A/N – Again, I apologize for the wait. The reason is different this time…I didn't realize what chapter I was on. I thought it was just another chapter until I looked at my timeline and realize OH IT'S THIS CHAPTER and so I wasn't prepared. BUT this chapter is twice as long as usual, so hopefully that makes up for something. Also, there are a few sections in here that are copy-and-pasted from PoA with a few edits, and I really hate doing that, but it wouldn't work any other way. There is also a section that is in PoA that didn't need any changes, so I left it out. You all know what happened anyway. Oh, and this hasn't been beta read/reviewed yet because I wanted to get this published before I left for camp, which is why it might not be as good as usual. So yeah…Enjoy!
"blah blah"- Speaking Greek
"blah blah"- Speaking Amestrian
'blah blah'- Thinking
***** - Begin/end flashback
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Fullmetal Alchemist, or Percy Jackson. Good thing too, or they wouldn't be nearly as good as they are now. They belong to J.K. Rowling, Hiromu Arakawa, and Rick Riordan. Just to be safe, I also don't own the song 'This is War' by Thirty Seconds to Mars.
Harry
To say that the months leading up to final exams passed quickly would be a complete lie. Nothing particularly interesting seemed to happen; the Fat Lady returned to her post, Ron had his 14th birthday, and the twins turned 16. The winning of the Quidditch Cup was, of course, a cause for happiness, but like many other events, the celebration was somewhat dimmed. The most important thing of note was Buckbeak being sentenced to execution, which had happened only minutes earlier.
"We have to go down," Hermione insisted. "We can't leave Hagrid by himself!"
"But it's almost sunset," Ron protested. "We aren't allowed out of the castle, and we won't all fit under the invisibility cloak!"
"You four go then," Nico suggested. "Percy and I will wait up here."
"But–" Hermione began, but Percy cut her off.
"Like you said, we can't leave Hagrid alone. You guys go, we'll wait up here for you to get back."
"C'mon then," Harry said, spreading the cloak. "Let's go!"
The four of them quietly exited the castle and made their way down to Hagrid's hut. Their progress was slow; it was hard to move with four people underneath the cloak. They reached Hagrid's door and knocked.
"It's us," Harry hissed as Hagrid opened the door. "We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."
"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered, but he stood back, allowing them to step inside. Hagrid shut the door quickly and Harry pulled off the Cloak.
"Wan' some tea?" Hagrid asked shakily. His great hands were shaking as he reached for the kettle.
"Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?" said Hermione hesitantly.
"I–I took him outside," said Hagrid, spilling milk all over the table as he filled up the jug. "He's tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an'–an' smell fresh air–before–"
Hagrid's hand trembled so violently that the milk jug slipped from his grasp, shattering all over the floor.
"I'll clean it up, Hagrid," said Thalia said quickly, hurrying over before Hagrid could do anything.
"There's another one in the cupboard," Hagrid said, sitting down and wiping his forehead on his sleeve. Harry glanced at Ron, who looked back hopelessly.
"Isn't there anything anyone can do, Hagrid?" Harry asked fiercely, sitting down next to him. "Dumbledore–"
"He's tried," said Hagrid. "He's got no power ter overrule the Committee. He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared…Yeh know what Lucius Malfoy's like…threatened 'em, I expect…an' the executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal o' Malfoy's…but it'll be quick an' clean…an' I'll be beside him…"
Hagrid swallowed. His eyes were darting all over the cabin as though looking for some shred of hope or comfort.
"Dumbledore's gonna come down while it — while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter — ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore. . . ."
Hermione, who had been rummaging in Hagrid's cupboard for another milk jug, let out a small, quickly stifled sob. She straightened up with the new jug in her hands, fighting back tears.
"We'll stay with you too, Hagrid," she began, but Hagrid shook his shaggy head.
"Yeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don' wan' yeh watchin'. An' yeh shouldn' be down here anyway. . . . If Fudge an' Dumbledore catch yeh out without permission, Harry, yeh'll be in big trouble."
