Diary of a Discovered Girl
by Ash-Caro-Lynn

Chapter IX : Of Willows and Wolves

"AH!" I screamed, rolling to the side as the tree thrashed at me. "This is not working!"

I frowned as Hermione seemed to fly by – fly by?

Sweet Merlin, she was actually holding on to the tree branch. "Grab on!" she exclaimed as she passed Harry, holding down a hand. He seized it, and she pulled him onto the branch as it swung by and threw them into the tree.

I was alone out here now, flat against the ground about halfway towards the trunk of a tree that was trying to kill me.

I cast a glance at the trunk, and back out at the open grounds, and made my choice.

"I'm an idiot," I mumbled, rolling and tucking my body as close as possible as I steadily progressed, wincing as the thick branches cut my exposed skin and only grew more violent.

"Willow?!" I could hear Hermione's frantic voice from within the tree.

"I'm alright!" I called back, letting out a scream as a branch narrowly grazed my right shoulder.

Alright? I was bleeding in several places, and would bruise in others – but I was almost there!

I heard shouting from deeper within the tree, though I couldn't make out the words. Panicking, I let my guard slip and a branch whipped my back as I managed to slip myself through into the opening at the bottom of the tree.

"Harry? Hermione?" I called out, following the barely distinguishable voices.

"Don't come any further!" shouted Harry. I frowned, stopping outside the door from which the voices were coming from, pressing my ear against it to try and make out the conversation.

"You betrayed them!" Harry. That was Harry – who was he talking to?

"No, it wasn't me... I can explain!" I recognized that voice – who was it?

A traitor... chained for twelve years...

"Who's there?!" I heard a voice ask from further up the tunnel – the way we had came. I felt my shoulders sag with relief.

"Professor Lupin, we're down here!" I called. He approached, turning the corner with his wand out.

"Where are the others?" he demanded. I gulped.

"In there," I replied, pointing to the door. "But there's someone else-"

"PROFESSOR! HELP! SIRIUS BLACK!" screamed Hermione.

He crossed the hall, throwing the door open. I gasped, getting my first glimpse of the man imprisoned for twelve years – he looked truly deranged, his cheeks bony and eyes sunken.

"Remus!" he exclaimed.

"It was you," snarled Lupin. "You betrayed them, you went after Pettigrew- unless- you switched without-"

The two stared at each other before suddenly embracing. I gasped.

"You- you've been helping him?" I asked, eyes wide as they looked between the two. "I – I trusted you."

"Holly, I can explain-"

"Holly?" repeated Hermione. I breathed a deep sigh, Professor Lupin pinched the bridge of his nose, and Black stared at me.

"Hermione, we've got more important things to focus on right now," I replied calmly as I could manage while standing in the same room as a man who had been responsible for my parents' deaths.

"He's an Animagus!" Ron exclaimed. I frowned, whipping around to see him sprawled on a four poster bed in the room, his leg bent at a painful looking angle.

"H-he..." I stammered, my eyes darting around the room. "No, I... you were the dog..."

"Holly, I can explain-"

I whipped my wand out, advancing with a glare. "Talk fast."

"James and Lily were using the Fidelius charm-" he started.

"The Fidelius charm – you were their Secret Keeper, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was – at first, then I was worried-"

"Worried about what?" I snarled.

"About the fact that it would be obvious, so I suggested we swap to someone else – someone less obvious-"

"Peter Pettigrew," supplied Professor Lupin.

"Peter Pettigrew?" I repeated. "But isn't he-"

"Dead? That's what I thought," he replied, "but he isn't – in fact, he is in this very room."

"In this very-" I gasped. "It wasn't just you – the rat – Scabbers-"

I could manage nothing but broken English as my mind sped, all of the pieces of the puzzle clicking together.

"He's missing a finger, your rat, Ron, isn't he?" said Black.. Ron frowned.

"Yeah, he is – but how did you know that?"

"Because all they found of Peter Pettigrew was a finger," replied Harry breathlessly. "I don't believe it – it's been him all along."

"Let's kill him!" exclaimed Black. I whipped around, staring at him with wide eyes.

"No way," replied Ron. "I'm – I'm not letting you kill Scabbers! He's – you must be mixed up-"

"Then let's prove it," responded Professor Lupin. "This won't hurt him if he really is a rat, Ron, I promise."

Ron whimpered as he handed over the rat, who was wriggling and struggling to escape.

Both Black and Professor Lupin pointed their wands at him, and blue and white lights enclosed around Scabbers, spinning him around and around as he gradually grew. I closed my eyes, unable to watch the gross transformation as he was changed from a rodent to a person.

A person by the name of Peter Pettigrew.

"R-Remus... Sirius... my old friends!" he exclaimed, throwing himself at their feet. "So g-good to see you again!"

