Author's Note:
Update! I'm a little nervous about this chapter because I was scared the reactions weren't realistic enough. Do tell me what you think, thank you ^_^ Please leave a review and thank you for reading.
Chapter 10 – Searching for the Lying Rat
The lonely moon overhead was shifting from waning gibbous to its third quarter. In early November, the sky lacked the presence of stars that night and only the pale, changing moon could be seen from behind the thick black clouds. The air was cold and dry but still. Somehow, even the winds are calm, foreboding change that is yet to come.
Footsteps could be heard as three people treaded softly on the window grounds of Hogwarts, stomping on the crunchy dead leaves. Tonks, with her hair long and wavy dirty blonde to not draw attention, walked beside Remus whose robes were patched but less shabby than usual. They followed closely behind Alexis, the raven haired woman in a tan khaki overcoat and very tight jeans, looking more muggle than ever. In the night, Tonks and Alexis were leading Remus to meet with the man who was once his best friend, Azkaban escapee Sirius Black.
"I don't remember it taking this long when we walked. Lexi, are you sure we're not lost?" Tonks added, looking around at the massive dark trees.
"Really Tonksie, it's Hogwarts, how could we be lost?" her cousin scoffed.
"You're leading the way," teased Tonks as she jumped over a fallen tree instead of tripping like she normally would. "And stop calling me Tonksie. It's rather embarrassing."
"At least Alexis didn't call you Nymphadora," Remus smiled innocently.
Tonks gave him a death glare as Alexis scoffed again. "Oh if only looks could kill," she smirked, shaking her head. "Here we are, the exact spot," said Lexi who also raised an eyebrow at Tonks. "Remus, I'm sure you remember how to open the entrance." She stepped to the side.
Remus took out his wand and waved it in a distinct but not too complicated flick at the ground. From where Alexis had previously stood, the ground suddenly opened up, forming an entrance that looked like a larger rabbit hole in the ground. "Engorgio," Remus spoke and the hole widened so that three people could fit in it. "Alright, in you go," the professor smiled. "Reckon I should come in last just in case."
The two young women nodded as they both leaped into the hole. Remus followed shortly after, landing on his feet with a loud thud as he quickly took in the appearance of the old underground tunnel he and his friends had discovered. It looked like that of the muggle sewage system, luckily without the waste. Then there were four Marauders, and now there were two.
"Bloody hell. At least give a man a warning before just popping in like that," the hoarse voice of Remus' old friend spoke, a voice he hadn't heard for twelve years.
His first thought when he saw the boney, malnourished, haunted, and scarred raven haired man stand up was that he was only a shell of who he used to be, what he used to look like. Remus thought Lexi and Sirius looked alike, but there was some resemblance in Tonks as well. Perhaps it was the Black family genetics. Sirius smiled seeing his two cousins. Remus who stood quietly behind the two young women had noticed that Sirius' smile turned to a grin when Alexis grinned a similar way to his and Tonks changed her hair to bubblegum pink. The man probably hadn't had much to smile about for a long time.
"What brings you here? Did you catch him?"
"Wormtail, no. But Moony, yes," Tonks replied as Remus made himself visible.
"Well, well Sirius, looking rather ragged aren't we? Finally the flesh reflects the madness within," Remus spoke in an unreadable tone as he studied his old friend who wore a ragged Azkaban prison uniform, shredded and marred with dirt.
Seeing that his wand wasn't drawn and he spoke in that familiar twisted humor tone Sirius had personally instilled within the man, Sirius took it as a good sign. "Well you'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you Remus?" he grinned, his voice low and hoarse but stronger and having a playful edge to it.
Remus didn't grin but he had on a smirk, wolfish for lack of better word, and Tonks took it as a good thing. "Moving right along. Sirius are you cold? We brought you a winter cloak."
Alexis handed her lanky cousin a thick and very new winter cloak, looking as if it had just been purchased. "And if you don't mind repeating yourself cuz, would you please tell Remus what you told us the last time we met?" Lexi added after Tonks spoke.
"This fits perfectly Lexi," he smiled, eagerly wrapping himself in the warm cloak. "And of course I wouldn't mind. That is, if Remus trusts me enough to listen."
"Lexi, got any Veritaserum left?" Tonks asked, glancing at Remus, thoughtful.
"No, it's fine," Remus spoke softly, taking the first step closer to his old friend. Even after everything he's supposedly done, Remus still knew that look in Sirius Black's eyes. The man wasn't lying. And if Sirius trusted Remus enough to reveal his location to him and jeopardize his own safety, the least Remus could do was to give the man back some of that trust. Besides, no matter how disappointed he was because of Sirius, there's still a whim, an almost invisible thread of hope in him, hoping that Sirius Black was indeed innocent and never betrayed them. Because then at least Remus would have one Marauder back.
