An Unexpected Twist Of Events

The seeds of discord are sown

And the world is upside-down

An innocent man is convicted

For a crime he never committed

While the traitor is free

To do as he please

If only I'm myself again

I promise I'll see justice lain

Amurila, as Skye, flew noiselessly above Sirius's head. He continuously glanced up to assure himself that she was there. Ariel could hardly blame him for being so jumpy and in need of reliable company. After all, his whole world had just collapsed around him.

She remembered the determination in his eyes as he stood up beside James. Some part of her knew, deep inside, that he felt even worse than she did for his best friend. Owls, after all, do not experience feelings, unlike humans. Even owls with a human brain.

They hunted for Peter Pettigrew, having just an inkling of where he might be. And they found him right there, in the middle of a busy road in the heart of Muggle London. He was scurrying along with his head bowed down, while the pair of tiny rat-like eyes darted around, seeking escape should danger suddenly appear. And it did, in the form of his furious former best friends.

With a low growl in his throat, Sirius slipped into the crowd. He tailed Peter, who did not see him until there was a tap on his shoulder. Spinning around with the speed of lightning, Peter gasped.

"I've found you at last," Sirius hissed with such venom in his voice that Peter shrunk away from him. The hollow, haunted look scared him more than anything else.

"Sirius … … how nice to see you again," Peter squeaked, his eyes darting faster.

"Why, you traitorous little rat – " Sirius made a grab for Peter but he dodged and ran off at full speed, Sirius hot on his heels.

Skye tried to help, but her orders were to stay aside so as not to reveal herself. At that moment, she sincerely wished he got the Dementor's Kiss.

Peter suddenly stopped in front of a store and twisted around. Skye landed on the roof of the store, while Sirius skidded to a halt in front of Peter. Evidently, the traitor had a plan in mind.

True enough, "Sirius, how could you do this?" his yell could be heard throughout the street, attracting the Muggles' attention. A few of them began to make their way over.

"What?" Sirius could not believe his ears, "Do what?"

"James, Lily, and Ariel, Sirius! How could you?" Peter appeared to try his absolute best at sounding hysterical.

Sirius let out a soft growl, like the bear-sized dog his Animagus was, "You evil little rat." He went for his wand, but Peter was faster at that, pulling his wand out with a flourish.

"Don't duel with me, Black. I know Dark Magic." Peter muttered softly. He only intended Sirius to hear that, but keen owl hearing caught his words too.

To both Skye and Peter's surprise, Sirius began to laugh maniacally, "And you forget who I am? The House of Black teaches its children Dark Magic since the age of five!"

Peter swore under his breath. He looked momentarily confused. Suddenly pointing his wand at Sirius, he whispered, "Avada Kedevra."

As with all Unforgivable Curses used by those who did not enjoy it enough, the Killing Curse did not work. Sirius jumped back instinctively as the ground before him exploded. He continued his mad laughter, muttering out of the corner of his mouth, "There's a witness above you, Wormtail."

Glancing upwards, Peter recoiled in horror as he saw a familiar white owl perched on the roof. Stooping down, he snatched up a piece of shrapnel and sliced off the middle finger of his left hand. Dropping the finger with a scream of pain, he transformed and dove into the yawning hole created by his ineffective spell.

Skye assessed the scene from her vantage point. Chaos and confusion reigned all around the huge crater of destruction. Muggles were screaming and crying. She counted the dead Muggles. Twelve grotesque bodies laid scattered around, some with body parts flung aside. Another reason to prosecute Peter. She glanced down and was just in time to see a rat disappearing down the sewers.

Her blood boiled as she swooped down in a blur of feathers after the traitorous rat. Unfortunately, she was a bit slow. The last thing she saw was the tail of a rat whipping down a broken sewer pipe. She started to shove debris aside with her beak, trying to follow him, all the while using the foulest words she could think of to curse him in her mind. The traitorous rat!

Only the sound of new arrivals stopped her. Zooming up again, Skye watched as a Hit squad from the Ministry of Magic piled out of a car, which had somehow ended up beside the crater. Some started questioning the hysterical Muggles, while others moved forward cautiously to form a semicircle around Sirius.

To her utter shock, Sirius was still laughing maniacally. But what was strangest was that his laugh had lost the dog-like quality. Instead, it sounded more like… like…

Like Voldemort the day he killed the Potters. A cold, hysterical laugh, though much lower, but still unmistakably like Voldemort's.

What ARE you doing? She screamed over and over again inside her head, willing him to somehow hear her and shut up.

An answer tried to force its way into her muddled brain. He was in shock and he could not make sense. He was just someone suffering from the after effects of being accused as a murderer by his former best friend. Who had escaped, and James and Lily would never be avenged.

But then a voice penetrated her head. An Auror was speaking.

"Sirius Black," a young man declared clearly, his words sending her last hope up in smoke, "you are arrested for being a Death Eater and the brutal slaughter of one wizard and twelve Muggles."