I watched the man with disdain – he even looked rat-like in human form, with receding blond hair and watery blue eyes.

"How dare you call us friends?" spat Black. "After what you did to James and Lily?"
"J-James and Lily... you don't understand! He was going to kill me! What would you have done?"

"I would have died!" he cried. "Died, rather than betrayed my friends – did you even think to give your life to spare theirs? Or consider Harry and Holly?"

I leaned back against the wall as a headache came on, the throbbing pain brought on by my thoughts.

A traitor... chained for twelve years...

It wasn't literal chains that were holding Pettigrew back from rejoining his master.

He had been chained by himself.

He had been in all of those memories – always on the sidelines, on the outside looking in.

How had I not even noticed that he was the only constant factor? Sirius hadn't appeared in all of those dreams.

"I should kill you-"

"Don't," I said – barely a whisper, but everyone turned to stare at me. "Don't – my parents wouldn't have wanted you to become a murderer, would they? Can't it wait?" I took a shuddering breath. "If we want to prove that he's alive, he'll need to be alive."

"Sirius, listen to her, she has a point," added Professor Lupin. "We should take him up to the castle."

"Oh, thank you!" exclaimed Pettigrew. I raised an eyebrow, bewildered. "You're so much like your mother – she was so kind-"

"Stop," I snapped. "I didn't do this for you. I did this so an innocent man wouldn't be imprisoned for twelve more years... Harry?"

"Yeah?" he replied, looking up.

"I think my Inner Eye needs glasses."

He laughed weakly. "I think Hermione deserves an explanation."

I sighed. "Let's get out of here first – how are we getting him out, anyway?" I looked to Professor Lupin and Black, the former of which pulled out his wand.

"Let's chain him to us," he advised, and Black nodded, the two of them standing on either side of the traitor before conjured chains from his wand trapped him between them.

"Ron, can you walk?" I asked concernedly. He shook his head, and I beckoned Harry over to help me get him up.

"Are you sure you can hold him up?" he asked concernedly, taking in my appearance with a frown. I bit my lip, feeling the pain of the cuts and bruises now that the adrenaline had run dry. "Hermione, help me get him up?"

The two worked together to quickly lift Ron from the bed, supporting his weight in between them. I smiled weakly, taking in the seven of us – Pettigrew, Black, Professor Lupin, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I.

"Well, we certainly make an odd group, don't we?"

"What is he doing?" I mumbled, seeing Pettigrew start to shrink. "Professor Lupin!"

"I – damn it!" he cursed, as Pettigrew morphed into rat form. "He must have taken a wand-"

Sirius gave chase, but our small spectacle had attracted an audience.

Namely, the Dementors.

"No..." I mumbled as the cloaked figures chased the two into the forest. "Harry… I can't run that fast..."

He nodded, and we swapped places, Ron's arm slung over my shoulder as he raced after Sirius and Pettigrew, Professor Lupin not far behind.

"We've got to get you up to the Hospital Wing, Ron," I mumbled. He started to protest, but I wouldn't hear any of it. "They'll… they'll be alright."

I could only hope.

"Ow," I hissed, gritting my teeth as Madam Pomfrey continued to wrap me in so many bandages I could pass for an Egyptian mummy. "I'm… done, right?"

She clucked her tongue. "For now," she replied. "Don't you dare move from that hospital bed."

I gulped, looking around the room. "D-do you think they're alright out there, 'Mione?"

"I don't know," she replied worriedly. "You know… we could check."

"Check?" I repeated. "Didn't Madam Pomfrey say not to move?"

"Well..." she replied, her hand fingering the gold chain around her neck. I gasped.

"You're suggesting… that..."

"Think about it!" she exclaimed. "Buckbeak – we could save him – Pettigrew – we could catch him-"

"I'm not protesting," I replied. "I'm in shock – who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?"

"I'm Hermione, and I've given myself a reason to use my ability to change the past," she replied determinedly. "You can walk, can't you?"

"Yes," I replied. "It's about… say… midnight now, and Buckbeak's execution was at nine thirty..."

"Three turns should do it," she replied, slipping the Time Turner around our necks.

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three!"

"Where were we at nine o'clock?" I whispered.

"We were going outside," she replied, and we quickly raced through the castle, ensuring nobody would see us.

"And – there we are," I mumbled. "We just went out the wrong door, didn't we?"

"Yes, we did," agreed Hermione, shaking her head. "Is – is that Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle?"

I frowned, looking in the direction she was pointing before nodding. "He's – damn, he's turning around."

"Ah, hello!" exclaimed Malfoy. "Come to watch the show?"

Of course. Of course he would be happy about this. I looked to Hermione, expecting her to ignore him and walk away, but instead, she whipped out her wand and advanced on him.