Hermione's eyes were brimming with tears, and she was obviously fighting hard to conceal them. She poured milk from the bottle into the new jug that she had retrieved from the cabinet and set it on the table. Before she could do anything else, Hagrid stood up and looked out the window.
"They're comin'…" he whispered, his face going pale. "Yeh gotta go," Hagrid insisted, turning back to face them. "The mustn' find yeh here…go now…"
Harry grabbed the invisibility cloak and threw it over himself and the other three. Together they crept out the door and into the evening shadows.
"Let's hurry," Hermione said mournfully. "I can't bear to listen…"
The four of them did hurry, as much as was possible being crowded under the cloak as they were, but even so, the resounding thud of an ax hitting wood easily reached their ears. All progress stopped. Thalia looked grim, Ron's face had gone white, and Hermione was choking back sobs. Harry didn't know how long they would have stood there, but suddenly Thalia straightened up, disrupting the cloak as she did so.
"Thalia!" Ron said in alarm, scrambling to pull the cloak back over them. "What are you doing?!"
"I see something," she hissed. "It looks like…a dog?"
"What?" Harry asked in alarm, thinking of the large black dog he had seen twice before. His head shot up and he frantically scanned the shadowed grounds in search of the beast. "Where?"
"Over–" Thalia began, but she never finished.
A huge black dog leaped from the shadows, and before Harry could comprehend what was happening it had seized hold of Ron's arm in its enormous mouth and was speeding away, pulling Ron along with him. Ron yelled in shock as he was forcefully dragged away; Harry, Hermione, and Thalia lunged forward, grabbing at the dog, but their hands closed on empty air.
Without even stopping to speak, they raced after the dog, which was getting further and further away by the second. Ron was yelling plenty, so it wasn't any trouble to follow them, despite the darkness. Even so, they didn't seem to be gaining any ground against the huge beast.
Just when Harry thought that they would never catch up, he the dog stopped at what seemed to be a large tree. He had just gotten close enough to make out the form of the dog pulling Ron's struggling form into a hollow at the base when something struck him so hard across the face that he fell backward with spots in his vision, barely registering Hermione's scream.
Hearing a whispered 'lumos!' Behind him, Harry saw by the light of Thalia's wand that Hermione had suffered a similar fate and was laying on the ground near him. She seemed to be uninjured for the most part, and Harry frantically turned his attention back to the tree, where Ron was slipping away–
"Ron!" He shouted, making to run forward, but a large branch swung towards him and Thalia pulled him away just in time.
"Watch out!" She warned. "You won't be any help if you get knocked unconscious!"
Harry turned back to the tree in helplessness; when suddenly a sharp crack met their ears, the horrible sound of a bone being broken. There was a pained cry from Ron, then he fully disappeared from sight.
"We–we have to go for help," Hermione stuttered, tightly gripping her wand with a shaking hand.
"We don't have time!" Harry shouted fiercely. "We have to go after him ourselves!"
"We can't do that, idiot!" Thalia shouted back. "We'll be–"
Suddenly, all of the tree's movement stopped. Shocked, the three wizards turned to the base of the tree, where Crookshanks was sitting proudly, one paw resting on a knot on the trunk.
"Crookshanks?" Hermione asked in confusion. "How did he…"
"What the hell are you doing?!" A voice behind them exclaimed.
The three students whirled around in shock to see a very irate Edward Elric standing behind them, hands up.
"Professor–Edward!" Hermione said with relief. "Please–a huge dog grabbed Ron and dragged him into the tree, and–"
A loud hiss interrupted Hermione, and they turned to see that Crookshanks was standing with his back arched, obviously wanting them to hurry it up.
Edward narrowed his eyes at them. "I'll ask for explanations later," he said and marched towards the tree.
"Why were you even out here?" Harry asked.
"Doesn't matter!" Thalia interrupted, grabbing his and Hermione's arms and dragging them forward. "Let's go!"
