Author's Note:
I know I'm moving really fast with this story as the time is only December and they're already trying to help prove Sirius' innocence, but it's AU and...I plan on writing another story after this if I can work out my plotlines right, so the time lapse will be beneficial. As for this chapter, I was hoping I didn't do too bad in all the law talk as the girls are trying to help Sirius' case. I've never been good at law or anything related to it so I hope it's not god awful. Also, the very last part in this chapter...is a part I very surprisingly enjoyed writing the most, all because of something a friend of mine (who is completely obsessed with Sirius Black) said...
Thanks for reading, remember to review, and I hope you enjoy! ^_^
Chapter 14 – Our Past is Who We Are
The class was assigned a writing assignment and towards the end of the class, they were given time to complete it. Tonks, not having to literally write the two-page essay on bowtruckles, had begun to doze off in the time given. Her vision became blurry as her eyelids grew heavier. She was struggling to stay awake in one of her favorite classes of all time, but it became so hard. The next thing she knew, all she heard was a faint buzzing, the buzzing being the quiet and hushed whispers coming from around the room. Tonks didn't know how long she'd fallen asleep, but the next thing she could hear was her cousin's voice.
"Do you think we should wake her?" Alexis asked, her volume a normal level.
"No." She heard Remus Lupin's gentle and tired voice. "I suppose if Nymphadora is tired, we should just let her sleep. You girls still have to go on patrol later and we can't have her dozing off then. Nymphadora could be even clumsier when she's sleepy."
Tonks growled mentally inside her mind. Remus would never give up on calling her Nymphadora, no matter how much she protests. He'd used her dreadful name twice and without remorse, and he even mentioned her unbelievable clumsiness. He needed a scolding. That was all her mind registered before Tonks stirred. She grumbled and rubbed her eyes as she looked up at them, being sure to give Remus a death glare.
"Remus you're asking to be hexed into next week," Tonks grumbled.
"Empty threats," Lexi scoffed as Tonks sat up and she sat on Tonks' desk.
"Now Alexis told me that you two have come across something essential in helping prove Sirius' innocence, but she wanted to wait until you're awake to talk about it. Can I know now?" Remus asked, summoning a stool over as he sat in front of Tonks, resting his elbows on her desk.
"Oh yes um…we think Snape may know something about Peter Pettigrew being Voldemort's spy and about the night James and Lily Potter got killed," Tonks yawned and rubbed her eyes to become more awake.
"What?" Remus breathed, his voice hitched.
"Last night while Tonks was serving detention with Snape," Alexis began. "I happened to hear him say something that jogged a memory of mine. When my parents were killed by Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius came to rescue me, there were three other Death Eaters there. One of them had to be Snape, I'm very certain of it. Now, since we all know that Bellatrix was one of Voldemort's most loyal servants then Snape must be close enough to them to know what's going on. We think that Snape may have some knowledge about Peter Pettigrew being a spy for them. If we could find out what exactly he knows, his statement could be filed as solid evidence in support of Sirius' complete innocence."
"So if we could just get Severus to tell us everything he knew about Peter's allegiance to Voldemort, we could help Sirius' case?" Remus asked with a hopeful look in his eyes.
"Exactly," Tonks nodded. "And basic protocol would force the case to reopen even without us catching Peter Pettigrew. Then, instead of having Fudge target the whole auror taskforce on catching Sirius, the aurors would be sent by the Wizengamot members in search of Peter Pettigrew to see if he's still alive. Sooner or later they'd catch him, even if he is hiding as a rat, and then the case would be retried, and this time, Sirius' innocence is almost guaranteed. I'm also hoping Pettigrew can't resist Veritaserum."
"No, he can't," Remus replied. "But how will Severus be willing to help us? He hates Sirius and James with a passion because throughout our years in school, Sirius and James would always bully and torture Severus."
"He'd be a fool for letting some silly old school grudge get in the way of saving an innocent man from a horrible fate," Tonks replied.
"But if it's true that Severus is a Death Eater, then he wouldn't be willing to admit to it, especially to the Ministry," Remus responded.
"Remus, what is Snape like…while he was in school?" Alexis asked, feeling an odd lump in her throat as she was about to find out how an old teacher of hers was like in school. It was so hard to imagine Severus Snape as a simple child, teenager and young adult, just like them. To her and no doubt Tonks, Snape was just…well, Snape.