Sirius' grin turned to a genuine and grateful smile. They all sat down and listened as Sirius retold his story again. He retold the story of his escape, of the Order of the Phoenix, the mistrust and tension that came between the Marauders which eventually led to their downfall, the night James and Lily got killed, and the switch of the secret keeper and betrayal. Sirius left out the details that Remus already knew and would much rather not have them repeated. To Tonks and Alexis, they were just simply hearing the story again. They'd already transitioned through the emotions and disbelief the first time they heard it. But to Remus, he was hearing a very logical story that contradicted the truth he'd known and believed in for twelve years. To Remus, before, all the facts seemed scattered and forced. But now with Sirius' story, everything fit into place like the missing piece of a puzzle. After hearing Sirius' story, he could finally sort out the truths from the lies, the facts from the assumptions. The truth that Remus Lupin had known and believed in for twelve years was quickly beginning to change.
When Sirius finished, there was total silence. It was so quiet Tonks could hear the soft breath of everyone there. After a long while, Remus finally spoke, his eyes looking at the man softly. "He was the one…and you've switched without…without telling me?" he asked. At the end, Tonks could see hurt in his eyes when he realized that his best friends, the people that he'd trust with his life, didn't trust him.
There was heavy guilt in Sirius' eyes as the haunted man nodded softly at Remus. "Remus…I'm so sorry. My biggest mistake in my life was not trusting you," he spoke quietly.
Remus' eyes turned away from them as he looked at the stone ground where he sat. "I wouldn't blame you," he spoke softly. "During that time, I kept disappearing."
"But why though?" Sirius suddenly asked. "That's what James and I didn't understand. We already know that you'd go away for your transformation each month. But you didn't just disappear during times of the full moon. You disappeared randomly," Sirius spoke softly.
"I…I don't really want to talk about it," Remus sighed, recalling several harsh cases of memories that he'd locked away and never wanted to see them again. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment and Sirius understood that Remus didn't want to recall those brutal thoughts. "But those times I disappeared, I was going on a mission for Albus Dumbledore. It's an infiltration mission," he spoke vaguely. As Remus talked, an image of that time flashed through his mind, an image of being taunted, embarrassed, and insulted by the one man he hated and feared more than Voldemort himself. Remus opened his eyes to look at Tonks and took a deep breath. He turned to Sirius and asked, "Do you trust me?"
Sirius nodded. It had been years, but he could still read Remus as easily as Remus could read his many books. Dumbledore had asked Remus to do something then, something that had to be kept a secret, and he wasn't going to make his friend retell those memories to him if they were too harsh for the man to remember easily.
"I trust you mate," Sirius replied. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you before though. I'm sorry, I hope you understand. I should have never doubted you," Sirius replied softly.
"Those were difficult times, I understand," Remus replied, looking at his hands for a moment, but luckily he turned back to Sirius and to Tonks, his eyes didn't seem as hurt as before. "So Peter was the traitor…and he's still alive today, in hiding?"
From inside his new winter cloak and shredded jail uniform, Sirius took out a crumpled newspaper page and handed it to Remus. "This was what made me break out of Azkaban."
He took the paper from his friend and unfolded it carefully less he ripped and damaged an important detail. When he opened it and saw the picture inside, Remus knew it was the Weasley family. They had won a trip to Egypt to visit their eldest son Bill. It was in the papers but Remus never read pass the fifth page and he never saw this. Then, sitting in Ron Weasley's hands was a rat. Remus' eyes widened. It was Ron Weasley's pet rat Scabbers, the rat he'd often hear Ron talk about but never saw. Looking at it, he knew he could never be mistaken. The rat had been a part of the pack with a werewolf, a dog, and a stag many years ago. Even after twelve years he could never mistaken that rat. The rat was Peter Pettigrew. Seeing the rat made Remus believe everything Sirius had said. There were no doubts. Peter was still alive and hiding as Ron's rat. It was all the proof he needed.
"Peter," Remus breathed.
"I'm innocent. I would rather die than betray you or James or Lily. But Peter he…"
Sitting quietly beside her cousin, Tonks watched as the two men spoke with many blanks, leaving out many painful memories they'd rather not talk about. She realized that during that war and struggle against Voldemort, it had changed them and scarred them. She saw that Sirius and Remus both had memories they'd much rather deny and keep locked away. She watched them quietly, wondering how she'd fare if she was ever put in the same position. Tonks turned slightly to look at Alexis. Sirius was strong. He could survive with those brutal memories like he's doing now. Remus was strong. He could live with them, like he does now. Alexis, she'd had a haunted past too and could survive somehow. But Tonks, she felt if she was ever in the same position as these men, in a war fighting for love, family, and friendship, she was afraid she would fail.
