A/N: I don't own the Harry Potter series.
Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Hermione screamed effectively fraying Ella's what was left of Ella's nerves for the day. She'd never had so many visions during one day and it was taking its toll on her. She couldn't afford to let herself succumb to everything she'd been witnessing though, she needed to stop Pettigrew now. She knew he'd find Voldemort if he were to escape. She'd be at risk as well as Sirius and Harry and everyone else if that happened.
"You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" Snape prompted his eyes glittering with malice. Ella readied herself to pounce. If Snape were to put Pettigrew's capture in jeopardy, Ella would be left with no choice but to intervene. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very luck 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."
Realization dawned in Ella's eyes as she heard Snape proclaim that Lupin forgot to take his potion. Tonight was a full moon. Visions of the werewolf running towards Harry and Hermione came into her mind. Suddenly, Ella realized that Pettigrew would use Lupin's transformation to escape. She couldn't allow that to happen, besides Harry and Hermione wouldn't be with Buckbeak across the school. That wouldn't make sense. The poor creature was already killed earlier that afternoon.
"You fool," Lupin said softly, drawing Ella out of her contemplations. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"
Without a word from Snape, his wand shot out thin cords that began twisting themselves around Lupin. Ella could feel a low growl building in her throat, but she swallowed it back. Pettigrew was still in the room, which meant that things didn't need tampering with just yet.
Sirius moved towards Snape, but the professor brought his wand up and pointed it between Sirius's eyes, "Give me a reason. Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will." Everyone stood still including Ella. She wondered if she needed to actually step in, or if she'd be lucky enough that they'd all stand there until morning and the prophesy she saw couldn't come to pass because it was too late. That'd be impossible though, time was of the essence with Lupin nearing his time of transformation. He'd be dangerous tonight, and in the past it had taken a giant dog and stag to control the werewolf, what chance did Sirius have of protecting everyone in the room alone, even if Ella were to help?
"Professor Snape, it…it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?" Hermione asked tentatively.
"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school. 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."
Hermione tried again, "But if –if there was a mistake…"
"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL! DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Snape spat out. Ella seethed in her hiding spot. It was hard for her to see the man who saved her from Allison and her parents when she was eleven. That man disappeared as soon as she was sorted into Gryffindor. "Vengeance is very sweet. How I hoped I would be the one to catch you…"
Sirius glared levelly at Snape and snarled, "The joke's on you again, Severus. As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle, I'll come quietly."
"Up to the castle? I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black…pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay…" Sirius's face drained of its remaining color as did Ella's. The thought of Sirius being kissed was frightening, but the idea of dementors getting near them was another thing Ella didn't want to handle.
"You –you've got to hear me out. The rat –look at the rat!" Sirius nearly pleaded. He couldn't remain angry with Snape while the dementor's kiss loomed in front of him.
Snape was through listening, "Come on, all of you. I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too –"
At this point, Ella was going to break her cover. She shifted getting ready to transform, but was beat to the action. Harry strode over to the door and blocked Snape's path. Ella couldn't tell if Harry even realized what he was doing.
"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already. If I hadn't been here to save your skin…"
Harry cut him off, "Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year. I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he finish me off then?"
"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," Snape sneered. "Get out of the way, Potter."
"Get out of the way, Potter!" Snape sneered, but Ella wasn't looking at a grown man snapping at a young one. This Snape was a lot younger, in fact he was probably Harry's current age. Then, he wasn't snapping at Harry, but Ella was absolutely stunned by the similarity between Harry and James. The only way to tell the difference was to look into their eyes. James had brown eyes while Harry shared the same color of eyes as the girl who stood behind Snape.
Ella leaned forward to take a closer look, "That can't be…" But Ella knew it must have been Lily, Harry's mother. It was odd seeing her glaring at James when she knew they'd end up together. James just shot an envious look at Snape. The whole situation threw Ella off because none of this had anything to do with the future or even the present.
She watched the scene with mild curiosity wishing that she could go back to the present. It seemed like this vision wasn't going to let her leave as easily as the last time. Fantastic. A malfunctioning vision in the Shrieking Shack the night Pettigrew is supposed to escape and bring Voldemort back to power was exactly what Ella needed. In fact, she could think of millions of more helpful things than being subjected to this.
"If I had known I'd be stuck having this many visions I would've refused to look into that crystal ball and failed the exam instead," Ella thought bitterly to herself. She had to admit the vision wasn't completely uninteresting. It had frozen so she could take a closer look at what was going on.