"He didn't talk much at first," Remus began. "That's what I remembered. But he was friends with Lily. Actually, she was his only real friend back then. When James began to fancy her, he and Sirius were relentless on Severus, bullying him, making a mockery out of him, all for amusement purposes. James actually used torturing Severus to gain attention from Lily. He was completely smitten by her. And Severus…I always had a hunch that he fancied Lily as well."
"No way, Snape fancied Harry's mum?" Tonks asked, leaning forward, closer to Remus.
"It was a hunch," Remus replied. "Because she's his only true friend, and the only person he was nice to that is not a Slytherin and definitely not a pureblood as Lily was muggleborn."
"If Snape really fancied Lily Potter…" Alexis began, stroking her cheek. "Even if he became a Death Eater, he'd be sure to take notice into any news about Lily. Surely when he heard that Voldemort had marked the Potters for death, he'd pay even more attention, and he wouldn't have missed it when Pettigrew was the one who revealed the Potter's location to them."
"We could go ask him right now to find out," Tonks suggested.
"Yes but once again, in case you've forgotten, Severus hates Sirius just as much as he hated James, because Sirius tortured him when we were kids. In fact, I don't know if you know this, but it was because of Sirius' little prank that I nearly killed Severus. He tricked Severus into following us to the Shrieking Shack on a full moon. And since Snape was in human form, my werewolf self would have killed him."
"Sirius told us about it," Tonks nodded, remembering one of Sirius' many guilty stories.
"And Snape mentioned it last night during their argument. He obviously isn't over it."
"We could still try asking him for his help," Tonks spoke again. "Like I said, he'd be a fool if he was to let an old grudge of his get in the way of saving an innocent man's life."
"How are we going to do it though?" Alexis asked.
"What do you mean?"
"We can't risk having Remus go talk to him. It's hard enough for Remus to get this post and we can't have the aurors think that Remus is in any way helping Sirius. As for us…we're supposed to be catching Sirius, not helping him, in the eyes of others. If Mad-Eye finds out, the paranoid old codger's going to keep a closer eye on us."
"Well it's worth a try," Tonks shrugged. "And besides, even if Mad-Eye keeps a closer eye on us, I'm sure you or me could find a way around that magical eye of his. We've done worse during school and this is to help Sirius. Besides, if we manage to get Snape to talk, we'll have solid evidence to help Sirius, and Mad-Eye would listen to reasons."
"It's just the word of one man. Do you two think it's worth to risk getting yourself in trouble?" Remus asked. "I'm sure Sirius wouldn't want you to be so risky."
"The Ministry has kept a record of all Death Eaters and suspected Death Eaters. If Snape truly was a Death Eater, his word will be of great help," Tonks responded.
"Alright, let's give it a try," Alexis spoke up. "Tonks and I will go and try to talk to Snape. Remus, you should go and tell Sirius on what we've found and remind him to behave himself. Also I suspect that the last bundle of food we gave him might be gone already knowing his large appetite so if you could please bring it to him."
"I'll do that. You girls meet me in my office when you're done talking to Severus."
Tonks nodded and immediately went with her cousin out to find Severus Snape. It was after dinner so he should be in his office right now. She hoped that he'd be willing to put the past behind him and help her cousin, but something in the back of her mind told her that Snape wasn't going to be willing to help them so easily. Tonks wondered that maybe she should apologize to him first for all those names she called him, no matter how true they were, and maybe she should apologize for the argument last night.
Ever since he was little, the Shrieking Shack was never a place of warmth for him. To Remus, the shack was just a simple house, built for his use on the full moon, a place where he could secretly take out his anger in wolf form, a place where his inner beast would be locked in. When Remus walked into the creaky, graying, rundown shack that night, it surprised him when a warm air suddenly swept him by. He walked up the stairs to realize that with his wand, Sirius might have casted a heating charm on the whole house. He entered a large bedroom, the same one he always preferred to use during transformations because he had boarded up windows that closed out the taunting face of the silver moon. Sitting inside, next to a blazing fire, with a half empty bottle of firewhiskey and a package of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, was Sirius Black, Azkaban escapee, and Remus' best friend.