Remus subtly cleared his throat, pulling Tonks out of her thoughts. She watched as he nodded and Sirius didn't have to say it again. "All this time it had been Peter. Sirius…Padfoot, I'm sorry. For twelve years I blamed you. For twelve years I thought…"
"Moony it's alright. We both made mistakes but luckily we're on our way to fixing them. It's better late than never. Besides, we're still young," he smiled and for that moment, Remus, Tonks, and Alexis could see the bright, Sirius-like grin in him.
"So we've got to catch Pettigrew now," Tonks spoke up.
"I'm going to kill that dirty little coward," Sirius growled, his anger visible on his face.
"You can't kill him. If he's dead, the truth dies with him," Alexis told him. "We'll catch him and take him to Dumbledore and Moody. I bet if a man who's supposedly dead in the case suddenly shows up, they'll have to reopen your case, and this time around, the evidence will be in your favor. You'll be free again Sirius."
Sirius nodded, turning from Remus, to Tonks, to Alexis, with trust in his eyes.
"As I always say, the Ministry is really fucked up," Tonks voiced, successfully making Remus chuckle as she too smiled when his lips quirked up.
"It really failed rather dramatically too," Lexi teased conversationally.
Sirius laughed at his cousins. "I'm never ashamed to admit I'm related to you two."
Remus' smile slowly faded however as he turned to Alexis. "I take it after hearing this story twice, you now know that I am a werewolf," he spoke softly but solemnly.
Both Tonks and Sirius grew quiet as they awaited Lexi's reaction. Remus expected just about anything, anything but a cheeky grin that is. "Oh please," Lexi scoffed rather casually. "I figured it out a long time ago."
"What? How?" Tonks mused just as Remus was about to ask the same thing.
"The night at the Shrieking Shack, conveniently, Silvia told me Professor Lupin was missing that night and the next morning he looks rather ill and injured. Besides, his nickname is Moony for god's sake. Tonks you don't think I'd believe that his animagus is some odd creature that comes out under the moon did you?" she smirked. "Besides, it just so happens that at the ministry while I was doing my own private research on the locators behind the Ministry's back, I got a hold of the England Werewolf Registry from my friend in that department."
Tonks knew her cousin often did private research and knew more than the Ministry does about the Department of Mysteries. She remembered Lexi clearly knew locators didn't work on animagi and werewolves. That must've been how she found the information. "But you're an Unspeakable. How in the world do you have friends on Level Four when you're on Level Nine?"
"I'm friends with you aren't I? And I'm friends with Silvia and such," Lexi replied dryly.
"Unbelievable," Tonks sighed, amazed at how much of a contradiction her cousin was.
"That's my brilliant cousin," Sirius smiled, knowing what she was going to say next.
"Don't worry Remus. I'm not prejudice against werewolves. Even if I was, you'd prove me wrong because you're a brilliant professor and a fine bloke for Tonks."
"Alexis, thank you," Remus smiled and his eyes flickered to Tonks for a moment.
Tonks opened her mouth, about to protest, but she saw that smirk on Sirius' face and knew she was no match against the two Blacks. "Now our top priority is to find Pettigrew and prove Sirius' innocence," she spoke, clearing her throat subtly.
"As long as Ron doesn't lose him, it will be easy to get to him," Lexi spoke.
"Sirius we're going to prove your innocence," Tonks promised and he trusts her.
"We better go though. The others will wonder where we are. Wouldn't want another search party now do we?" Lexi scoffed.
As they rose to their feet, Tonks handed Sirius a wand, his wand. "How'd you get this? They took it from me when I entered Azkaban."
"I'm an auror Sirius. I nicked it from them when I was there in training," she scoffed much like Lexi did while handing him his very distinct wand, 15 inches with a square-like distinguishable handle and symbols etched over it.
Alexis looked at the wand sensing familiarity in it but dismissed her thoughts as she scoffed. "I'm not the only one who nicks stuff from the Ministry."
Sirius chuckled as he patted his cousins on the back. "I trust you all. Don't visit too often less you get in trouble," he reminded his cousins, closer than siblings to him. Then he turned to Remus as he tucked his wand away. Remus Lupin was closer than siblings to him as well. "Remus my old friend, thank you. You've always been so forgiving."
Looking at his old friend, Remus smiled. Sirius' story could have been entirely another lie, but he trusted him and was willing to trust him again. Sirius was a shell of his old self, but he could see that Sirius was quickly recovering around his friend and family. A psychotic, insane, homicidal murderer could never imitate that honest, genuine, teary smile that Sirius had on. Remus studied Sirius for a moment longer with a small smile on his face. Even though the evidence were scarce, he had his friend back. That was enough.
