AN: I had trouble figuring out where I wanted this chapter to go, but then I had a real, actual Chocolate Frog (!) and everything became so much clearer. We've hit 1,300 reviews, we're this close to 1,500 followers, and we're within reach of 500,000 views! Thank you all so much. Super, duper, special thanks to reviewers: Faia Sakura, Majerus, PhoenixTears21, Venquine1990, Kairan1979, SEAGUL, ultima-owner, MuggleCreator, Lady Sabine of Macayhill, ILoveGeorgeEads, ReadPaxJoy, Ari989, Narcissa-Weasly, Tellur, magitech, Fibinaci, serialkeller, MariusDarkwolf, and urs-v.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise.
On the next Hogsmeade weekend, Harry found himself back at Hogwarts alone, yet again. Neville had been banned from Hogsmeade by his grandmother, and no matter how much Professor Burbage tried to reason with her, Professor Longbottom wouldn't budge. Harry had counted on spending the day with Neville, but Romilda Vane—a dark-haired first year girl—had stolen him away almost immediately. They had invited Harry to come along with them, but Harry felt rather uncomfortable around Vane, whose sharp gray eyes didn't seem to miss a thing. Instead, Harry climbed the stairs to the third year boys' dorms and lounged on the bed, the Maruaders' Map spread out in front of him.
The Map, Harry had found, turned out to be a good way to waste time. He popped Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans into his mouth and drank in the sight of the castle with all of its inhabitants walking around without a care in the world. Professor Burbage and Professor Lupin were making their way down the second floor corridor, quite close together, Harry noted with a small smirk. Romilda Vane and Neville hovered outside greenhouse three. Tracing his finger around the portrait hole to the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry froze. Right outside the portrait hole was a small dot, with the name Peter Pettigrew floating directly below it.
Harry jolted up out of bed and swung his legs over the side. The last time he had seen Peter Pettigrew on the Map, there had been no one there. But now…if he could just get out in time, he could catch Pettigrew. How hard could it be to miss a dead man? He tore out of the dorm and down the steps, racing towards the portrait hole. He reached an arm out to fling the door open when—
"Harry!"
Harry's shoulders slumped. What now? He didn't have time for this. Still, he fixed a pained smile on his face and turned around to look at Ginny Weasley, surrounded by a bunch of second years, waving him over. Straightening his spine, Harry marched over to them and swallowed back his complaints. The second years seemed to like him, and he didn't want Ginny to start hating him again. If he had to choose between murderous glares and adoring gazes, he'd most certainly take the latter.
"Hi, Harry!" Colin greeted happily, finger poised to take a picture. "Can I take your picture?"
At least he asked, Harry reasoned, nodding and making a noncommittal noise. Colin had made vast improvements since his first night at Hogwarts, and Harry decided it would be best to encourage him further rather than outright refuse. The flash blinded him for a few seconds, and he blinked dazedly.
"So, how about that Sirius Black?" One small girl piped up, watching him carefully.
Another boy smacked his forehead with his palm. "Not like that, stupid. Here, this is how it's done. Hey Harry, how's it going?"
"Er…alright," Harry muttered back. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name?"
The boy beamed, and some of the others looked at him with an emotion akin to envy. "Ryker, Bailey Ryker," He introduced himself, with a deep, smooth voice that surely didn't belong to him.
Harry smothered a laugh and nodded. "Listen, it was great seeing you guys, but I've got to get going. There's something I have to do."
"Do you need any help?" Demelza Robbins asked, leaning forward. "We'd love to help."
"Erm…no, but thanks. I kind of…need to do this on my own, you know."
Ryker smiled sagely. "Like a solo mission."
Harry stared at him. "Yeah…I'll see you later?" He quickly whirled back around, eager to find Pettigrew and get some answers. If Pettigrew was alive, what did that mean for the others killed by Black? Did Pettigrew make a lucky escape? Or was there something else at play here? Harry checked for his wand and jumped out the portrait hole. There was no sign of anyone in the hall, and Harry nearly shouted in frustration. That's twice now that Pettigrew has escaped him, and Harry wondered how he did it. Harry pulled out the Map, intending to find Pettigrew—the man couldn't have gotten far, after all—but before Harry touched his wand to the parchment, a voice called out from behind him.
"What's going on here, Potter?" Snape snarled, snatching the parchment out of Harry's hands.
"Nothing, Professor." Harry lifted his eyes to look directly at Snape. He refused to let the man mock him. Harry hadn't even done anything wrong, anyway!