Harry and Hermione hurried after her and Edward, and together they followed Crookshanks as he slipped into an opening at the base of the tree. They ran along the narrow tunnel, bent over so as to avoid hitting their heads on the low roof.
"W-where do you think this tunnel comes out?" Hermione gasped, running behind Harry.
"I saw it on the map," Harry answered. "It went off the edge–it looked like it maybe ended up in Hogsmeade."
The tunnel began to ascend, then twisted and opened up into a dusty and disorganized room. All the windows were boarded up, and every piece of furniture was smashed. Harry looked around the room as Edward, Hermione, and Thalia pulled themselves out of the hole.
"I think…" Hermione whispered, "I think we're in the shrieking shack…"
"It doesn't matter where we are," Edward said, glaring around the room. "We need to find that dog."
A creaking sound above their heads caused them all to look up at the ceiling. The group carefully moved out into the hall and towards the decaying staircase. Upon reaching the landing, Thalia and Hermione quietly extinguished the lights on their wands. Outside the door, they looked to each other for confirmation, then Harry kicked the door open and they jumped inside, wands ready; or, in Edward's case, hands prepared to clap.
Ron sat against an old bed, his leg sticking out at an unnatural angle. Behind him, Crookshanks lay purring on the dusty covers. Harry and Hermione rushed over to him, wands forgotten, with Thalia close behind.
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. "Are you alright?"
"Where's the dog?" Edward asked suspiciously, standing a few feet back from them.
"Not–a dog–" Ron forced out through clenched teeth. "It's–trap–" Ron lifted a shaky finger to point to the corner behind them. "He's–Animagus–"
The four rescuers whirled to face where Ron was pointing, but before they could even register the sight of the man in the shadows, a hoarse voice had called out: 'expelliarmus!' And their wands were ripped from their hands. A ringing clap filled the air as Edward brought his hands together.
Black turned his wand on Edward. "Immobulus!"
Ed dove to the right to avoid the spell, nearly hitting the wall in the process. Hermione screamed. Harry thought desperately of anything he could do to help, but he was wandless which made him essentially useless.
Before Ed had time to get back on his feet, Black had yelled; 'Incarcerous!' And Edward was left tied up on the floor.
"Untie me you bastard!" Ed growled from the floor, but Black ignored him.
"I thought you would come to help your friend," Black croaked. His voice was unbearably hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a very long time. "Your father would have done the same for me." He took a step closer. "Brave of you not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful…it will make everything much easier…"
"Like hell it will!" Edward yelled, still struggling against the ropes that pinned his arms to his sides.
Black's gaze shifted to Edward's form on the floor. "Don't worry, this shouldn't take long…"
"Oh my gods will you just get to the point already!" Thalia interrupted angrily, startling them all. She glared fiercely at Black, who stared back in shock. "Just say what you want to say, and stop stalling!"
Harry gaped at his friend, who didn't look afraid in the slightest. Hermione let out a strangled sort of sound, and Ron's eyes were popping out of his head. Even Edward looked slightly surprised.
"A-alright then…" Black said, sounding very surprised and not at all like the ominous killer he had been only seconds ago.
"Hey, what makes you think we're just going to sit here and let you kill us!" Harry shouted.
"Harry, calm down and let him talk!" Thalia yelled back, turning to glare at him instead. "Just hear what he has to say, and then if he tries to kill us, you can go all berserk on him."
"Hear what he has to say?!" Ed cried in disbelief.
"What?!" Hermione shrieked at the same time. "Thalia he killed two people!"
"And my mum and dad!" Harry yelled furiously.
"No!" Black said hoarsely. "I didn't kill those two children!"
"You're going to deny it?!" Ed shouted, twisting his head around to glare at Black.
"People saw you," Ron added angrily. "Everyone knows it was you!"