"Sirius…" Remus began softly.
"Ah just hug it out," Tonks smiled beside them.
With that both men hugged each other tightly, brotherly. He'd missed him. Remus admitted he'd missed the obnoxious, idiotic, but loyal and sometimes sentimental Sirius Black.
"Moony," Sirius smiled, choking on emotions.
"Padfoot, good to have you back," Remus smiled, trying hard to mask his emotions as well. "We'll find Peter and prove your innocence."
When they pulled apart, Sirius gave each of his cousins a warm and tight hug as well. "Don't do anything stupid," Tonks reminded him, knowing that he had a wand now. "We'll prove your innocence and by the spring you'll be able to walk through those doors to visit us and your godson as a free man," she promised him. Sirius nodded. He trusts these three people. He valued them over the world. Looking into Remus' eyes, Tonks' eyes, and Lexi's eyes, he was surprised by how much they have changed and grown over the twelve years, but he knew they thought the same of him as well. Looking into their eyes, he knew he was going to be free again.
After returning from Sirius, Tonks could see that Remus was especially relaxed. Perhaps seeing his old friend again had done him some good. Remus truly was too trusting and too forgiving, but he trusted and forgave the right man. They headed back to the castle and Remus invited both girls to his office, hoping to put their minds together to come up with a way to catch Peter Pettigrew because they all knew that simply taking the rat from Ron wouldn't work and they would have a lot of explaining to do with the boy.
Inside Remus' office, Tonks sat down as Remus served them tea. She smiled at him as he smiled at her but blushed when she noticed Alexis smirking from her seat in the single overstuffed armchair. Tonks glared at her cousin and soon ignored her, turning back to Remus as they all began to think of a plan to catch Peter.
"We could just grab the rat from him and make a run for it," Tonks suggested.
"Yes, and then what will we say to the poor kid?" Alexis replied, stirring her tea mindlessly. Tonks had almost forgotten, Alexis doesn't like tea, but luckily she was polite enough not to voice her dislike.
"How about we tell Professor Dumbledore then? He could ask Ron to let him see the rat," Tonks spoke again, sipping her tea.
"Yes, it seems like a good idea, but I don't think it would be safe to have too many people know where Sirius is located," Remus sighed softly, sitting down beside Tonks.
Sitting back, Alexis watched quietly the interaction between Tonks and Professor Lupin. She was amused to see the similar look in each others' eyes. They both looked warm and happy, completely delighted at the sight of each other. She didn't know if either of them noticed yet, but from a third person point of view, Alexis could see that Tonks and Remus were rather mesmerized by each other. It was all in the way they looked at each other.
"Earth to Alexis Black," Tonks spoke, waving a hand in front of her cousin's face.
Lexi snapped back to reality, raising her hand up to her face as she stroked the side of her cheekbone, a habit of hers. "Sorry," she smiled. "I zoned out for a bit there. I was having too much fun thinking about how good two particular people would look together," she smirked.
Tonks opened her mouth and was about to speak when she suddenly caught on and scowled at her cousin. Remus on the other hand, stared at his tea and drank it, avoiding eye contact with either girl. Alexis smirked again and leaned back, continuing to stroke her cheek while staring at the steaming cup of tea. Silence fell over them for a while. Tonks' mind was split in a hundred different directions, thinking of ways to protect Sirius and ways to catch Peter Pettigrew as well. When she looked up again, she saw that familiar glint of mischief in her cousin's eyes and she smirked.
"I know that look Alexis Black," Tonks spoke, drawing Remus' attention as well. "What are you planning?" she asked, knowing from school that Lexi always had a plan for everything.
"Well, Remus, how similar am I to Sirius?" Alexis smirked.
Remus thought for a moment and nodded his head side to side. "I'd say you two are very similar," he replied honestly, thinking about both members of the Black family. "You have a lot of similar habits as well. You, Nymphadora, and Sirius all walk with a backward lean. And you Alexis…tend to stroke your cheek like he does, but Sirius strokes his chin as well."
"Really Remus, you pay quite a lot of attention," Tonks smiled.
Lexi smirked. "And do you think I could pull it off if I pretend to be Sirius? If I put a cloak over myself and show only my eyes and charm my voice, that others would believe I'm Sirius Black?" she continued to ask the two of them.
"Sirius' eyes are a different color from yours," Tonks pointed out. "His eyes are grey and yours are dark brown, almost black. But if just a glance, of course people would believe you're Sirius Black. You resemble the entire Black family quite a lot."
Alexis mock scowled at her cousin. "Thanks Nymphadora," she replied dryly.
"Daft dumbo," Tonks replied, sticking her tongue out.
"What are you planning Alexis?" Remus asked, hiding his smirk from Tonks' comeback.