Ella found Snape's defensive stance to be the most intriguing thing about the vision. He was a Slytherin protecting Lily who was in Gryffindor robes. Ella already knew she was a Gryffindor, but the idea of a Slytherin and a Gryffindor being friends was absurd to her. The two houses typically turned to enemies immediately. How were these two different? She looked at the two students, one of whom was dead now and the other was a rude teacher that treated Gryffindors like the scum of the Earth. Did Lily help cause that reaction?
"Alright, can I go back to the present now?" Ella asked aloud. No response came –not that she expected one. Sometimes she wished Aiden would appear to offer words of advice for her, but he seemed to be long gone. Ella couldn't manage to go deep enough into her mind for him to appear. It was probably for the best, since she had to be Petrified for him to appear the last time. She figured nothing short of a coma would get her close to that again.
The people in the room were the same when Ella came to. There was still no sign of a human Pettigrew, but Snape had been put out of commission. Ella wondered how that happened, but figured some things were probably better left alone.
"Together?" Sirius asked. He was looking at Remus with excitement. Ella noticed Lupin was holding Scabbers who was squeaking incessantly.
"I think so. On the count of three. One… Two… THREE!"
A flash of blue-white light momentarily blinded Ella. A second flash was emitted closer to her hiding place, but Ella wasn't frightened by that. The man who had groveled at her feet while she was in her Petrified state now was lying on the floor –and he frightened Ella. Not in a way that he was scary to look at or anything close, but he had knowledge and people he could give it to. Ella had figured out back before she even knew she was a witch that knowledge meant power in many cases.
Lupin was the first to speak in a forced pleasant voice, "Well, hello, Peter. Long time, no see."
In the squeaky voice Ella faintly remembered he stammered to the older men, "S-Sirius… R-Remus… My friends… my old friends…" Sirius began to raise a wand towards Pettigrew but Lupin stopped him. Ella wasn't even sure any more about how that made her feel.
On one hand, Ella was still hoping that Pettigrew wouldn't go to his master. Part of her was so furious with this man taking advantage of her friends –people who were like her family– that she assumed she'd be perfectly fine if Sirius did manage to do away with the man. Except, now that Pettigrew was a man, it was a lot harder to wish he was dead. A rat that Ella knew helped cultivate the murder of two of his friends as well as the imprisonment of another seemed as much of an animal as he looked. As long as Pettigrew remained a rat, Ella could view him as such. Now that he was back in his form Ella felt sick to her stomach at the mere idea she'd wanted another human being dead. She was fifteen years old and before then had been happy if a man met his end before her eyes. In the back of her mind she could see those floating orbs that contained her very essence within them. Ella could feel the black one growing and tried to shove it away. She wasn't evil.
"I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so –"
Pettigrew cut Lupin off, "He's come to try and kill me again! He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too… You've got to help me, Remus…"
As calm as ever Lupin stated, "No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out."
"Sorted things out?" Pettigrew questioned. Ella watched his eyes dart about the room. Escape was useless so he stalled, "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!" Ella would have burst out laughing at the blatant lie had she been in a position that would've let her. Sadly, being hidden made that impossible to do. So Ella settled for staring at the man in disbelief.
Professor Lupin stared at Pettigrew like he did to a student who gave the wrong answer, "You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban? When nobody has ever done it before?"
The rat made a loud proclamation about Sirius being taught by Voldemort and that he had powers no one had ever dreamed of. Sirius laughed at the statement as much as Ella would've liked to. If anyone in the room could put Pettigrew in his place –it was Sirius. The man told not only Pettigrew but the entire room about how the Death Eaters in Azkaban believed he was dead, but if wind got out that he wasn't Pettigrew would be murdered in an instant. The Prisoner of Azkaban had thought long and hard about everything to do with Pettigrew and his involvement in Voldemort's army. Ella found it easy to believe that others believed Pettigrew contributed to Voldemort's downfall. Lupin seemed to believe that as well because he wasn't even letting Wormtail have an ounce of hope.
Ella watched with avid attention as Sirius explained his escape from Azkaban. She was proud of the now calm demeanor that had overtaken the room. Harry's face had lost the rage that frightened Ella, and now the younger students were beginning to accept Sirius and his story. It helped that Pettigrew was now a human since that was one of the biggest indicators that Sirius was telling the truth.
"Believe me," Sirius pleaded to Harry, his last blood-connection to his best friend. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."
Harry seemed conflicted, yet resolved all at once. Instead of speaking, he gave Sirius a nod. It was all Sirius needed to know Harry understood, but Pettigrew looked like Harry had just signed his death certificate.