"You!" she exclaimed. "You foul, onion-eyed maggot pie!"

I raised an eyebrow at her choice of insult as she held her wand to his throat, him whimpering pathetically.

"Don't, Hermione!" I called. "He's not worth it!"
She scowled, but lowered her wand. Malfoy and his cronies sniggered, before she whipped around, her fist meeting his face with a loud crack. I gasped, holding a hand over my mouth in silent amazement as the three Slytherins raced back up towards the castle.

"Woah!" I exclaimed. "That was like – the most badass thing I've ever seen – it was just all of this pent up aggression and, like, rawr!"

She grinned. "That felt good."

"You totally blew our cover, though," I added. "After all, I have no clue where we are now – probably to Hagrid's hut."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, what are we waiting for? Come on, then!"

We raced across the grounds, hiding behind the large pumpkins in Hagrid's garden for cover as we made our way over to Buckbeak.

"Poor thing," I mused, bowing low to the hippogriff. He bowed back. "Alright, let's – can we get you out of here?"

"No, we can't," replied Hermione. "If we do, they'll think it was Hagrid – we have to make sure the execution party sees him!"

I frowned as Dumbledore; the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge; and the black-clad executioner carrying a large ax approached. "We're still in there, aren't we?" I looked through the window, seeing my past self pick up Pettigrew – or Scabbers, rather. "Why did we leave again?"

Hermione frowned, picking up a stone. "We left 'cause Harry had a rock thrown at his head."

"Can I?" I asked hopefully. "You got to punch Malfoy."

She rolled her eyes, handing me the stone, which I chucked at my brother's head with unnecessary force and ducking down behind the pumpkin as he looked out the window, rubbing the back of his head.

"Now, they leave," I whispered as the four of us disappeared out the back door of Hagrid's hut. "They come along – have they sighted Buckbeak, 'Mione?"

"Yeah, I think so," she replied, frowning. "They're taking a moment to… admire the scenery?"

"Lovely coincidence," I replied. "Come on, Buckbeak… there's a good hippogriff..."

I looped his chain around my hand, tugging him into the forest and trying to be gentle while I was internally panicking and trying to move as quickly as possible.

Hermione and I walked into the forest with Buckbeak, moving quickly so we could get the hippogriff out of their sight before he was executed.

"Alright, here we go," I mumbled as we came out in a clearing. "I-I think we're good."

"Let's go, then," replied Hermione, and we dashed through the forest as quietly as we could.

"I see us!" I whispered, pointing to the three figures dashing across the grounds after Ron, Sirius and Pettigrew. Hermione winced.

"Does my hair really look that bad from the back?" I shushed her.

"Concentrate!" I replied. "So… the two of you go into the tree here..."

"You're talented," mused Hermione aloud, watching as I rolled around deftly under the branches. "Alright, so you go in here – then what happens?"

"A moment or two passes, and then Professor Lupin comes along," I replied. "See – there he is!"

I frowned, watching him pick up a fallen branch, using it to touch the trunk of the tree.

"Of course," mumbled Hermione. "Of course there's a knot of the tree you can touch that we didn't know about that he knows about – oh my goodness."

"What?" I asked.

"H-he's a werewolf," she replied. I frowned. "Remember his absences – once every four weeks, every twenty-eight days, just as there's a full moon every twenty-eight days?"

"How he always looked sick a week every month – I thought he was genuinely ill, but it must have been lycanthropy… Merlin..." I shook my head. "How do you reckon he knew about the Whomping Willow, then?"

"He went to Hogwarts, didn't he?" replied Hermione. "And – they must have had someplace-"

"So you're saying that the tunnel we went through was where he had his transformations?" I asked. She nodded. "Oh, goodness, is it a full moon tonight?"

"Not until Sunday," she replied. "A relief, too."

"Yeah," I replied. "Imagine Pettigrew getting away while Lupin transformed into a werewolf… goodness… speaking of which, how long did we spend in there getting an explanation?"

"A while," answered Hermione. "And while we're on the topic of explanations – how about you give me one, Holly Potter?"

"You don't honestly think-"

"It makes sense – all of it!" she exclaimed. "Why you and Harry are so close – he knows, obviously – why Sirius Black knew you… and why you have such a bad reaction to the Dementors… the only part of it that doesn't make sense is the books that say Harry Potter's sister was killed in 1981."

"Well, that's obviously an error," I replied with a shrug. "I grew up here, in one of the towers, 'cause Dumbledore couldn't find a negligent Muggle relative to stick me with for blood protection and instead decided that the next best protection he could offer was found at the world's best magic school."

"I don't believe it," murmured Hermione. "You – live here?"