"Please tell me you have good news. Or even better, please tell me you have the rat with you," Sirius spoke, his voice less hoarse than before and looking healthier than before. He cleaned himself up and his hair was cut shorter, curly raven black hair hanging around his neck. He wore Remus' old shabby jumper, some tattoos still visible on his chest. Sirius was nestled in the warm winter cloak his cousins had bought him as he spoke to Remus.
"Well this may be good news, somewhat," Remus sighed, setting down a large parcel of food that Alexis had ordered for the man from the Three Broomsticks.
"So I'm guessing you don't have the rat," Sirius sighed, tossing a bean into his mouth.
"No," Remus sighed. "But Alexis and Nymphadora has discovered something that may be of great help in proving your innocence." He allowed a smirk to play across his face as he saw Sirius' attention shift entirely to him. "Alexis is quite sure Severus Snape was a Death Eater."
"I was sure of that too but no one ever listened to me," Sirius scoffed.
Remus ignored his friend and continued. "If Severus was indeed a Death Eater, he would have known something about Peter being the spy for Voldemort. If we could just get him to be willing to share what he knows with us and the Ministry, your case would be reopened and you'd be given a proper trial and Alexis and Nymphadora are both sure that once you're given a proper trial, all the evidence they found, along with Peter still being alive, you'd be proven innocent."
"That's great!" Sirius grinned, excited for a moment, but only a moment. "But you forget the fact that Snape is a git and won't help me."
"We're adults Sirius. He wouldn't let an old grudge get in the way of saving an innocent man from a horrible fate."
"But he's Snape, Remus. He would let an old grudge get in the way," Sirius retorted.
"We'll do our best to convince him to help. If Albus Dumbledore trusts him enough to give him a teaching job at Hogwarts like he trusts me, then Severus wouldn't be all that bad. I'm sure that if we give him enough reasons to see that you are no longer an immature arse, he'd be willing to help you."
"Thanks Moony, you are always so kind to me," Sirius teased dryly. "Where are my cousins? Don't tell me they're begging for his help. I'd never want them to do that!"
"I wouldn't say they're begging. After all, they are Alexis Black and Nymphadora Tonks. They're probably just…negotiating for his help."
"I can't believe I'm relying on Snivelly's help to become a free man," Sirius grumbled.
"If you were nicer to him, we'd have more of a chance of him being willing to help."
"Yeah well he deserved it, being a complete and insufferable git and all," Sirius retorted.
"Our past makes us into who we are Sirius. If you hadn't tortured him in the past and hadn't played such an awful prank on him involving me, he wouldn't have hated you so much."
"Yeah yeah Moony," Sirius sighed. Many times Remus was the voice of reason, telling Sirius and James not to torture Severus, but those many times they'd ignored him. Now, when he was in need of Severus' help, Sirius began to regret being such an arse to the man. If he told James that, the poor Marauder would have a heart attack and die all over again. Sirius Black was growing up, times were really changing. "Bloody hell, I want my freedom and innocence back. You think if I apologize he'll help me?"
"You can't really do that now can you? We'll just have to wait to see what news Alexis and Nymphadora comes back with."
Sirius scoffed and nodded his head as he tossed another Flavour Bean into his mouth, cringing at the odd taste of tripe. "You know you're the only one who gets away with calling my pink haired cousin Nymphadora?"
He turned to his friend and smiled. He hadn't had a normal, pointless chat with Sirius in such a long, long time. Remus broke off a piece of chocolate from the half eaten chocolate bar he had in his pockets and took a small bite as he talked with Sirius. "I don't think I get away with it. Nymphadora just doesn't bother to scream at me anymore because I'll never give up."
"Yeah, you'll always be such a noble prat Remus," Sirius smiled. "How have you been all these years while I was…away?"
"Pretty lonely," Remus admitted, relaxing as he crossed his legs on the squeaky and breaking floorboards of the Shrieking Shack. "I have to admit, when I met Nymphadora, things began to change," he sighed.
"Really?" Sirius smirked, taking interest in his friend's distant gaze in his eyes. "Change how?" he continued to probe.
"Well for two moons, she accompanied me and made my transformation quite bearable. I'd say she did a much better job than you or Prongs ever did. She even made me laugh several times while in wolf form," Remus smiled softly, remembering when Tonks had been trapped in the Shrieking Shack with him and she ended up telling him silly stories about herself. "And she saved me from getting injured when I was roaming around under the October's Blood Moon. And Nymphadora brought you back."
