Chapter Thirteen: The Hippogriff, Rat and Dog:
Harry was excited as he was going to witness a Hippogriff being hatched. It was a rare thing to witness and Hagrid had set up a place near his hut that she could lay her egg. They would watch from the hut as she would not take kindly if they came close to her at this time. Roughly twenty four hours ago she had laid one egg on the ground and was now watching it keenly. Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the hut as Neville had detention with Snape along with Fred and George. He had been helping them with a prank and had been using a map of the school when he was caught by Snape. He had taken the map and demanded Neville to tell him what he was doing with dung bombs in his pockets. Neville had not said a word but somehow Snape had known who was involved and he had found Fred and George and given them detention right along with Neville.
"I wonder if Snape knows that was a map Neville had?" Harry asked Ron.
"Not sure, doubt it, he had Remus come into the room as he thought it was a dark object." Ron said. "I heard it insulted him or something like that."
"I hope he did find out." Hermione said.
"What why?" Ron said thoughtfully.
"It could be used to defend the school."
"Oh, never thought of that." Ron said.
"Moody is rubbing off on her." Harry said grinning.
"Full moon tonight." Hagrid said as way of greeting. "Best time for a Hippogriff hatching."
"Thank you for letting us come here." Hermione said as Hagrid poured them tea.
"Well what have we here?" Hagrid said pouring Scabbers out of an empty pitcher.
"Scabbers what are you doing here?" Ron said scooping up his rat and putting him into a pocket of his robes. "Mental rat, then again Crookshanks has been trying to eat him."
"Ron he is a rat, cats eat rats, non-magical rats that is." Harry said. "Scabbers is a great pet but not a magical rat."
The teens went to the window and the in the light of the setting sun they watched as the egg hatched with a little help from its mother. The tiny creature managed to stand up within a few minutes and with help from its mother it was dried off quickly. The mother opened her beak and the baby stuck its head into her mouth and had its first meal. Ron found this part hard to watch and so he looked away. Finally the mother lead her baby away into the woods and the children were happy at what they had seen. They thanked Hagrid and headed out of the hut and back to the school. Suddenly a large black dog attacked Ron and Scabbers ran out of Ron's pocket squeaking in terror. Ron ran after him and Harry and Hermione ran after him.
"Let him go!" Harry screamed at the dog.
"Harry come back here!" Hermione cried out.
"Let go of me, help!" Ron shouted.
Everything happened so fast, the dog got Ron and drug him under the whomping willow and into a tunnel Harry knew was there but never had gone through. He knew there was a knot to freeze the tree and after a few times levitating a stick to the tree he got the right knot. He put his invisibility cloak over both himself and Hermione and lead them into the dark tunnel. They went through the tunnel and came into the shrieking shack. They went up a flight of stairs and down the hall to a room they heard voices coming from. Harry removed the cloak and put it in his bag before he motioned Hermione to stand on the other side of the doorway. He counted down quietly and they burst into the room startling the man who stood over Ron.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted causing the man's wand to fly from his hand. "Don't you dare move!"
"Harry?" The tall painfully thin man said looking at Harry. "Harry Potter?"
"No I'm the prince of Wales." Harry snapped. "Yea I am Harry Potter and you are Sirius Black, one question for you Black."
"Why did he betray your parents?" Came the voice of Snape.
Harry did not turn from where he stood, wand pointed at the tall skeletal man. Sirius Black's hair hung past his shoulders and he looked like a man who had not had much to eat for a long time. He was clad in ragged robes that had at one time been fine robes but were threadbare and filthy now. He was barefoot and had a crazed look about him and he growled at Snape who coolly had his wand pointed at Sirius Black. Remus came into the room with his wand out but he was not looking at Sirius or Harry, he was looking at Ron who was grimacing in pain and Harry saw his leg was broken. He looked at the lump that was Scabbers in Ron's pocket his wand pointed at Sirius.
"Show us the rat." Remus said quietly to Ron.
"Let me kill him now!" Snape snarled looking mad as he advanced on Sirius. "Let me make him suffer as we have suffered!"
"Severus I know you have a right to be upset, but we have to know the truth." Remus said. "Besides it is really up to Harry."
"Me?" Harry said his wand still pointed at Sirius. "I want him dead!"
"What does my rat have to do with this?" Ron asked grimacing in pain backing from the two grown wizards.
"Let us see him." Snape said. "I saw with my own eyes Peter Pettigrew on the map."
"You shared the map with him?" Sirius nearly screamed. "Remus how could…"
"Shut up, you are in no position to talk loyalties." Remus said. "At least not yet, please give me Scabbers Ron."
Slowly Ron reached into his robes and removed the rat and handed him over. Remus growled as he looked at the rat and knew it was Peter at once. He put him on the floor and with Snape pointed his wand at Scabbers. A blue light engulfed the rat and at once it grew into a short, plump man clad in graying robes with a balding head. He looked so very rat like as he looked around wringing his hands looking fearful. Harry did not know what was going on, he knew there were things Remus had not be able to say, and this was one of them, if a vow was made where Remus could not speak of his best friends being Animagmus that he understood. If Peter was a rat then that made his father a deer or stag and Sirius would be a dog according to their nicknames that they used.
"We take them up to the castle." Harry said. "We let Moody use Veritaserum on them."
"I am willing to do that." Sirius said hands raised. "I did not betray you."
"You make one wrong move, transform and I will kill you." Snape said.
"Bind them both." Remus said.
"What of Ron?" Hermione said. "He cannot walk with his leg broken."
