Chapter Twelve:

Hunting The Rat

A ghost, a witch, and a zombie stood before me. I knew what they wanted.

"Here you go. Nice costume, sweetie." I said, dispensing candy into the muggle children`s bags.

"Thanks!" said the little witch.

Closing the front door, I heard a crash from the living room. Summoning my wand, I ran in, ready to fight.

The carpet in front of the fireplace was covered in soot. On the floor were a small shelf and the remains of an archaic lamp that one of my brothers had once given me. Naturally, underneath it all laid my currently slightly scruffy-looking best friend.

"What are you doing?" Hauling Melody out of the debris, I restrained my laughter when I saw the expression on her face. Pure terror, with a hint of insanity. Mel was breathing raggedly, like she had just run a long way. Had she finally gone mad?

"Lily….James…"She managed to gasp.

"What?!"

"He found them. They`re dead. Lily and James are dead. Someone betrayed them. They`re gone. And Harry…" I sat down on the couch, my head in my hands. Lily, compassionate Lily, dead? And James, days away from seeing his best friend get married, was gone too? No…No….And Harry too?

"Harry …. Harry survived. Something happened. He-who-shall-not-be-named tried to kill Harry too, but something happened and it killed Him instead. He`s gone!" Melody said, shouting the last part zealously.

"W-who betrayed them?" I asked shakily.

"That`s the thing. The only one who could have was the secret-keeper. I`m sorry Mattie. I couldn't believe Siriu-"

"No. It wasn't him. I know it wasn't. It couldn't have been. Come on," I said, getting up and pulling Melody from over to the fireplace. "We`re going to the Potter`s."

I took some floo powder from the jar on the mantle. "Why?" Melody asked.

"Because, that`s the first place Sirius will go when he hears James is dead." I pressed a handful of powder into her hand and said, "See you there?"

She nodded and I threw my handful of powder into the flames, which turned green. Stepping in, I shouted loud enough to wake people in India, "Godric's Hollow!"

The sitting room I landed in was cozy, and I felt bad for getting soot all over it, but I couldn`t stop to help clean up. "Hello Bathilda. I`m sorry about intruding, but Melody and I have to do something really important; I`ll explain later, maybe over tea someday, but I can't right now, sorry."

The old witch was just recovering from the shock of my appearance when Melody tumbled out of the flames. She never was very good at traveling through the floo network. "Hi Bathilda!"

"Is this about the Potters?" Bathilda asked as Mel and I opened the door and the cool breeze hit us. I froze.

"Yes." Melody said her voice barely above a whisper.

"Good luck. Be safe."

"Thanks." I said, my voice cracking, as I left. Melody saluted as she closed the door behind us. Under any other conditions, I would have laughed at my friend`s antics, but instead it just kept me from breaking down and crying.

We hurried down the street, probably looking like escaped mental patients, and finally halted in front of the Potter`s home, or what remained of it, anyway. The Fidelius Charm was broken. The once-quaint cottage was in shambles, and there was a large hole in a part of the roof.

"Whoa. Those are awesome decorations." A robot said to his vampire companion.

"I bet they have good candy." The vampire said as he opened the gate.

"Hold it!" Melody jumped in front of the vampire-wannabe. "We`re not finished decorating yet! We take this holiday very seriously. We did just come from putting the finishing touches on the haunted cemetery, if you want to check that out."

"Thanks, lady!" The robot yelled behind him as they took off for the cemetery.

I cast a charm on the house so muggles wouldn't be able to see it, and we tentatively opened the front door. Nothing Mel had told me could have prepared me for what I saw in the front hall.

James` body lay on the floor, his glasses askew. Sirius sat on the floor next to his dead best friend, head tilted down so his long hair covered his face. His shoulders were shaking.

I ran over and hugged him. He looked up at me. His eyes were red and wet.

"Where is Harry? Is he…?" Melody`s hushed voice broke through the silence.

Sirius swallowed. "Hagrid came to get him. Dumbledore is going to protect him. He has a plan, naturally."

"Of course."

"How…How`d He find them?" I asked.

Sirius looked up, his eyes hollow with loss. "It`s all my fault."

No. I refused to believe that.

"You would never betray James! You couldn't have done it on purpose… what happened?"

"Well….they made me their secret-keeper, but a few days ago I suggested they switch it to Peter. When I heard about….this…..I immediately went to Peter`s safe house. He`s gone."

Sirius swore, and I was ready to rip Pettigrew`s beady little eyes out of their sockets.

That was the first time since we were in school that Sirius hadn't used Peter`s nickname. "Did he…No…..Peter is…but… HOW COULD HE DO THAT!?" I punched the wall.

"Whoa…calm down, Mattie." Melody stopped me from swinging again.

"I`m going to kill him." Sirius said darkly, his tone eerily calm and quiet.

