When the full moon arrived it proved to be a miserable one. Remus was horribly ill afterward and I knew it would be a couple of days before he was up and about again. The stone around my neck, the wonderful necklace Remus had given me back in my first year, had turned a pale purple and left me hoping that Hermione had forgotten how it worked.
Defense Against the Dark Arts proved to be miserable as it was Professor Snape who filled in for Remus. He gave us an essay on werewolves, which caused my heart to slam in my chest. The stupid git was trying to out Remus! My dislike of Snape skyrocketed that day to outright hatred. He had done something unforgivable and I wouldn't let it go by unnoticed.
Christmas came and went in a hurry. I had stayed at Hogwarts because Remus was there but other than that very few people remained. It seemed that the thought of Sirius Black was enough to convince parents to bring their children home for the holidays. Of course I couldn't have cared less since my only family was here at Hogwarts anyway.
The return of the students brought a new set of problems. Barely into the second term the whole of Gryffindor house returned to the portrait only to find it empty and slashed to pieces. It took ages to find the Fat Lady only to hear her scream that it was Sirius Black who had attacked her. That night as we lay in the Great Hall I stared at the ceiling feeling as though my blood had turned to ice. Could it be true? Could my father really be a raving maniac, responsible for the death of one of my best mates' family?
The night passed though I got no sleep. The next morning I could barely keep my eyes open and fiercely wished for peace and quiet. I was sorely tempted to sneak down to Remus' room and sleep the day away on the couch. I didn't do so however because I didn't want to have to explain to him why I had skipped class.
Days passed with Ron and Hermione's feud over Crookshanks only getting worse. Harry and I were left to do our best to keep out of it. We weren't that lucky though because Ron's rat went missing and he automatically blamed Crookshanks for it. Ron and Hermione refused to talk to each other and now Harry and I had to play go-between even though they weren't speaking.
Harry and I managed to escape it one afternoon and hid in the library.
"Ah silence! I swear I'm going to go crazy if I have to put up with those two bickering for one more minute."
Harry laughed quietly since we didn't want to incur the wrath of the librarian, Madam Pince. He sighed and glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "Just out of curiosity, do you think Crookshanks killed Scabbers?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I know everything looks like it but something doesn't fit. I mean there's just something strange about this whole thing but I can't put my finger on it."
Harry shrugged; apparently he didn't share my sentiment. After about an hour of hiding out we left the library. It still wasn't all that safe to venture back to the common room but we didn't have a choice because we knew that if we didn't show up they would come looking for us.
Days went by without any sign of them making peace. Honestly, I wanted to smack them both and force them to get over it. I wish I'd known how things would work themselves out but I didn't see it coming and it was the biggest shock ever.
It started with the four of us sneaking across the grounds under Harry's invisibility cloak. It was hard going since the four of us had grown quiet a bit in the last two years. We were sneaking back towards the castle from Hagrid's. We had gone down to try and be there for him when the Ministry came to execute Buckbeak but Hagrid had sent us packing.
As we made our way through the darkness Ron suddenly shot out from under the cloak. He turned around with Scabbers in his hands. The first thing that crossed my mind was that finally he and Hermione would quit their fighting. The relief I felt was short lived as a large black dog suddenly appeared and dragged Ron toward the Whomping Willow.
We rushed forward to save him but only got caught with blows from the tree. After trying to escape the insanity Crookshanks suddenly appeared and pressed a knot on the tree causing the branches to freeze. We fell hard and it was only a moment before the other two flew toward the passageway. I looked at Crookshanks and finally realized what I had been missing. Scabbers was a fake!
I heard someone coming towards me and grabbed up Harry's cloak, stepping out of the path of the branches just in time. I watched as Remus used a stick to push the same knot Crookshanks had and then disappear into the passage. I didn't know what to do. Should I go for help or follow my friends? The whole situation was wrong and I couldn't find the stick to freeze the tree with.
I was about to ask Crookshanks to help when Snape appeared and disappeared down the hole at the base of the tree. I grabbed the opportunity to get through and followed him, still wrapped in Harry's cloak. I arrived at the opening on the other end just as Snape made his presence known. It was then I realized that not only were Ron, Hermione, Harry and Remus in there with Snape so was Sirius Black.
I climbed up keeping myself covered. I watched as Snape began to threaten my father and everything inside me snapped. Before anyone could so much as blink Snape was flying across the room, hit by my stupefy spell. I threw off the cloak and looked at them all. The look on Remus' face nearly broke me but I kept my cool.
"Alright?" I asked the others. They nodded and before I could say more Black was ranting for the rat to change. I had been right Scabbers was no rat.
The spell from Remus' wand caused the supposed pet to turn into a man. I gasped to see Peter Pettigrew, a dead man, standing before us. The fury inside me welled again as Pettigrew begged and pleaded for mercy. This man had robbed Harry of his family and had stolen my father from me. I was more than prepared to curse him to hell when Harry decided that the Ministry would deal with him.
I was slightly relieved that this would finally end and watched as Remus and Harry bound Pettigrew between them. Black and Hermione supported Ron, whose leg was fairly torn up from the dog dragging him. Black used Remus' wand to levitate the unconscious Snape. As we prepared to head down the passage I stopped everyone.
"Wait! There's one more thing we should do before we go." Everyone looked at me in confusion as I pointed my wand at the ground. "Expecto Patronum!" My patronus sprang forward and looked at me expectantly. "Go to the castle and ask Professor Dumbledore to meet us at the Whomping Willow and tell him to hurry."
As the silver creature glided off I nodded and we headed down the tunnel. I walked behind Pettigrew with the tip of my wand pressed to the back of his neck. When we came out the other side I could see the silhouette of Dumbledore and others coming toward us. Pettigrew looked terrified and was looking frantically for a way out. I pressed my wand deeper into his flesh.
"Don't even think about it you scum. I swear that if you even try to transform I'll blast you apart just like they said Sirius did."
He froze and I held my ground. Everything was coming together. I felt relief for the first time that night until the stone against my chest began to burn. My eyes widened in horror and I began fling orders desperately.
"Put Snape down! Hermione get hold of Ron. Dad get over here and put that wand where mine is!" I realized that I had called Black 'dad' but I didn't stop to think.
I grabbed the vial that I always carried with me. I shot the tie from Remus' wrist as the clouds began to part. Dashing in front of him I caught his eyes with mine.
"Did you take your potion? Remus did you take your Wolfsbane?"
I knew from the look on his face that he hadn't and my senses kicked into overdrive. I dropped in a crouch and swept Remus' legs out from under him. I had moments before it was too late and I had to get him to safety. I threw myself onto his chest and poured the contents of the vile down his throat.
I looked up momentarily to see the others staring at me and was relieved to see that Dumbledore had nearly reached them. Pulling Remus to his feet I threw one last look at my father before dropping my wand. I embraced the change as I took my Animagus form. Grasping my wand in my teeth I rushed beneath the branches of the Willow and pressed the knot.
I looked and saw that Remus had managed to follow and watched him go down the hole. I turned back into myself and looked at the others. Dumbledore had Pettigrew captured with no chance of escape. I smiled at them all weakly and shouted, "I'll see you in the morning."
I hurried to follow Remus down the tunnel practically running the length of it. As I climbed out I knew time was running short. I quickly set the wards that would keep others out until morning and once again took the form of the black pup. I whimpered as I watched Remus' painful transformation into his werewolf form. All that was left was to wait for the sun to rise and the new day to begin.