Looking at Remus' soft and sentimental gaze, Sirius grinned. He knew that look in his friend's eyes, and though it was somewhat odd because the person of affection was his little cousin, he still couldn't help but smile when his friend was happy. If there's any man who deserved any happiness at all, it was Remus Lupin.
"What's with the grin?"
"Nothing, keep talking. What's your impression of my cousins? Start with Lexi first."
"She's brilliant," Remus spoke and Sirius noted that his eyes showed he was impressed by Alexis, like a teacher would be impressed by a student. "She's very kind and loyal too. She's a lot like you down to her habit of stroking her cheek when she gets an idea, though she does it more than you because you never have good ideas," Remus grinned and Sirius mock scowled at him. "I heard from Nymphadora that Alexis is quite a player when it comes to romance, again, a lot like you. She's brilliant and has an eye for details. Very witty too, and quite level-headed most of the time as far as I can tell."
Sirius nodded. Remus was impressed with Alexis and what they had was a good friendship. He grinned and asked Remus to speak about his other cousin, one he highly suspected was Remus' object of affection. "And what about Tonksie or as you say, Nymphadora?"
"Nymphadora…she's so kind. She's very open and loyal and she's…beautiful…" Sirius smirked as Remus seemed lost within his own thoughts. He wasn't complaining however, as he listened to Remus' soft words on what he thought of Nymphadora. "She makes me laugh a lot and I'm very grateful she still wanted to be my friend after accidentally getting locked in the shack with me on a full moon. Luckily I had wolfsbane. She works very hard in everything she does and is clever. Her clumsiness gets in the way sometimes, but I think it's a part of who she is and rather cute sometimes. Nymphadora never looked at me differently, even after seeing me during a full moon. She would always comfort me and reassure me. And I've noticed ever since she came into my life, things got…better. And her smile is absolutely stunning…bloody hell."
Sirius smirked when Remus looked up. Remus Lupin is completely smitten by his little cousin. "Yes, I'm still here Moony, in case you've forgotten. I know that look…and when you talk about her…" Sirius winked and smirked.
"No. Whatever you're thinking, it's completely wrong."
"How would you know? Face it Moony when it comes to love you're a complete fool."
"This is not love…" Remus spoke, having to rethink his words. He'd already fallen for her and putting all logical thoughts aside, Remus knew he was in love with Nymphadora Tonks. But no matter, he couldn't have her. He wouldn't let himself be a burden to her.
"Ok it's not love. It's a blossoming romance, happy?" Sirius laughed.
"I am not joking Padfoot. Don't ever think about me and Nymphadora together. She's your little cousin for god's sake. Don't you think she deserves better than a shabby old werewolf like me?" Remus asked, thinking of all the reasons why he couldn't be with Tonks.
"Personally, I find it rather odd that my best mate is in love with my little cousin. But my opinions don't matter here. It's your opinion and hers that do," Sirius replied.
"And she'll never have mutual feelings for someone like me," Remus said firmly.
"We'll see about that mate," Sirius thought to himself and only smirked at Remus. He could see Remus practically melt under his stare. The poor man was preventing himself from being happy. Sirius didn't know what Tonks thought about his best mate, dear old bookworm Moony, but he was one-hundred percent sure that Remus was head-over-heels for her. "I'll need to have a nice long talk with Tonksie. Being in prison for so long, I need something else other than freedom and innocence on my mind, or I'll really go insane."
"Padfoot please," Remus sighed. "Whatever you're thinking, just stop it."
"When do you think I can have a nice long talk with my two cousins again?" he asked.
"I don't know but I'll tell them to stop by when they have the chance. It's not like you'll be going anywhere," Remus replied, worried what Sirius planned on telling the girls, especially Nymphadora with what had came to his mind.
"Alright, tell them to come fast, I need to talk to each of them," Sirius grinned. "Oh and can you take this and give it to Lexi on your way back?" he asked when he saw Remus prepare to leave. Sirius handed Remus a small paper package he'd made during his free time in the shack. "Tell her cousin Padfoot says happy birthday," Sirius smiled.
"It's Alexis' birthday?"
"Yeah she tends to be quite forgetful about her own birth. Now I think you better go before people start suspecting and I'll have to find a new hiding place like a cave or something," Sirius scoffed. "And be sure to be nice to Tonksie for me," the lanky man grinned.