"Then what's this, Potter?" Snape towered over Harry, a sneer playing about his lips. Snape looked delighted to be catching Harry in the act, but he refused to give the older man the satisfaction.
"Spare bit of parchment," Harry murmured, shrugging. If he acted like it was no big deal, maybe Snape wouldn't try anything further.
Snape's eyes narrowed, and he peered down at the tattered parchment in his hands with an expression of disdain. "Is that so? Reveal your secret!" Snape demanded.
Harry held his breath, but the map remained blank. It couldn't possibly work without the password, he reasoned with himself. And how would Snape figure it out? It wasn't simple.
Snape growled and poked the Map with his wand. "Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, commands you to yield the information you conceal!" Snape said.
Harry watched on in horror as words spilled onto the parchment.
"Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business."
Harry quite nearly choked, torn between laughing and running as far away from Snape's thunderous expression as possible. Was the Map trying to put him in detention for the rest of the year? Snape already hated him as it was.
"Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git."
"Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor."
Harry bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood. It would do no good to reveal his glee to Snape, whose face began to purple.
"Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball."
Harry felt his stomach drop down to his shoes. The pair still hovered in the corridor, and all of the portraits were suspiciously quiet as they watched Snape shake in silent fury. "So…you think this is entertaining, Potter? You think it's amusing?"
Admittedly, Harry had found it amusing just a few moments earlier, but with Snape looking ready to eat him for lunch, it was decidedly not funny. "No, sir," He mumbled, careful to keep his eyes on the floor.
"Really? Why do I find that so difficult to believe?" Snape murmured, leaning in close.
"Harry?" Both boy and professor turned to find Professor Burbage hurrying towards them, Professor Lupin hot on her heels. Harry had never felt more relieved to see her in his life. Burbage would get him out of this, he was sure of it.
"Burbage," Snape greeted, keeping the Map tight in his fist. "Interesting that you should be able to appear so quickly when Potter is in trouble."
"Professor Snape." Burbage hardly spared him a glance, zeroing in on Harry instead. "What's going on?"
"I'll tell you exactly what's going on. Potter here has been wandering about the castle for Merlin knows how long with this," He thrust the parchment forward. "Clearly, it's enchanted with some sort of Dark Magic."
"Dark Magic?" Lupin echoed blankly, hesitantly taking the Map.
He and Burbage bent their heads together, scanning the ink quickly. Burbage struggled with a smile for a bit, but Lupin paled almost instantly. Harry tugged his bangs down over his scar and shifted anxiously. Whatever the Map was, Lupin seemed quite alarmed by it.
"Thank you Severus." Lupin's voice was barely above a whisper as he folded the Map back up and shoved it in a pocket of his robes. "I believe Charity and I can handle it from here."
Snape gawked at his none-too-subtle dismissal. "You must punish Potter for this!" He insisted. "Who knows what that thing is?"
"I'm sure it's just a joke," Lupin told him firmly. "Made to insult anyone who tries to read it, I'd assume. Come along Harry, we'll discuss it in my office."
"Mine's closer," Burbage volunteered, though she also looked confused by Lupin's sudden mood swing. "Let's go, Harry." She put a hand on his shoulder and guided him in front of her. Harry managed one last backwards glance at the miffed Snape, who glared when he realized he was being watched.
Charity sank into a comfy chair by her fireplace, offering Harry a biscuit. He took it from her with trepidation, his eyes focused on the pacing figure of Remus Lupin.
"Remus, please, sit," Charity requested worriedly.
He shook his head and continued to move back and forth, sucking in an agitated breath and waving the parchment around. "Where did you get this?" He muttered finally, stopping suddenly and swallowing. "No, no, never mind," He interrupted as Harry opened his mouth. "That doesn't matter. But this—Filch should've gotten this, but of course he never figured out…"
"Hang on." Harry sat straight up, losing his concern for a minute. "How did you know Filch had it?"
"Well, because I was there when he took it." Remus gave a brittle, humorless laugh.
"What?" Harry tugged on his bangs again.
"Remus, what's going on? Please, sit." Charity's nerves frayed, and a migraine began to pound in her head.
Remus shook his head again. "This Map—Harry, you should've brought it immediately to the Headmistress! This could've shown you where Black was a few nights ago. What if it fell into the wrong hands? Harry, Black is a serious threat. I don't know how to stress this more to you. He is dangerous, he is a murderer, he's not what you're expecting, he-!"
"Remus!" Charity stood. By this point, he had begun shouting loudly. Harry stared with wide eyes. "Remus, what's wrong?" Charity's voice cracked, betraying her.