The sound of footsteps on the stair interrupted their yelling before the door burst open and Professor Lupin dashed into the room, wand out and face pale. He surveyed the situation; Sirius Black holding their wands, Ron on the ground with Harry and Hermione in front of him, Thalia still glaring at everyone, and Edward tied up on the floor.
"Where is he?" Lupin whispered, facing Black.
Black stared for a few seconds, then opened his mouth to speak. "I don't know exactly," he managed. "But the boy had him last." Here he pointed at Ron.
"But then…why hasn't he shown himself?" Lupin muttered, staring hard at Black. Suddenly his eyes widened. "Unless–unless he was the one…and you switched…without telling anyone?"
Black nodded slowly, his eyes never breaking Lupin's gaze.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Ed demanded.
"Professor!" Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going on…?"
The words were barely out of his mouth before Lupin had strode across the room and embraced Black like a brother. Harry blinked in shock, feeling as if he had been hit in the stomach.
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed.
Lupin turned toward her, not looking the least bit troubled as she pointed at him accusingly.
"You–you–"
"Hermione–"
"You and him!"
"Hermione, please–"
"I covered for you! I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked.
"Hermione, listen to me!" Lupin shouted. "I can explain!"
"Explain what, that you've been helping a murderer?" Edward snarled, struggling all the more violently against his bonds.
"I trusted you!" Harry shouted, shaking with the anger of betrayal. "And all this time, you've–"
"Please!" Lupin said. "Let me explain–"
"NO!" Hermione shouted. "He's been helping Black this whole time, and he wants you dead too–he's a werewolf!"
The silence that followed was deafening as everyone stared at Lupin. He was paler than usual but didn't look overly alarmed.
"Only one out of three Hermione," he said at last in a strained voice. "Not up to your usual standard…How long have you known?"
Hermione swallowed nervously. "Ages," she whispered. "Ever since I did Professor Snape's essay…"
"He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant…Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"
"Both," Hermione said quietly.
Lupin forced a laugh. "You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."
"I'm not," Hermione whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"
"But they already know," said Lupin. "At least, the staff do."
Thalia, who had been silent for some time, finally spoke. "Will you two please just say what you're going to say before Harry explodes? But you might want to untie Edward first."
Lupin's eyes widened, and he turned to Edward. "Right," he said, raising his wand. "Now, Ed…you'll have to promise not to attack anyone–"
"Why would I ever promise something like that?" Ed demanded furiously.
"I promise we can explain everything," Lupin said calmly. "But not if you attack us before we get the chance."
"…Fine," Edward snapped, eyeing both Black and Lupin suspiciously. "Just hurry up and let me go so you can start explaining."
Lupin quickly obliged, and Ed jumped to his feet immediately, still glaring at Black.
"Yes, well," Lupin began, taking a deep breath. "It's a long story, but it starts with Ron's rat–"
"What?!" Ron interrupted. "What does Scabbers have to do with this?"
"Well," Lupin said, "for one thing…his name isn't Scabbers. He isn't even a rat. He's an Animagus wizard by the name of Peter Pettigrew."
There was a shocked silence for several seconds before Edward spoke.
"He's a what now?" The professor asked, puzzled.
"An Animagus," Hermione answered, bewilderment evident in her tone as well. "A wizard who can turn into an animal…but that's ridiculous!"
"Pettigrew is dead!" Harry said angrily. He pointed at Black. "He killed him twelve years ago! There were witnesses, a whole street full of them!"
"They didn't see what they thought they saw," Black growled angrily.
Lupin placed a placating hand on Black's shoulder before speaking. "Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," he agreed. "Even me. But then I saw the map tonight, and the map doesn't lie. Peter's alive."
"Wait," Thalia said, frowning in confusion. "How did you see him? Ron hasn't even seen Scabbers–Peter–in months, and he definitely isn't holding him now…"
"That's another thing," Lupin said. "I saw Peter on the map by the Whomping Willow, and then he disappeared into the tunnel…I thought for sure he would be with you."
"We can find him later," Edward said impatiently. "Just get on with it."