"Not exactly live," I replied. "Well, yes, technically, and I do consider Hogwarts a home… yes, I suppose..."

"So, why did the Wizarding World never find out you were alive?" asked Hermione, looking at me curiously.

"Because," I replied. "Dumbledore didn't know it himself until after James, Lily and Holly had been pronounced dead, and besides, it's not like there's no Death Eaters still out there – it would have put me in a bunch of unnecessary danger that I guess I'm already in."

She smiled weakly. "Well, speaking of unnecessary danger – there we are."

I squinted in the direction of the tree, where, sure enough, Professor Lupin and Sirius were emerging from the tree, Pettigrew chained between them. It all seemed to happen in slow motion – Harry, Ron, Hermione and I coming up behind them, and then Pettigrew transforming.

"Keep an eye on him and don't be seen," I whispered. Hermione nodded as the rat got nearer, dashing blindly into the tree line and trailed by Sirius; the Dementors following the two of them. I winced, feeling the familiar cold rush over me as I got down on my knees, holding out my hands in front of me.

"Come on, little rat, that's it," I whispered, not audible to anyone but myself and yet strangely comforted by the words I was speaking. "Gotcha!"

My cupped hands closed around him, and despite the wriggling and struggling, it was hopeless.

I had him.

I did a neat roll, flattening myself against a tree trunk as Sirius, Harry and Lupin rushed by. They looked around frantically for a moment, and Pettigrew bit my hand in an attempt to free himself from their searching looks. I waved my wand, silently immobilizing him.

"P-Professor Lupin..." stammered Harry, looking behind them. "Do you – can you cast a Patronus?"

"I could," he replied, "if Pettigrew hadn't stolen my wand when he used that spell on himself to get away." He cursed. "Where did he go?"

"Oh, bother, it's hopeless," muttered Sirius. "Two full grown wizards against a pack of Dementors without a wand – have you got one, Harry?"

"Holly had mine," he replied. I bit back a laugh, remembering how he had dropped it on Hagrid's table when I had thrown the rock at him and I had picked it up.

But I quickly swallowed my laugh.

Three wizards, two witches that actually weren't supposed to make themselves known to the three wizards, and the only wand being the ones Hermione and I had.

I looked to Hermione.

Or rather, the only wand being the one I had.

"You've got to do it, Holly," mumbled Hermione. "I can't cast a Patronus, and we can't let them do it for us."

"I can't cast one either!" I hissed.

"You have got to at least try," she replied. "You're the best trained out of the two of us… try!"

We moved further into the forest so they couldn't see us, and I bit my lip, holding out my wand.

Time to be a Gryffindor – save my brother and my father's two best friends, all I needed to do was cast a simple spell.

I had gotten an 'Outstanding' on my Defense Against the Dark Arts exam for a reason, hadn't I?"

"Expecto Patronum," I whispered, rewarded with nothing but a silvery mist – barely enough.

I had to try harder – I had to.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

There it was – the Patronus.

A silver incarnation of a wolf leaped from my wand, dashing through the forest and snarling at the Dementors. I stumbled but didn't fall as I tugged on Hermione's sleeve, breaking her away from her amazement as we fled the scene.

"We've got to get back!" I whispered harshly. She nodded, and we raced across the grounds, ducking into the shadows so as not to be seen.

We scaled the stairs to the Hospital Wing, slipping through the doors just as the clock chimed midnight, seeing our past selves disappear with the Time Turner around their necks.

"What the bloody hell was that?" asked Ron, looking entirely bewildered. "You – did you just – you were there and then you came in-"

"That's ridiculous, Ronald," I replied with a soft smile. "How could we be in two places at once?"

Hermione looked out the window, and I appeared beside her, our eyes following the progression of three figures as they made their ways up to the castle.

"Have you got the-?" Hermione looked to me, and I frowned, before realizing what she was talking about.

"Yes," I replied, my hand finding the furry creature in my pocket. "We should wait until they come back up – then Professor Dumbledore will want to speak to us, surely."

"Speak of the devil..." mumbled Hermione as the door to the infirmary was opened by the headmaster, who ushered in Harry and Professor Lupin.

"Where's Sirius?" I whispered to Harry. He gulped.

"We couldn't get Pettigrew – they chained him up," he replied. I frowned, looking to Professor Dumbledore.

"Miss Leavitt-"

"I need to speak to you," I interrupted him. "Out in the hall. Right now."

I left the hospital wing without another word, and he soon followed, closing the door behind him.

"Holly, I am-"

I carefully extracted Pettigrew from my pocket, holding him out by his tail to Professor Dumbledore. "Now, I would advise you to release my brother's wrongly convicted godfather – after questioning the wizard he murdered, of course. Good day, headmaster."