"Let`s go right now. We can find him, and avenge Lily and James` deaths. He`ll rot in Azkaban."

"No. I`m going to kill him. Alone."

"Then you`ll be put in jail for murder." I said my voice rising, "You`re not doing this alone, Sirius Black. They were our friends too!" Shakily, I brushed the plaster from my fist before continuing. "We want him dead too!"

"Maybe…the Death Eaters might have gotten to him and forced him to tell." Melody said quietly.

"Everyone thought I was the secret-keeper, Mel. They had no reason to go for him."

Sirius picked up a toy broomstick from the floor. "Do you know where he might be?" I asked.

He closed his eyes. "London." Sirius said. "He`s probably hiding among all the muggles, the cowardly little rat."

"Probably near Diagon Ally too, to keep an ear to the ground for trouble." Melody said.

"Let`s split up. Mattie, you and Mel look in Diagon and Knockturn Alley and I`ll check the surrounding areas."

"We`re not splitting up!" I protested.

"We`ll be able to find him faster." Melody reminded me.

"Fine." I looked at Sirius. "Don`t do anything rash, alright? Be safe."

"I will. You too. See you guys later." He quickly kissed me before appariting off.

Liar. But there was no time to do anything else but nod as he disappeared.

"What`s th-"

"Shh, Mel, get back!" I whispered frantically as I flattened myself against the brick wall next to Borgin and Burkes. Bellatrix Lestrange was standing outside of one of the shops, torturing someone. "The boy beat him someho-AHHRGG!" "YOU LIE. NO CHILD COULD DEFEAT THE DARK LORD! TELL ME THE TRUTH!" She shrieked her voice as cold as the wind. "I don't know! That`s all I-"

"Immobulus!" I cried, stopping Bellatrix from giving her victim another dose of pain. The wizard scampered off as she freed herself.

Bellatrix cackled at the sight of us. "How`s my cousin? Word around town says he finally joined the right cause."

"He`d never become one of you." I said coldly.

"Protective, are we? Oh, yes, I forgot, you`re his little fiancé. You know, you didn`t invite his favorite cousin to your wedding. Maybe I`ll just have to crash the party!" She tried to get me with a Cruciatus Curse, but I dodged it.

"If you so much as-" Bellatrix cut me off by unexpectedly shooting a curse at me, and it narrowly missed my elbow.

I fired one back, but she was ready. She countered it and before I could react, she stunned me.

No…no…

"Crucio!"

I knew it was over, and her laughter taunted me as I fell, unable to move or defend myself, on the cold stone of Knockturn Alley. Pain shot all though my body, and I heard a horrible sound echoing off the tall buildings. I realized that it was coming from me.

"Leave her alone. She`s got a wedding in a few days." Melody said, surprising Bellatrix and making her lose her concentration by hexing her. I shakily got to my feet.

"I`ll kill you both, you stupid half-blood!"

Mel`s determination gave me strength, and I almost smiled as she said, "Not if I can do anything about it. Furthermore, I`m only stupid if not being afraid of you makes me stupid. Which I`m pretty sure it doesn't."

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes and pointed her wand at me, shouting, "Avada Kedavra!"

My wand lay on the ground, and I was defenseless as the green light burst from her wand. I shut my eyes, waiting for the end. I heard the sound of a body falling to the ground, but it wasn't mine.

I opened my eyes and saw my best friend lying still on the street, the fear and resolve from her last act of bravery still frozen on her face. Bellatrix cackled. Voices echoed in the alley behind me, and sneering, she apparited off with a pop as two wizards from the Ministry Of Magic rounded the corner.

I fell next to Mel. Her eyes stared off into a place I could not follow, and I knew she must have jumped in front of me and intersected the curse.

"What happened here?" one of the wizards said behind me in an official manner.

I closed my eyes to try to stop the tears, but it was too late. One fell on Melody`s cheek, cleaning the soot in its wake as I whispered, "Bellatrix Lestrange."

"I`m sorry." The second wizard said. I opened my eyes to see him conjuring a stretcher and levitating my friend onto it. "We have to take her to St. Mungo's for an autopsy. Procedure."

I didn't want to leave Melody, but I had to find Sirius and tell him…and see if he was okay. "I`ll be right back. Don`t move her yet." I ran off to The Leaky Cauldron, almost tripping over a cat, and through it to Muggle London.

The streets were not as busy as they usually were. There was about ten or so people walking down the street, due to the fact that it was pretty late, even though it was Halloween. I ran down the sidewalk, desperately looking for the Sirius or Peter.

"I TRUSTED YOU, SIRIUS! THEY TRUSTED YOU!" I heard the distinct cry of Peter Pettigrew come from somewhere to my left. I sprinted in the direction of the voices until, nearly out of breath, I found them.

