius' cheek. "And now he's going to get the punishment that he deserves."
Sirius was quiet for a moment. "I don't want him to get the Kiss."
Harry's eyes widened. "You don't want him to die, Uncle Sirius? I thought that you said that he deserved it after what he did."
"He does, he does deserve it, Harry," Sirius said, carefully. "But I want him to suffer. I want him to have to keep on living with his guilt, to know that he's the one who betrayed his friends and got them killed. I want him to have to live with that."
Remus nodded, his eyes on his friend. "So do I. It is a much harsher punishment in my book." He turned to Harry. "How are you doing after all of this? Are you dealing okay with hearing everything and seeing what happened?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah. And I agree with you both, I don't think my dad would have wanted him dead either. You three were his family and even knowing that one of you betrayed him, I think… I think letting him rot with the Dementors is a much worse off punishment for his crimes."
McGonagall smiled sadly and hugged each of them in turn. "You three are becoming wise. Oh, the three of you better sit down, I think the jury has already made a decision."
They watched as the seven jurors came to be seated and they nodded at Kingsley to continue with the trial.
"The jury has reconvened so I think it's time to hear the decision," Kingsley stated. "On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of becoming a Death Eater, the jury votes?"
"Not guilty," a woman said clearly from the front of the group. "He was clearly coerced and blackmailed by You Know Who into accepting the Dark Mark and joining You Know Who's cause."
Kingsley nodded. "On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of working as a Death Eater alongside You Know Who, the jury votes?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of accessory to He Who Must Not Be Named in the attempted murder of Harry James Potter, the jury votes?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of selling out James Fleamont Potter and Lily Mary-Brenna Evans Potter to He Who Must Not Be Named, which resulted in their deaths by murder at his hand, the jury votes?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of the Muggle, Alfred Bern?
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of the Muggle, Madison Daniels?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of the Muggle, Lillian Fox?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of the Muggle, Justine Finch?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of the Muggle, Logan Matthews?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of the Muggle, Linda Morton?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of the Muggle, David Morton?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of the Muggle, Peter O'Shea?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of the Muggle, Pauline Preston?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of the Muggle, Gregory Sampson?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of the Muggle, Vincent Simpson?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of the Muggle, Kendrick Wessex?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of Marlene McKinnon?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the murder of Mary McDonald?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of being an unregistered Animagus of a rat, the jury votes?"
"Guilty."
"On the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of the framing of Sirius Orion Black for your crimes, the jury votes?"
"Guilty."
"And lastly, on the charge against Peter Pernell Pettigrew of being a fugitive of justice from the Ministry of Magic and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for eleven years, the jury votes?"
"Guilty."
Kingsley nodded to the Aurors to unchain Pettigrew from the chair and chain him to the large iron cage that he would be transported in. "Peter Pernell Pettigrew, you have been found guilty by a jury of your peers and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. You are hereby sentenced to a hundred years in Azkaban for each murder that you committed, six months in Azkaban for being an unregistered Animagus, ten years in Azkaban for framing an innocent man for your crimes, and eleven years in Azkaban for each year that you spent as a fugitive. This court hereby sentences you to eighteen hundred and thirty ones years and six months in prison. You will die in prison. Do you understand?"
Peter nodded, his watery blue eyes brimming with tears.
Harry watched as Peter was shoved into the iron cage, a spell cast around him once more to prevent him from transforming, and the cage was carefully levitated from the courtroom.
"Court dismissed," Kingsley concluded once Peter was gone.
He turned to look at his family and Sirius and Remus each moved in to hug him close.
"It's over," Sirius said, relief coursing through him. "It's over, Prongslet."
Harry hugged both of his fathers back tightly, their lips pressed against his cheek and his temple as he closed his eyes.
He wasn't sure what he felt about it all, but what he did know was the sense of profound relief he experienced was rather soothing.
Justice had been served.