Remus let the Map slip through his fingers and fall to the ground. "I—I'm sorry, Harry. I've been going through some problems, and it was wrong of me to take them out on you. I apologize."
"It's okay," Harry said eagerly, standing as well. "Professor Lupin, I saw Peter Pettigrew on the Map."
Remus froze, bent over to pick up the Map. "What? That's impossible!"
"Could this…Map be broken?" Charity asked, still horribly lost.
Remus straightened, grimacing at the parchment. "I don't see how. I worked on this Map. We made sure that it couldn't be tampered with. If Peter showed up on the Map, he must be…" Remus' eyes lit up. "He must be alive! Which means Sirius—Black," He corrected himself hastily, "must not've killed him!"
Charity blinked once, then twice. "Alright…but they found his finger, remember?"
"That's all they found," He realized, clutching the Map closer. "If—if Peter's alive, then maybe…"
"Remus," She warned. "Look at all the evidence they found. Even you said he must've done it."
"Yes, yes." He waved a hand at her. "But it never made sense to me. Sirius thought of James as a brother. He had no reason to turn sides. He had enough money, he didn't like his family, he didn't care for power—Charity, it all makes sense! Sirius never betrayed them, it was Peter the whole time!"
Concern gnawed at Charity's heart. His eyes filled with hope, and while she loved seeing him so happy, she was worried he would be let down. Black had been found guilty by nearly everyone. How could it possibly be that he wasn't guilty? "Fine, Remus. Let's say that you're right. But if Black is innocent, then why did Peter switch sides?"
Remus slouched for a few seconds before answering. "Power, most likely. Or perhaps Voldemort intimidated him. Peter might've been a Gryffindor, but he wasn't the bravest fellow. That's another thing that didn't make sense. He wouldn't have tried to confront Sirius on his own."
"Remus, maybe you should try to think this through," She urged him.
"I am thinking this through, don't you see? I haven't been going about this the right way this whole time. If Peter is alive, Sirius must be innocent!"
Charity moved closer to whisper in his ear, watching Harry closely. "Remus, stop this. Don't you see what this could do to Harry?"
Remus paused for a beat. "Harry, what do you think?"
"I think…well, I dunno," He confessed shyly. "Black was my dad's best friend, right? Er…I just don't know—how did Peter Pettigrew hide for so long?"
Remus finally sat and busied himself with a biscuit. He chewed slowly, and Charity felt a small flare of triumph. Let him find a way out of that one, she thought. He had to see that this wasn't a logical train of thought.
"In my second year of Hogwarts, James, Sirius, and Peter figured out that I was a werewolf. And instead of deserting me, instead of outing me as a monster, they—they decided to become Animagi."
"You're saying Peter Pettigrew has been hiding out in his Animagus form for twelve years?" Charity questioned skeptically.
"I know it sounds mad, but I can prove it. Peter's form was a rat. He's small enough that he could've hidden anywhere. Let me just check the Map." He pulled his wand out and spoke hastily, his words running together. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."
Charity recoiled as a map of Hogwarts appeared right before her eyes. "How…"
Remus grinned at her. "Took an awful lot of exploring, I'll give you that."
"I can imagine," Charity said faintly.
Though the three scoured the Map for a good five minutes, the name Peter Pettigrew was nowhere to be found. Charity grew frustrated, as did Remus. Harry, however, was rather used to this.
"He disappears a lot," He explained. "I'm never sure where he goes, but I think it might be Hogsmeade or someplace like that."
Remus sat back and considered this. "It's possible he may've heard you and Snape talking in the corridor and run to Hogsmeade in order to avoid us seeing him. If he were in his rat form, no one would notice."
"Wouldn't it take him a while to run as a rat though?" Charity pointed out.
"He certainly could've transformed in a passageway where no one would see him, and then run until he reached the end, before transforming back. Dementors are only patrolling the entrances, not the passageways themselves. I suspect Sirius got into the castle using his Animagus form as well, trying to get to Peter."
Charity was surprised to find that she was running out of arguments against Black being innocent. With a heavy heart, she realized that a man might've been kept in Azkaban for twelve years for no real reason.
"What do we do now?" Harry asked excitedly.
"You will do nothing. You're too young. If Peter Pettigrew really is the traitor, then who knows what he'd do to you? No, you need to stay out of it," Charity decided firmly.
"But—"
"Charity's right. You need to stay safe, Harry. We'll find a way to take care of it. We should probably lure Peter into a false sense of security. When he comes back to Hogwarts, we'll find him again and question him. If he's guilty, then we'll have to contact the Ministry about Sirius' innocence."