Suddenly the door creaked open, and everyone turned in alarm to face the source of the noise. They stood in silence, but there were no other sounds.
"This place is haunted," Ron said at last, attempting to distance himself from the door, wincing as he did so.
"It's not haunted," Lupin said with a frown. "It never was. The villagers were hearing me." He paused. "In fact, that's where all of this starts–with my becoming a werewolf…"
~o~O~o~
"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Harry slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"
"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin. Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Lupin.
Hermione screamed. Harry jumped as though he'd received a huge electric shock. Edward whirled around with his hands ready to clap.
"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing the Cloak aside, careful to keep his wand pointing directly at Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you…"
Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glittering. "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 running along this passageway and out of sight."
"Severus–" Lupin began, but Snape interrupted him before he could continue.
"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof," Snape said triumphantly. "Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout–"
"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything–I can explain–Sirius is not here to kill Harry–"
"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this…He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin…a tame werewolf–"
"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"
BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.
"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."
Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.
Harry stood there, paralyzed, not knowing what to do or whom to believe. He glanced around at Ron and Hermione. Ron looked just as confused as he did. Hermione, however, took an uncertain step toward Snape and said, in a very breathless voice, "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 and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."
"But if-if there was a mistake–"
"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face. Hermione fell silent.
"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you…"
"HEY!" Edward yelled, stepping forward for the first time. "You can't just throw a person in prison if there's a chance that they're not–"
"QUIET!" Snape yelled, turning his wand on Edward, who continued to glare at him. "This has nothing to do with you either, so shut up unless you want to end up like the werewolf!"
"Well aren't you a pathetic excuse for a teacher!" Ed shouted back. "This is ridiculous! You're letting a stupid grudge get in the way of something actually import–"
The rest of his speech was silenced as Snape fired the same spell that he had used on Lupin, rendering Edward incapable of speech.
Hermione had her hands over her mouth, and Thalia was standing with her hands clenched into fists but had made no move to go forward. In fact, it looked almost as if she were trying to sink into the background and disappear.
"Now," Snape said, eyes darting back and forth at a crazed speed. "All I have to do is call the dementors once we get outside the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black…pleased enough to give you a little Kiss, I daresay…"
What little color there was in Black's face left it.
"You–you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat–if we could just find–"
But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that Harry had never seen before. He seemed beyond reason.
"Come on, all of you," he said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Lupin flew to his hands. "Perhaps I can untie Elric if he promises to behave…but I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a Kiss for him too–"
Before he knew what he was doing, Harry had crossed the room in three strides and blocked the door.
"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin–"
"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry said. "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," hissed Snape. "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 shrieked, looking madder than ever. "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 made up his mind in a split second. Before Snape could take even one step toward him, he had raised his wand.
"Expelliarmus!" He yelled–except that his wasn't the only voice that shouted. There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out.
Harry looked around. Both Ron and Hermione had tried to Disarm Snape at exactly the same moment. Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.
"You shouldn't have done that," said Black, looking at Harry. "You should have left him to me…"
Harry avoided Black's eyes. He wasn't sure, even now, that he'd done the right thing.
"We attacked a teacher…We attacked a teacher…," Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble–"
Lupin and Edward were struggling against their bonds. Black bent down quickly and untied Lupin, while Hermione rushed to help Edward. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them.
"Thank you, Harry," he said.
"I'm still not saying I believe you," Harry reminded him.
Edward sat up and angrily growled something in Amestrian. From his tone, Harry decided it was a good thing he couldn't understand him.
"I wish I could give you proof," Black whispered despairingly. "If we could only find Peter…"
"How do you even know that Scabbers is Peter?" Ron asked angrily. "He could be any rat!"
"That is a fair question," Lupin said, turning to Black. "How did you know it was him?"
Black reached a pale hand into his ragged robes and pulled out a wrinkled and worn piece of paper, which he showed to the others; revealing it to be the photograph of the Weasley family in the Daily Prophet from that summer. And there, sitting on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.