Peter Pettigrew was not the same person now as the boy that was part of the greatest and most elite group of boys to ever walk the halls of Hogwarts. His hair, once short and golden-brown, was now stringy and was a scruffy off-blond. His wand hand twitched slightly as one of his ex-best friends advanced a step towards him. Sirius` back was to me, but I could tell from Peter`s expression that he certainly wasn't smiling. The two men stood about five feet from each other, Peter standing with one foot on top of the drainage vent and one foot on the side walk and Sirius standing in the middle of the road. Sirius had only known for a few hours, but from the look in Peter`s eyes, I could tell Peter had been dreading this inevitable encounter for at least a day.

How could he? The question hung in the air, and I knew Sirius was thinking it too.

"I never imagined it would be you. Honestly, for a while I thought it was Moony. I should have known you craved a higher power." Sirius`s voice was low, quiet enough that the few muggles around couldn't hear, but Peter and I could.

"Don`t do it, Si. You`ll only get yourself into a mess. The Ministry is coming; I just left them in Diagon Alley with Mel." My voice cracked as I said her name. "She`s dead. We ran into Bellatrix while looking for him and….she killed her. It`s my fault. She was aiming for me." My vision blurred a bit, and I walked up and took Sirius` hand. He squeezed my hand hard as he looked down for a moment before returning his unwavering gaze to Peter.

"How many deaths will you cause before the day is over!?" Sirius growled. "I won`t kill you, but mark my words, I will see to it that you will pay the price for what did to them! I 'solemnly swear'!" he spat out.

Peter hesitated, then shouted, "LILY AND JAMES, SIRIUS! HOW COULD YOU? I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND! THEY THOUGHT YOU WERE THEIR FRIEND!"

His voice echoed down the street, and the muggles turned and stared.

"How could you just stand there and lie like that? After all you`ve done, at least have the decency to tell the truth! Are you really such a coward?" I gasped in disbelief. I felt Sirius simmering with fury, hate rolling off his skin like steam.

"YOU BETRAYED YOUR BEST MATE TO THE DARK LORD! EVEN YOU'RE GODSON! POOR LILY AND JAMES!" Sirius clenched his teeth and pulled out his wand. I tried to hold him back as Peter cried more accusations.

Suddenly, Peter whipped out his own wand. Seeing him turn to Sirius, I projected a shield charm around him just as Peter flicked his wand at the buildings behind him and did some dark spell causing the street to explode.

Debris flew everywhere. Sirius` hand lost mine, and I stumbled, wand out, looking in vain for the man who killed the Potters. Some bricks fell from the buildings above, and they pelted me and the others on the street as they fell. Several streaks of coloured light cut through the smoke. I got down, ducking from the spells and rubble flying through the air.

When the smoke cleared (literally), Sirius was the only person on the entire street standing. The muggles were either unconscious or dead, because they all lay unmoving. I was underneath a restaurant `s awning, which was ripped, singed, and thoroughly disheveled. Peter was gone.

"He`s insane. He blew himself up." I said in amazement.

"No." Sirius chuckled darkly. "He must have cut off his finger and made a break for it. Otherwise, how would this have been cut off so cleanly?" he knelt and inspected what was apparently the finger of Peter Pettigrew.

I walked unsteadily over. It was indeed too clean a cut to have been done by self-combustion. "Look. He was standing on a drainage vent. Do you think…?"

"…That he cut off his finger, transformed, and crawled into the sewer like the filthy rat he is? Definitely."

"We have to go after him!"

Sirius laughed, reminding me of his ghastly cousin. "We can't, don't you see? It was part of his plan all along. Betraying the Potters, leading me here, yelling all that so the muggles could hear and blowing up the street so he could get away, framing me…."

The laughter grew louder. He was hysterical. It was hard to distinguish between the sobs and his laughter anymore.

"We have to get out of here then! I`ll go back to the Ministry workers with Mel and you have to run! I`ll tell them the truth."

"There is no way they`ll believe you. Too many muggle witnesses. Save yourself, Mattie. Run while you can, go back to Diagon and forget about Wormtail. There`s no use trying to catch him now, not with the millions of rats in the sewers for him to hide with."

"I`m not leaving you! I love you!" I wiped some tears

"I know." He said kissing me, as we both held on to all we had left. Whispering, he added into my ear, "Which is why I have to do this."

Before I could pull away to react, he stunned, and then cast a dissolution charm on me.

If I could have, I would have been shouting at him. Pleading, cursing, or trying any con in the book that would have made him stop.

"Turns out he was much more smart than anyone ever gave him credit for," Sirius mumbled to himself, "Whoever though one day little Peter Pettigrew would outsmart Sirius Black? I certainly would have never taken those odds."

The madness continued, echoing off all the empty streets of the empty world.