"And what if he's innocent? What if he just managed to escape Black?" Charity had to ask.
Remus sipped tea with trembling hands. "Then that's one less murder Black's committed."
A bit more shading around the whiskers, Dean thought, angling his pencil so that it would produce a light gray color on his paper. The fluffy orange cat in front of him twitched slightly, and Dean could only be thankful that magical cats seemed to understand instructions more than Muggle cats. The last time he had tried this was with his neighbor's cat, and that hadn't turned out so well.
"What are you doing with that monster?" Ron cried from behind him.
Crookshanks hissed threateningly.
"Oh, shove off, you beast. Dean, he killed Scabbers! You can't draw that thing like he's some sort of angel. He's evil."
With a great snarl, Crookshanks' hackles rose and he jumped off his chair.
Dean groaned. "Ron! You ruined my model. He was actually sitting still!"
"Scabbers would've sat still," Ron grumbled.
"Scabbers slept the whole day, mate." Seamus clapped Ron on the back and took the recently vacated chair.
"Has anyone seen Harry?" Alicia wondered, glancing around the Common Room.
"I saw him this morning," Neville volunteered, blushing as everyone turned to him. "He said he had somewhere to be."
"That's odd." Hermione sat on the couch and pulled Crookshanks onto her lap.
"Why? Harry can do whatever he wants. Why do you need to know what he's doing?" Ron challenged, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Because, Ronald. Harry said that he didn't have anything to do today, and he was going to be bored," Hermione snapped.
"Oh." Ron's ears colored. "I mean, yeah, I knew that."
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Harry!" Fred and George greeted loudly. "Where ya been, mate?"
"Couldn't get this party started without you!"
"How could we possibly have a good time—"
"—without our esteemed boy-who-lived?"
Harry, it seemed, wasn't in a joking mood. Dean's fingers itched to draw the brooding expression on his face, but he had a feeling he wasn't all that good at portraying such complex emotions. Harry looked both hopeful and utterly crushed, a strange combination for anyone, but somewhat fitting. In his hands was a thick, unopened envelope. "Dumbledore wrote again," He told them.
They fell silent, crowding around him as he plopped down in front of the fire. The air crackled with tension as he ripped open the heavy parchment to reveal several pages filled with ink from top to bottom.
"If he actually got Buckbeak free, it'd be a miracle," Percy breathed softly.
"Well? What's it say?" Cormac urged.
Dear Harry,
Though the Ministry put up quite a fight, I was able to convince them that Buckbeak is not a threat. I've written Hagrid about this, and he appeared rather delighted by the news. In fact, he asked me to include a note to you and your friends in my next letter. Unfortunately, while Buckbeak is not being executed, the Ministry has requested that Hagrid move him to a safe place, preferably one where he is not around schoolchildren.
I must confess that I have another reason for writing to you again, Harry. It has come to my attention that Sirius Black has managed to enter the castle a second time, and what's more, entered the Gryffindor boys' dorms in the hopes of finding you. Harry, I must ask you to stay on your guard. Black has always been intelligent, and it seems that even prolonged exposure to the dementors couldn't completely ruin his mind.
But that is enough darkness for now. I'm pleased to inform you that I have managed to set aside time to make it to your next Quidditch match, and, as I am no longer a professor at Hogwarts, I will be cheering for my former house, Gryffindor. I'm sure you and your teammates (Mr. Wood especially) can't wait for the match.
But now, I've kept you long enough. If you'll have time to humor an old man after your match, we can talk more. Continue to work hard, and I'm certain Hogwarts will guide you the rest of the way.
A.P.W.B. Dumbledore
Another piece of parchment was a copy of the official Ministry document, clearing Buckbeak of all charges. The final page, containing Hagrid's chicken-scratch, had a few water marks, as though someone had cried on it.
Harry and friends,
Thank you so much! Buckbeak's safe, and it's all thanks to you and Dumbledore. Come to my hut after the Quidditch match, and we'll celebrate your win with rock cakes. Beaky can't wait to see ya, and neither can I. Good luck at the match!
Hagrid
"I like how he assumes we're going to win," Katie muttered, sweeping her bangs out of her eyes.
"That's because we will," Oliver told her firmly.
The Quidditch team traded amused glances. Some things never changed, after all.
IMPORTANT: I've been thinking recently (scary, I know) and I've decided that splitting LU into two parts might be a good idea. I'd like to ask for your opinion. I've only thought about this because LU's getting kind of long. I might end this after third year, which would be somewhere around chapter 60, which should be up by the end of April. Let me know what you think!