"Well, I could pretend to be Sirius, get into the Gryffindor common room, and search Ron's bed to see if he left the rat there. I can be a little dramatic and shred the curtains as well to give them the scare. Then during that time, Remus could have a class that would require the students to bring an animal to class or something for a demonstration, sorry I can't think of a lesson at the moment. But if I can't find the rat in his dorm, Tonks could see if Ron has his rat with him during the lesson. Then, Moody on his usual patrol route would walk by and see the bed curtains shredded, and think that Sirius got inside the castle. He'd have Dumbledore gather all the students in one place, the Great Hall perhaps. Then Remus could ask the students to leave their animals in the room and Tonks and I could grab the rat. And on the off chance that Ron takes his bloody rat with him because it's rather small, the kids would all be gathered in one spot. We could tell Moody that Sirius' animagus form is a rat, and Moody will do the catching for us."
"I'm impressed Alexis, that plan is rather well thought out," Remus smiled.
"But wouldn't it make more sense if I was the one pretending to be Sirius since I am after all a metamorphmagus," Tonks reminded her cousin.
"But you're supposed to pose as a student and be in class. Think about it Tonks, if you missed class, Moody's going to question. While me, Marrick and I split up half the time now to cover more patrol ground. I can fake as Sirius. Besides, Sir Cadogan is guarding the Gryffindor common room now in replace of the Fat Lady after the last time Sirius came here," Lexi scoffed. "Sir Cadogan is a total dolt. He'll let me through easily and still think I'm Sirius."
"It sounds like it could work," Remus nodded, contemplating the plan.
"And in there's only one way out of the Great Hall and the other aurors could cover it," Tonks mused. "But there are small mouse holes around the hall as well and the rat could slip through there. Even Moody can't chase down a slippery little rat you know."
"But Ron's very protective of his rat. He'll have a pretty good grip on the thing."
"And I could teach the class about animagi and how animals can detect them."
Alexis clapped her hands once and smirked at Remus, leaning back in her chair. "And once the aurors have got the rat, no doubt they won't let him out of their sight."
"I still think there's a chance that it would fail," Tonks mumbled. "But I think we should give it a try," she finished.
"Of course there's a chance that it will fail, but we'll have plenty more chances to catch him later. As long as we get the aurors, especially Moody, to think that Sirius' animagus form is a rat afterwards, it'll still help us."
Tonks nodded, glancing at Remus who seemed to agree as well. It appears that they were going through with Lexi's well thought out but still rather odd plan.
It took a lot of effort, but Alexis had finally scheduled it so that she and Marrick would be able to patrol together during Tonks' Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They were walking around the empty halls. Alexis was out of uniform having find them quite restricting. She walked beside him, thinking of ways to suggest to him that they should split up to cover more grounds.
"What are we going to say if the students see us?" Marrick asked suddenly.
"Say that you're a prefect. You're pretty uptight sometimes, it's believable," she replied.
"What about you then?"
"Well you're in your uniform and I'm not, say you're bringing me to a teacher to get yelled at or for mischief making. It's not like that's never happened before. It's believable."
Marrick nodded in agreement, knowing that in the past, Alexis and her cousin Tonks would prank if given the opportunity, and would often be out of uniform. "Alexis, why is it fun when you're causing mischief?" he asked.
She rolled her eyes, needing a way to get away from him to carry out the plan. It was getting late already. "You're a by-the-book person, you wouldn't understand," she smiled and he was drawn to her eyes. "Sometimes a little joke and a little laugh is just what you need."
"Tell me," Marrick spoke in a softer voice as he wanted to learn more about her.
"You won't understand," she smiled. "Only a fellow troublemaker would have a clue."
Marrick opened his mouth and was about to ask her to explain when he suddenly caught a duo with flaming red hair ahead of them as they turned the corner onto another corridor. The twin faces of Fred and George were wearing identical grins, waving and walking over to them.
"Shouldn't they be in class?" Marrick questioned.
Lexi smirked. Maybe she could get away with the twins' help. "I knew your prefect self would surface sooner or later. Hey! What are you up to Fred, George?" she grinned.
"We're playing a prank on Filch," Fred smirked.
Marrick realized how similar smirks of mischief were as he remembered seeing a smirk similar to the twins on Alexis and Tonks' face often. "Shouldn't you be in class at this hour?"
Alexis rolled her eyes and playfully pushed Marrick. "Give them a break, it's Filch."
"Thank you Lexi. Want to watch? Filch is coming soon," George grinned.
"Alexis, we're on patrol. And you're a terrible influence," Marrick sighed.
