The look on everyone's faces would have been pricelessly funny had the situation not been so serious. So this was him; the man who had killed Lily and James Potter. Because it didn't matter what everyone else in the world thought, Harry and Lucy had heard the story and seen the proof. Sirius was innocent and Peter was a dead man. Peter Pettigrew stood up, clueing in that he was in human form again. He was short and fat with a bald spot on his head. His hair and skin were old and leathery like Scabbers' had been. He was only as tall as Lucy and he was wringing his wrists. He really did look like a rat. He spotted Lupin standing across the room next to Sirius.
"Remus! My old friend, you're here!" he held his arms out in the direction of the werewolf. Sirius raised his wand but Lupin put it back down hastily.
"Not yet, just be patient." He muttered. Peter was backing away from them slowly; his big watery eyes had filled with terror. He pointed a grubby finger at Sirius.
"It's him, Remus! He's come back to kill me like he tried to all those years ago." He gasped. "He killed Lily and James, Remus." Peter backed into the crumbling wall. Sirius rolled his eyes at the fake dramatics. "I've been waiting for this for 12 years. I knew someday he would break out. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks of dark magic and now he's going to finish what he started. Be careful Remus, he's dangerous." Peter continued. Lupin stepped forward, away from Sirius and towards Peter.
"We've been talking Peter and maybe you missed some things while you were struggling to get away. But we know what you did to send Sirius to Azkaban and kill two of your friends." He said, his voice menacing. "We're not going to let you get away with this. Do you understand?" he asked. Peter appeared to be trying to melt through the wall and disappear again. But he didn't have anywhere to turn.
"But…but how did he get out of Azkaban if he didn't use Dark Magic? It's impossible to just leave." Peter stuttered, trying desperately to buy time.
"Dementors can't sense animal emotions very well. I snuck out a dog, it wasn't that difficult. Stop making excuses to keep us from killing you." Sirius barked, becoming more like the dog he had been. Peter shook his head. His whole face went from fear to shock back to fear.
"No," he whispered. He looked around, searching the room and his brain for any further distractions. "Ron!" he cried, striding over to the bed. "Ron you'll save me, won't you? I was such a good pet to you. You're not going to let them do this." He begged. Ron gave him a look of disgust.
"I let you sleep in my bed!" was the only thing he could utter. Peter turned to Hermione instead, realizing these words meant denial. He grabbed the bottoms of her robes.
"Oh smart, clever girl, you wouldn't let this happen to anyone. I'm the innocent one here. Don't let them come near me," he was almost sobbing.
"Get off me! You're disgusting, and you're not innocent!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping back. Peter was running out of saviours. There were only two others that could save him if he was going to be saved at all: Lucy and Harry. The children of the friends that Sirius and Remus were trying to avenge. Peter was still grovelling on his knees. He began whimpering as he reached Harry. He knew that there was hardly a hope left for him. But he still had to try.
"Harry…oh Harry…you look just like your father…just like James."
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO HIM!" Sirius and Lucy shrieked together. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Sirius continued. Peter recoiled at the harsh tones.
"Your father wouldn't want me to die…he would have understood." He said to both Harry and Lucy.
"NEVER TALK ABOUT THEIR FATHER IN FRONT OF THEM!" Sirius exploded, reaching forward to pull Peter back by the shoulders. He and Lupin hoisted him into a standing position. "We're going to kill you right here, you deserve what you're getting." He bared his teeth at Peter, life coming back to his eyes at the thought of murdering the rat-like man. He let go of Peter who tumbled back down to the ground.
"Do you deny selling James and Lily to Voldemort?" Sirius asked, pointing his wand at Peter's chest.
"You don't understand. He was so powerful; he was going to kill me if I didn't tell him where they were. It was so hard, Sirius." Peter whimpered in reply.
"Then you should've died! DIED WHETHER THAN BETRAY THEM! It's what any of us would have done for you!" Sirius jabbed his wand making Peter start nearly crying. It looked pathetic. Sirius was panting now with exertion. "Goodbye Peter." He said.
"Wait!" Harry cried before Sirius and Lupin could even begin to say the curse. "You can't do this!" He stepped around them in front of Peter. "We should bring him up to the castle and let the Dementors kiss him. He can go to Azkaban for what he did." He explained. The two men lowered their wands, liking the idea of having him suffer the Dementors kiss. But others in the room had a different opinion.