"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.
"Fudge," said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And 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 was…"
"My God," said Lupin softly, staring at the Scabbers in the picture. "His front paw…"
"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.
"He's got a toe missing," said Black.
"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple…so brilliant…he cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transformed," said Black. "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…"
"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "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," said Lupin. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"
"We–we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.
"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it…" croaked Black, ignoring Ron. "Probably decided that faking his own death had worked once, so why not do it again…"
These words jolted Harry to his senses. "And why did he fake his death?" he said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"No," said Lupin, "Harry–"
"And now you've come to finish him off!"
"Yes, I have," said Black, crumpling the paper in his hands angrily."Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.
"Harry," said Lupin 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 KILLED THEM!"
He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly over-bright.
"Harry…I as good as killed them," he croaked. "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 straightaway. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies…I realized what Peter must've done…what I'd done…" His voice broke and he turned away.
"If we could only find him then we could prove it to you," Lupin said tensely.
"I believe you," Thalia said, stepping forward.
Harry turned to her in shock. "Why do you believe them?!" He yelled.
Thalia turned to Harry in exasperation. "Weren't you listening at all, Harry?" She asked. "What he said makes sense! And besides…" She turned back to Lupin and Black. "I know when someone is lying. They aren't."
"What about Susan?" Edward interjected, his eyes dark with anger. "And Luna? If you didn't kill them, then who did?"
"It wasn't him!"
Everyone turned in shock at Thalia's outburst. She froze, staring back at them, a desperate look in her eyes. What she did next Harry would never understand…mostly because he would never remember it. But even if he did remember Thalia's strange actions that followed, he would not have been able to comprehend them.
Thalia
Thalia had known that the moment would come when she would be forced to use the mist to cover a mistake, and she had prepared. She had spent the long months practicing with the mist, going over everything she had learned from Chiron's lessons and her few conversations with Hazel. Her capabilities had grown significantly in the past few months. But she hadn't expected the moment to be so…spontaneous.
Closing her eyes, Thalia took a deep breath. "Hecate," she muttered, "You probably aren't listening, but…I could use some help…if you could spare a moment for preventing what could possibly be the end of the world."
Opening her eyes again, she saw everyone staring at her with a mixture of confusion and wariness on their faces. Mentally preparing herself, Thalia began to speak.
"The deaths of Susan and Luna were an accident," She said confidently, focusing intently. "You weren't told the specifics. It doesn't concern you." Thalia paused, swallowing hard as she gathered her mental strength. "Before we arrived at the Shrieking Shack, we found Scabbers. Lupin and Black transformed him into Peter Pettigrew, proving their story to be true. Before we were able to restrain him, he transformed back into a rat and ran outside."
Thalia could feel her grip on the mist weakening. 'I'm not going to be able to do this,' she thought, beginning to panic. 'I won't be able to make them believe it…I'm going to fail…'
But just as she began to despair, she heard…a voice.
"Interesting strategy." The Greek words rang through the air, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Hmmmm…this benefits me as well, I suppose. So, young demigod, just this once, I will help you. Just this once."
Immediately Thalia felt as if a wind were rushing through the room, relieving any pressure she felt, and it left her gasping. She wasn't left any time to ponder what had just happened, because the other occupants of the room snapped out of their dazes and turned to the door in shock.
"He's getting away!" Lupin cried.
"Go after him!" Thalia forced herself to say. "I'll help Ron, just go!"
Just like that, They were dashing out the door. As Thalia fixed a splint upon Ron's leg, she couldn't forget the voice that had echoed through the room…eery, mystical, cold…and unrecognizable.
A/N – Hi, me again. I wanted to let you guys know that the next update will either be this Friday, if I get it written and edited in time (which isn't likely), or next Friday at the earliest, because I'll be at camp until Thursday. Thought I'd give you a heads up so you know why I'm taking so long to update. Also, I have finally done something with my profile, so you can check there to see current story progress and upcoming stories. That is all!