"No! …Sirius –it's me…it's Peter…your friend…you wouldn't…" Pettigrew tried to beg, but Sirius kicked at him.
Sirius spat back, "There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them."
Pettigrew turned to his other friend, "Remus! You don't believe this…wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"
Lupin didn't miss a beat, "Not if he thought I was the spy. I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?"
"Forgive me, Remus," Sirius said sheepishly.
"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend. And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"
Ella saw a bit of a grin enter Sirius's face, "Of course. Shall we kill him together?" Her heart clenched in indecision. She couldn't believe a man was going to be killed right in front of her own eyes, and whether she even thought it was a good idea anymore.
"You wouldn't…you won't…" Pettigrew stuttered and gasped at the two men. He scurried over to the younger students. "Ron…haven't I been a good friend…a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you…you're on my side, aren't you?"
Ron looked at the man with absolute disgust, "I let you sleep in my bed!"
"Kind boy…kind master…you won't let them do it…I was your rat…I was a good pet…"
Sirius looked at Pettigrew without mercy, "If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about Peter."
Realizing that Ron wouldn't take his begging, Pettigrew moved to Hermione, "Sweet girl…clever girl…you- you won't let them… Help me…"
Hermione didn't say a single word. She ripped her robes out of Pettigrew's grubby hands and backed away from him. The horrified look on her faced seemed to be a mix of disbelief and revulsion. She hated Pettigrew, but Hermione couldn't be sure if his death was the right outcome. Finally, Pettigrew turned to the last human in the room –Harry.
"Harry… Harry…you look just like your father…just like him…" Pettigrew stammered. Before Harry could even form a response Sirius exploded.
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY? HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?" It was similar to how Sirius responded in the Petrified vision, and Ella couldn't help but agree with his words. This man helped cause the death of both of Harry's parents, then had the audacity to mention them to him while begging for his own life.
Pettigrew seemed to not listen well, "Harry… Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed… James would have understood, Harry…he would have shown me mercy…" Lupin and Sirius grabbed Peter Pettigrew by the arms and dragged him away from Harry.
"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort. Do you deny it?" Sirius asked as he shook with anger. Ella could hear the challenge in his voice. Sirius was mentally daring the rat to deny his crime, but Pettigrew was smarter than he looked, but only just.
"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord…you have no idea…he has weapons you can't imagine…I was scared, Sirius, I was never like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen…He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me –"
"DON'T LIE! YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!" Sirius roared towards the man who already looked like he was ready to wet himself.
"He-he was taking over everywhere!" Pettigrew tried to rationalize. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"
Sirius looked at him with the same disgust Ella was feeling and questioned, "What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed? Only innocent lives, Peter!"
"You don't understand! He would have killed me, Sirius!"
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" Sirius shouted. Ella was surprised he still had a voice left.
Being the opposite of Sirius, Lupin said softly, "You should have realized if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."
Ella closed her eyes hoping that the green blast that would surely arrive soon wouldn't etch itself behind her eyelids for long. She wondered if she should feel guilty about the death. Did she even have a hand in it at this point?
"NO!" Ella's eyes shot open just in time to see Harry move in between Pettigrew and his death. "You can't kill him. You can't." Everyone looked at the third year in shock.
"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents. This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family," Sirius told Harry. Ella cringed herself. She'd need to have a word with him later about putting things more delicately. Sure, his last name was Black, but black and white were not the only ways to present information. Not to mention Harry certainly knew everything Sirius just told him already.
"I know. We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors… He can go to Azkaban…but don't kill him."
Pettigrew threw himself at Harry's feet, "Harry! You –thank you– it's more than I deserve –thank you–"
"Get off me," Harry snarled. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this because –I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers –just for you."
Sirius looked at Harry cautiously and asked if he was sure that this was what he wanted. Harry assured him it was. Lupin quickly bound Pettigrew, and Ella felt her heart begin to tighten. She wasn't sure what the time was, but midnight had to be near. The vision had to be close to happening, and knowing the situation with Lupin, Pettigrew wouldn't be apprehended by these people.
"But if you transform, Peter, we will kill you. You agree, Harry?" Sirius asked to be certain. Harry nodded with his gaze never leaving Pettigrew. Ella was certain that at the first moment Pettigrew would transform.
Ella watched as the group began to leave. She waited for them all to leave the room before exiting her hiding spot. As she moved towards the door, Ella hoped she could prevent what she'd seen, but a sinking feeling in her stomach told her that things were really about to go very, very wrong.
A/N: Things are about to get interesting aren't they? Hope you liked it! Please review :)