"What are you talking about?" Lucy stepped over to stand beside Harry, her face twisted into confusion. "Harry, you're going to let this man live? After everything we've heard tonight and learned about the past, you're going to let him off with a sentence to Azkaban?" she paused, letting the words sink in. Harry nodded. "Harry, listen to me. I've spent my whole life not knowing who I was. I had a loving family and a nice house but then I got my Hogwarts letter and I finally learned about you. I spent a few months looking for you and reading about you in old Daily Prophet articles. And then I did find you and it took weeks for you to come around and realize the truth. Now, tonight, we both learned about the past no one ever knew. I learned that this man is the reason mum and dad are dead. I never knew my real parents and it's his fault." She pointed at Peter, tears slowly filling her eyes.
"In all these months, we've been waiting for Sirius Black to show up so you could get your revenge. Why don't you feel the same hatred against him? You told me you wanted to kill whoever killed our parents. But why does that feeling have to change just because the murderer did? And you," she rounded on Peter. "I hate you. You destroyed a family and all because Voldemort had more power than they did. You just wanted to be liked and have that same sense of superiority. But you're just like the scum and grime that covers these floors: disgusting! I hope they kill you so maybe you can feel even a morsel of what my parents felt when they lost their lives too soon. Except that you've got a reason to die. They were innocent. Harry, they were innocent and now they're gone." Lucy was crying now. Harry leaned down to hug her tightly.
He hadn't realized how hard it had been on her. All the days he'd been awaiting a letter from Carol Harrington, she'd been waiting for his love and care. She'd just been waiting for the family she never knew. But somehow, he felt like killing wasn't the answer. She did have truth in her words; Harry's feelings of murder had changed tonight but not because it was Peter instead of Sirius. She'd also been right about learning so much in so little time. This was why he had changed his mind.
"Lucy, I'm sorry. I just don't think our mum and dad would have wanted their two friends to become killers. Peter isn't worth that either." He reasoned. Lucy looked up at him, tears still streaming down her face, soaking the front of her sweater. She recomposed herself.
"Harry, do whatever you feel is needed. I trust you," she said. They hugged again. When they let go of one another, Harry turned to face Peter. "I hope you're not too scared of Dementors, because that's where you're headed." He said. Lupin and Sirius smiled at the two kids with respect for the decision that had been made. Lupin bound and gagged Peter so he wouldn't escape. He also strapped Ron's leg for the trip up to the castle. He could get the bones fixed at the Hospital Wing later.
"What about Professor Snape?" Hermione asked. At first, Sirius looked reluctant to come up with a plan. He would rather just leave him in the rotting shack.
"Mobilicorpus," he muttered and Snape floated into a standing position, his head still slumped forward. Sirius also conjured chains to attach to Peter and two lucky volunteers (Ron and Lupin) so he couldn't escape even if he dared try.
"If you transform, we'll kill you. There'll be no second choice or chance for you." Sirius growled in the Animagus' ear. Peter nodded; sweat began to form in droplets at his forehead. The strange group headed back down to the tunnel. Harry, Lucy and Sirius led the group with Snape hovering a few feet in front of them. Hermione came next with Crookshanks at her heels, followed by Ron, Lupin, and Peter in between them. The Whomping Willow was still motionless when they arrived at the end. It was late evening now and the sky was dark. Black clouds covered the skies but the castle stood out gloriously. Sirius walked towards it, a look of happiness and life returning to his eyes. Harry followed him and Lucy had the urge to do the same. But Sirius was Harry's godfather, they deserved a moment.
So, instead, Lucy helped Hermione and Lupin ease Ron onto the ground. Lupin carefully lifted the bottom of Ron's pant leg to examine the bite marks. They weren't too deep but blood caked his shin and knee. Lucy looked away, concentrating on the starless sky above. Clouds were beginning to shift and a sliver of moon began to show. Its light fell directly onto Lucy's face as she felt a lone tear make its way down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly knowing it wasn't that she was sad or scared. She was just over-whelmed.
"Professor?" Hermione whimpered making Lucy turn to face them again. Hermione was pointing up to where Lucy's eyes had been staring. The sliver of moon had grown to reveal the entirety of the planet. Lucy and Hermione let out identical squeals. Sirius and Harry whipped around quickly to see what the trouble was. Harry followed the groups gaze to the sky and immediately felt cold panic sweep through him although he wasn't sure why for a minute. Sirius realized what was happening before it had barely even happened.
"Remus, your potion…? Did you take it?" he asked, rushing over. But Lupin was unable to respond. He was clutching at his chest as if in pain. Suddenly his feet began protruding from his shoes and his clothes began to rip and tear. He started growing hair all over his body while his face contorted into that of a wolf. He had, evidently, not taken his potion. Before long, and with many growls and howls from Lupin, he was completely transformed into a werewolf by the light of the full moon.