Alexis scoffed and rolled her eyes again at him. "Ok I'll go on patrol. But we should split up to cover more grounds," she grinned. "How about I see what Fred and George are up to, and you go on your usual route, and all take over our night route?" she asked him.
Marrick rolled his eyes at the twenty-two year old woman still amused by old school pranks, but he found her oddly cute as well. "I feel bad for Filch," he sighed. "And I think this is rubbing off on me but keep constant vigilance Alexis," he told her with a serious gaze.
"Alright, alright," she replied, laughing, as Marrick walked away and turned out of the corridor. "Alright boys, what are you planning?" she smirked, thinking that maybe a quick prank wouldn't through off her schedule too much.
"We're going to give him something new from our Skiving Snacks we're working on," Fred grinned as he pulled Alexis and his twin George who seemed a bit distracted by something behind another corridor, peeking out to see Filch approaching the small heart shaped box that they had floating in mid air.
"Oh are you going to trick him into eating it? This is always fun," she grinned.
Soon, the three were watching eagerly as the Hogwarts caretaker opened the box. His eyes widened as he admired the delicious looking treats. Filch reached inside to pick up a piece of heart shaped chocolate and put on in his mouth. The three snickered. Suddenly, Filch's face had red sores popping up and his lips grew out of proportions. After a few seconds, the old caretaker's lips looked like two giant sausages while red sores marred his face.
Fred and George had identical faces as they snickered while Lexi just fell over laughing.
"Well that was fun," Fred commented as he recovered from his laughter.
"You guys are brilliant!" Lexi laughed. "Filch with sausage lips, I'll never forget that."
"Wait till you see what else we've got," George grinned.
"Puking pastilles and more," Fred grinned following his twin.
"Oh I'd love to. But I kind of have to be somewhere right now you know, patrolling. Otherwise, I'm afraid Marrick might tear my head off," she smiled.
"I'm sure he'd never have the heart to do that," Fred teased. "I know George wouldn't."
"Ignore this idiot right here," George smiled. "Alright, see you later Lexi."
"Ok, I'll ignore the idiot that is Fred," Alexis smiled and began walking away. "Oh, I wouldn't go on the fifth floor if I were you. Marrick patrols up there," she winked and left.
Her next priority was to get up to the seventh floor and into Gryffindor Tower undetected. She just hopes she wouldn't run into Marrick again, or Mad-Eye Moody. Marrick already told her constant vigilance and she didn't feel like having it screamed in her face a second time by a very paranoid old auror. "Getting pass that dolt Sir Cadogan shouldn't be too hard," she mumbled to herself, nodding and walking up the stairs.
During Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Remus had come up with a lesson about animagi and how common animals and pet familiars could detect them by nature. The students were to bring their pet familiars in for a demonstration, and they all knew that Ron would no doubt bring his pet rat, Scabbers. That afternoon Tonks sat at her desk, looking over Hermione's cat Crookshanks as she resisted from growling at Ron's rat. Remus was at the front of the room, going on about the lesson on animagi and how to detect them or turn into one. They were just waiting for Alexis now, but she was late as half the class had already gone by.
There was a series of loud banging on the door and Tonks smirked as Remus opened it. "Professor White, is something wrong?" Remus asked a panting Silvia, feigning innocence.
"Remus, Professor Dumbledore wants all the students in the Great Hall at once," she panted, catching her breath. "Sirius Black is inside the castle."
Just as Tonks had expected, panic aroused immediately. The kids were looking around at each other, fear on their faces and talking rapidly, screaming, basically panicking. "Everybody calm down," Remus spoke and soon the class grew quiet. Tonks thought it was impressive how they all listened to him. "I'm afraid that animals aren't allowed in the Great Hall so please leave them all here. We must head there immediately." There weren't any resistance as the third year students got up from their seats and filed out of the classroom.
"Wait for Alexis and be careful, please," Remus told her as he left with the students.
Tonks stayed behind, careful not to draw any attention to herself as she closed the door behind Remus. She was now standing inside the classroom, packed with animals, looking around for her bumbling yet rather witty cousin. Appearing from out of nowhere, Alexis Black stood beside Tonks as she took off the Ghost necklace.
"What took you so long?" Tonks asked quickly.
"Hey, I had a lot to do," Alexis defended as they walked to Ron's desk. "I had to get rid of Marrick which was rather daunting. And then I ran into the twins and watched a prank of theirs. Then had to put a cloak on and pretend to be Sirius. Then Sir Cadogan can't even remember his own bloody password, and then I got a little carried away shredding Ron's bed curtains. Oh and did you know Harry hid chocolate frogs under his pillow?"
Tonks rolled her eyes at her cousin but then searched the desk. "Bugger," she spoke when they saw Ron's metal rat cage empty. "Of course. The bloody rat is small enough that Ron probably took the bloody thing with him."