"I can heal him." Snape said walking over and getting down to check Ron's leg. "I will want him in the hospital wing nonetheless."
"Sir we did not mean to come here." Harry said to the professors. "But Black attacked Ron as we were heading back from Hagrid's hut!"
"I understand." Remus said, "shall we get them back to the castle?"
"Yes, you are lucky to be alive all of you." Snape said. "Still for coming out here…"
"Severus please don't take points." Remus said. "They were just trying to save their friend."
"It was dangerous, ten points each from Harry and Hermione for leaving school grounds." Snape said.
"Right, okay then, five points to each to Harry, Hermione for disarming Sirius and five for Ron for handing over Wormtail. That should be fair enough."
"Yes it is." Severus said.
"I cannot believe you would work with him!" Sirius snarled.
"Be quiet Sirius, you still have much to answer for." Remus said.
"I switched with Peter!" Sirius said. "Why can you not believe me?"
"I have to know for sure, you would do the same, or I would hope you would." Remus said. "Shall we go?"
Both Peter and Sirius were searched and had their hands bound behind them. Snape marched them back through the tunnel and back across the grounds to the school. Harry refused to lower his wand as they headed back into the castle hating both men right now. He was confused and upset and hurt all at once and knew he would not think clear right now. Sensing this Remus had him go with Hermione and Ron to the hospital wing. Ron would need care for his broken leg and Hermione needed care for a fractured collar bone. Harry waited as his friends were healed up and sat cross-legged on a bed thinking.
For all of his life he had believed that in a fit of insanity Sirius Black had betrayed his parents to Voldemort then died in a duel with Peter Pettigrew. Now both wizards were alive and one of them had been hiding as Ron's rat for twelve years! Harry was understandably upset and he wanted to know what was going on. He wondered if Sirius had not betrayed his parents and what if it was Peter? But Peter would not do that, he had helped his friends so much, it was he who came up with the idea of becoming Animagmus so they could be with Remus. He had helped his friends when ever he could why would he of all the marauders betray anyone?
Up in Flitwick's office Fudge was listening to Snape relate how he had found Sirius Black in the shrieking shack with Harry and Hermione pointing their wands at him. Remus filled in stating he had come a minute or two after Snape and helped him turn the rat Scabbers back into Peter Pettigrew. Fudge was impressed with Snape and he listened as Snape suggested Veritaserum to use on both of the men. Fudge looked to Dumbledore who was here and agreed with Snape and Moody brought the Veritaserum in and administered it to both men. Then Dumbledore questioned both men and everyone was shocked when it was revealed that Peter was the secret keeper not Sirius. Back in the hospital wing Harry was getting very worried as there had not been any news for nearly an hour.
"Harry?" Remus said from the doorway and Harry turned to see Remus there with Sirius Black. "Seems we were all focusing on the wrong person, it was Peter Pettigrew who betrayed your parents."
"Peter and I switched, he was the secret keeper." Sirius said unable to look at Harry. "I am so very, very sorry Harry, it's my fault, I trusted him."
"So it was Peter, but why?" Harry asked. "Why would he do that, he always helped others why would he do that?"
"Simple power was more important to him than friendships." Remus said anger in his eyes that turned them for a moment from blue to amber. "Now that I think about it he drove a rift between Sirius and me causing us to doubt each other."
"Stupid git." Ron muttered from where he lay.
"You are Arthur Weasley's son, Ron right?" Sirius said turning to Ron. "I am sorry for your leg, I was trying to get to your rat."
"It's okay, really just a broken leg." Ron said. "So where have you been all this time?"
"Nurmengard actually, I managed to escape but was wounded I must have passed out, when I woke I was in Nurmengard."
"How did you end up there?" Remus asked. "Who put you there?"
"I don't know, but when I find out, well I am not going to be nice." Sirius said grimly.
"It must have been terrible there." Hermione said.
"Not really, use goblins and they are good jailers, they feed their prisoners well and let them have books and such, however they are very smart, they are not easily fooled by anything like Dementors can be."
"So how did you escape?" Harry asked.
"I learned the prison, I had not been charged with a crime, someone was paying to keep me there, I was a very good prisoner. I learned the prison and found a way out via my Animagmus form."
"I am sorry Harry I could not say anything about that." Remus said. "We all made a promise, but that was broken when you saw Peter transformed like he was."
"If you want me I would be happy to be in your life Harry." Sirius said.
"Yes of course, yea I would love that!" Harry said.
"Okay enough talk, you Mr. Black come here!" Poppy said bustling in. "A bath then I will see how you are doing and you stay here tonight!"
Sirius meekly for once obeyed and Harry was extremely happy that Sirius had not betrayed his parents, yet he was very upset that Peter had. His godfather was an innocent man and what is more with Peter arrested and with the trial Sirius Black would be a free man too. It was fitting as the Christmas break was coming up and what could be a better Christmas present for Harry than finding his Godfather was innocent? He smiled and stayed in the hospital wing that night barely able to sleep. The next morning Sirius had to go with the Aurors and the next few weeks involved a spectacular trial of Peter Pettigrew. At the end of it Harry refused to allow the Dementor kiss delivered to Peter. He was not being nice, no in fact he opted for Peter to be hung for his crimes, his way of thinking was Peter would have to face the Supreme God for what he had done. Harry looked forward to having Sirius Black with him at Christmas and he was happy at this wonderful change in his life…
Yea I had to bring back Sirius Black as he is important! He is alive and free and Wormtail is dead and not free. Now I wonder what trouble our dear Sirius Black can get into hmm?