Lupin let out an ear-splitting howl at the moon. Harry hurried over to his friends, standing close to Hermione and Lucy. Ron's face was pale with fear and the pain in his leg. Sirius transformed into a dog and jumped at Lupin. He was trying to keep him away from the students. There was many growling and yelping from the two animals as they bit and tore at each other but not really doing any harm. Lupin whipped Sirius off of his chest and grabbed him by the back with his large teeth. Sirius was flung off into the bush where he lay motionless.
"SIRIUS!" Harry cried without thinking. The werewolf's attention was turned towards them. Lucy was frozen in fear and she gripped the back of Harry's robes as tightly as she could. Tears stained her cheeks but didn't blur her vision as the werewolf made its way cautiously over. He sniffed at them, deciding whether or not they were friends or enemies.
They heard a deep growl coming from the back of his throat indicating that he had decided they were enemies. Lucy closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain of the claws and teeth.
"Stupefy!" A burst of red light hit Lupin in the back and he was knocked over. Snape was standing up, having recovered from his own stunning, and was taking careful aim at the beast. "Stupefy!" He shouted again as Lupin attempted to stand. But the spells weren't enough for the enormous wolf and still he turned to face the four students who were unable to move.
"Harry," Lucy whispered.
"It's okay, I'm here. We're fine," he reassured her but his words were empty. He feared it was the end and he would be eaten by his favourite teacher. They heard a howl coming not from the werewolf in front of them, but from off in the distance. Lupin turned his head to face the forest and bounded off in the direction of the trees. Lucy was clutching at Harry's arm in a mixture of relief and terror.
"Stay where you are, Potter." Snape had his wand pointing at Sirius's form which had begun to stir. He was bleeding from a gash in his neck and limping slightly. The dog walked towards Snape, then realized there was a wand pointed straight at him and he bolted away in the direction that Lupin had gone. Snape strode off to follow him but Hermione pointed her wand at his back and muttered 'Petrificus Totalus.' Snape froze where he was.
"Where's Pettigrew?" Ron asked, looking around. They'd been abandoned by every adult that hadn't been a murderous man only to find the one they really needed had vanished. A pile of clothes lay at the base of the Whomping Willow. "He must have transformed when we were all focusing on Professor Lupin," he commented. Lucy's heart sank and by the look of Harry's face, so had his. They weren't going to be able to avenge their parents when they didn't have the man that had done the awful deed in the first place.
Suddenly, they heard a whimpering noise coming from not too far off. It sounded like a dog and Harry suspected the worst. 'Sirius,' he murmured then took off at a run. "Stay with Ron!" He yelled at the others as he searched left and right for his godfather. He heard footsteps coming up behind him and turned to see Lucy with her wand raised.
"I'm helping you," she demanded and Harry didn't have the energy or time to argue. The whimpering came again and the siblings headed towards the lake. It was getting colder as they dodged trees and jumped over fallen branches. When they arrived at the lake edge, Sirius had transformed back into a human and lay quite still in the grass. Above him, hundreds of Dementors swarmed the skies. Harry pulled out his wand, the feeling of hopelessness stealing over him already. Behind him, Lucy whimpered like Sirius had.
"Think of something happy, Lucy. Do what I do, and think of something happy." He thought of Sirius and living with him, of leaving the Dursley's. "Expecto Patronum!" He shouted but nothing happened. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" He thought harder of becoming a family with Sirius and Lucy. "Come on, Lucy, something happy."
"Expecto Patronum," she tried but she had the same results as her brother. Her thoughts went from him, to her parents, to knowing the truth, and even lingered on her adopted family. Meanwhile, Harry's wand was emitting silvery wisps of fog. One of the Dementors deflected away from them. Lucy felt her knees get weak and everything was cold. "Harry?" she called out but he didn't hear her. She collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face as she watched her brother try to rescue them.
All of a sudden a burst of white light erupted from the other side of the lake. She saw Harry freeze where he was, unable to conjure any more silver fog. The white light transformed into forms of animals. Lucy could just make out what looked like a stag and a dog. They ran at the Dementors and made Lucy feel safer; happier; like she was surrounded by angels. Harry fell to his knees as if he was praying.
"Look, its dad." She barely heard him say. "The stag is dad. And that dog… it's a wolfhound, like Sirius. They're saving us," And with that moment of delusional hope, Harry fell over just as Lucy became unconscious, the imprints of the Wolfhound and Stag still engraved in her eyelids.