"Well come on then, Moody's probably at the Great Hall too if they think Sirius is here."
Both girls headed for the Great Hall, Tonks regaining her student morph as Alexis shrunk the large black cloak she had over one shoulder and hid it, now wearing only her black jumper and very holey jeans, very out of uniform. Their plan was going fine so far. Lexi was to pose as Sirius, get past Sir Cadogan who replaced the Fat Lady portrait guarding the Gryffindor common room, and shred Ron and Harry's bed curtains. Then on his usual patrol route which Tonks had found out, Moody would come by the Gryffindor tower under the Ghost Necklace and the paranoid auror would look at the bed curtains and think Sirius Black got inside the castle. They would then cease the chance of the round up to look for Peter.
"You messed with the other locators and set them to look for Pettigrew now right?"
"Already done. If he's in the Great Hall we'll catch him or rather I bet Moody will."
"What do we do when they see Pettigrew instead of Sirius?" Tonks wondered.
"If they see a man that's supposedly dead, I think it will still be in our favor."
The doors to the Great Hall were open and Tonks could see all the students sitting at their table, sitting awfully quiet. She felt bad for lying, but it's to save an innocent man, her cousin. The teachers along with Albus Dumbledore were gathered at the door. The house prefects and heads were receiving instructions from the teachers as Tonks could see Percy Weasley's flaming red hair. Next to Albus Dumbledore, Tonks could see her old mentor, Mad-Eye Moody, his mechanical eye whizzing like mad. He'd successfully drawn attention to himself as Tonks could see Harry asking Hermione who he was.
"Quick, grab my collar like when we were sneaking around in school," Tonks whispered.
"What?" Lexi replied but grabbed her collar anyways, just like in school.
"I'm not a prefect but we need to speak with Moody."
"Sir Cadogan had let a mysterious man into the Gryffindor common room because he had the password," Minerva McGonagall spoke, her lips pressed in a firm line as she seemed worried. "Sirius Black really had gotten inside the castle Albus."
Albus Dumbledore turned to one of the portraits hanging beside the giant doors to the Great Hall. The knight Sir Cadogan had travelled from his portrait up on the seventh floor down to the Great Hall. Tonks took one look at the knight and immediately understood why the students deemed him as insane and why Alexis had trouble getting him to remember his own bloody password. He was doing questionable things with a lady in one of the portraits before Albus Dumbledore came and spoke with him.
"Sir Cadogan," Albus Dumbledore spoke.
The knight straightened immediately, bouncing around in his place. "Uh, yes sir?"
"Is it true that you let a mysterious man into Gryffindor tower today?"
"Why of course good sir. He had the password," the knight answered innocently.
"And what did this man look like?" Albus Dumbledore continued to question.
"He had on a large black cloak covering his face. I saw his eyes however. They were dark, ominous, and sharp," the knight described, perhaps exaggerating a little with his flowery speech. "Eyes like the devil my good sir. Though he was rather small, shorter than I expected for a man with those eyes. But his voice, it was deep and low. He was completely mad! I had trouble remembering the new password I set and he even yelled at me. He's a raving lunatic!"
"Thank you Sir Cadogan," Dumbledore nodded and turned back to the teachers.
Tonks had to work hard to fight back a smirk. Of course Alexis Black would be able to perfectly imitate her own cousin. "Note to self: recommend Lexi to become an actress."
"It's all in the stare," Alexis whispered to Tonks, smirking and winking at her cousin.
"Tonks, Alexis, where'd you two come from?" Moody asking, turning his body to prevent the kids from seeing them talk, especially Tonks who was supposed to be a third year.
"The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom," Tonks replied. "We were tracking Sirius Black with Lexi's locator," she lied. Tonks felt a terrible lump in her throat having to lie to Mad-Eye, the man who trusted her, but she knew she had to, for Sirius.
Alexis already had her locator out, showing it to him. "He's in here," she spoke evenly.
"He's really in here Alastor," Silvia spoke, showing Mad-Eye Rookwood's locator that showed the exact same indication as Lexi's. Alexis had to fight back a smirk.
"There's only one way out of the Great Hall. But where would he be? There are only students and teachers in here and the students are in a state of panic," said Dumbledore.
"Black is an animagus," Marrick reminded them, appearing from behind Alexis.
Moody grunted and Tonks recognized that grunt. She had to fight back a smirk as he spoke. "There's not just students and teachers in here," he grunted while his mechanical eye was looking through the back of his head. Tonks always thought that was disgusting when it does that and tried not to gag. "There's a toad and a rat in here as well, belonging to the students."
"Ah yes, the toad would be Trevor, Neville Longbottom's pet," Remus spoke up from beside Dumbledore, his eyes glancing at Tonks and Alexis discreetly. "And the rat is Scabbers, Ron Weasley's pet rat."
"Silvia, Remus, Rookwood, you come with me," Moody ordered. "Tonks, Alexis, Marrick, get back with the students. The prefects have gone and you must not blow your cover."
"But…" Tonks protested but Alexis had already pulled her away.
"Come on, it's Moody, he'll catch the little traitor," Lexi sighed as they soon joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The three kids looked worried, especially Harry.
"What was going on over there Tonks? You were talking to Alastor Moody, the auror."
"Merlin, Hermione is quick," Tonks thought. "My mum was the one who first spotted Sirius Black. She was talking to me and Auror Moody," Tonks answered, remembering that Silvia was posing as her mother. "And Merlin, when was the last time I called Moody that?"
"He's here, trying to kill me," Harry spoke softly, his eyes distant and worried.
"Who told you that he's trying to kill you?" Alexis asked.
"Mr. Weasley," Harry replied. "He only warned me about what he heard from his job at the Ministry. But why is Sirius Black trying to kill me? I don't even know him."
Tonks and Alexis discreetly glanced at each other. Obviously Harry doesn't even know about his parents' relations to the Marauders and it was probably best that way for the moment.
"I don't get it. Why me?" Harry continued.
"Harry, it might not be you who he's after," Tonks spoke but Lexi suddenly stepped on her foot, reminding her to watch her clumsy mouth.
"Pardon me Nymphadora, Alexis," Remus' gentle voice spoke as he, Mad-Eye, Silvia, Rookwood, and Dumbledore approached them. Tonks and Lexi stepped to the side, their vision split between Harry and Ron who no doubt had the rat.
"Professor…" Harry began but Dumbledore cut him off.
"In a minute Harry. Mr. Weasley, may we please see your pet rat?" the headmaster asked.
Moody was standing directly in front of Ron, making the young Weasley whimper as he took out his rat from within his robe pocket. Tonks balled her fist up, wanting to just snap that lying rat in half. Dumbledore stood between Alexis and Tonks, looking at the rat intently behind his half-moon glasses. Lexi had the same reaction as Tonks and was trying hard to keep herself from scowling. Tonks could see Remus' expression beside her, his face calm, much like Albus'.
"What do you want with him? Leave him alone," Ron spoke when the rat began squirming desperately in his hands.
Tonks heard Moody grunt again. Everything afterwards happened so fast. Mad-Eye had his wand up but before he could even use the spell, Scabbers bit Ron's hand and escaped, leaving the boy bleeding. The rat darted around all the other students' feet, running for his life as Mad-Eye growled and ran after him. Silvia and Rookwood quickly followed but the Great Hall was so packed with students that even legendary auror Alastor Moody lost the rat within seconds. Tonks and Lexi both already had their wands out and were about to run after the bloody rat themselves, but Albus Dumbledore held them both back. The Great Hall was filled with shrieks as Moody gave chase but the crowd slowed him down and the rat escaped. Tonks looked to Remus and saw that he was tense, his teeth clenched. They were so close.
"Scabbers!" Ron yelled, going after his pet.
"We lost him," Remus sighed but it sounded like a low growl, again, wolfish.
"Damn," Tonks and Lexi breathed at the same time.
Harry and Hermione had gone after Ron and Lexi and Tonks were left standing with Marrick, Remus, and Dumbledore. Tonks pulled Lexi and Remus to the side to speak privately as Marrick had gone to settle the kids and Dumbledore went to speak with the teachers and handle the students. Alexis huffed and stroked the side of her cheekbone as Tonks calmed down.
"I thought you said this plan would work," Tonks sighed.
"Unfortunately I forgot one minor detail. Rats can bite," Alexis sighed. "But even Mad-Eye Moody couldn't catch him in time. We need a better mouse trap."
"Moody couldn't just fire spells at him because they could hit the students," Remus explained to Tonks as she was about to speak again, effectively settling her a bit.
"Great. Now we'll never catch him," Tonks groaned.
"Oh I wouldn't stress out Miss Tonks," Dumbledore spoke as he turned back to them. "I've just asked Severus and Minerva to place a spell around the school so that not even a fly will get through. You'll catch him in time. After all, justice always has a way of working out for those who are innocent," Albus Dumbledore smiled and winked at them with a familiar twinkle in his eyes that the three immediately recognized.
Alexis, Tonks, and Remus turned to look at each other just as the headmaster left. They all had a mixture of question and surprise in their eyes. Tonks always joked to Alexis that Professor Dumbledore knew everything. But she, Lexi, and even Remus had all seen it as a joke and that Dumbledore was just really well informed. Could the great wizard really know everything?
I hope it was ok. Please tell me what you think ^_^