"Padfoot," Remus rolled his eyes as he left the room with Sirius' package for Alexis in his hand and thoughts of Nymphadora on his mind. Yes Sirius was recovering and returning to his old self and yes they were coming closer to finding sufficient evidence to help prove Sirius' innocence. He should be happy. But instead, Remus is worried. He didn't want Sirius to talk to Nymphadora about how he feels about her, especially since she'd never return his feelings.
While walking down the dark and downright dreary hallway to her old potions professor's private office, Tonks realized she'd been in the dungeon a lot more often than she would've ever liked lately. She swallowed hard at the realization that soon, she would be found asking Severus Snape for help, all to prove her cousin Sirius' innocence. Never in her life had she ever thought she'd need Severus Snape's help. She never needed his help when she still had his class. She never needed his help in school. And if not for Sirius, she never would need his help. Tonks swallowed again. How'd she end up agreeing to ask for Snape's help?
When they arrived in front of his wooden door, Tonks was pulled out of her mind when she heard Alexis heave a heavy sigh. "Take a breath because I'm making you apologize to him."
Tonks sighed the longest breath she'd ever held. "I know. I sort of figured it out."
"And you are going to apologize properly, like you mean it."
"I know. Blimey Lexi you're acting like my mum."
"I'm not that old but I still am older than you."
"Yes, by one bloody year."
"Whatever. Now come on, I really don't like being here anymore than you do but we need Snape's help if we're going to get sufficient evidence to prove Padfoot's innocence."
The pink haired metamorphmagus took a deep breath as her raven haired cousin knocked several times on the door. The dungeon was so quiet, they could literally hear him inside his own room. They heard a soft pushing of a chair, footsteps that were his signature, long, billowing strides, and a soft grumble as he opened the door. Standing before them was Snape, tall, dressed in entirely black robes, with piercing beady black eyes looking down at them.
"Why are you here?" he asked in his low, cold, and dry voice.
"Um…we were wondering if you could help us with something," Alexis spoke, managing a wry smile as she nudged Tonks in front of her.
"First I want to apologize for what happened last night," Tonks spoke evenly. She never feared Snape, but she never liked him either. So asking for his help made her feel odd. "I'm sorry for screaming at you last night and for losing my temper and breaking your potion bottles. And I'm sorry for calling you rude names," Tonks spoke. "Even though most of the time you completely deserve it," Tonks added mentally.
Snape straightened up and leaned on his door as his eyes turned from Tonks, to Alexis, and then back to Tonks. "They're up to something…" he thought to himself. Being a teacher, he knew well enough that students, no matter how old they were, don't all of a sudden accept their faults just because they felt guilty. There was always an ulterior motive and when he realized he was looking at Alexis Black and Nymphadora Tonks in their faces, Snape realized that their ulterior motive might be more troublesome than any other of his past or present students.
"And I'm sorry for being so straightforward about your past last night," Alexis added.
"Black, Nymphadora, don't tell me you two came all the way down here right after dinner just so you can apologize for me," he spoke dryly, almost sneering at them, almost. Though he never really cared about what others thought of him, hearing a word of apology was rather soothing to the ear. Severus Snape was only human after all.
"Well…like Lexi said, we need your help with something," Tonks spoke.
"I knew it," Snape thought and was tempted to roll his eyes at how right he was. "Come in and don't touch anything," he spoke, knowing Tonks was infamous for her clumsiness and inability to keep anything unbroken for long.
They came in quietly and sat down. Tonks wanted to gag at all the drear, but she knew that doing so wouldn't help in what she came there to do. Snape's office was a gloomy, dimly-lit room and its shadowy walls were lined with glass jars filled with revolting things Tonks didn't want to even think about. She carefully sat down in the potions master's black leather armchair, careful not to touch or knock anything over, especially when she realized that there was so much glass from the potions being brewed in the room. Alexis sat on the arm of the chair as they both stayed a good five feet away from the dreary professor and his nightmarish walls. Severus Snape leaned on his circular desk and again looked at them with patronizing eyes.
"Professor, this may be a little too straightforward, but were you or were you not a Death Eater under Voldemort during times of the First Wizarding War?" Alexis asked, speaking in a mask that Tonks called her Unspeakable Mask, sounding like she completely means business and one of the main reasons she was such a great Unspeakable.
"Alexis I don't see a point in mentioning aspects of the past that is insignificant," Snape replied dryly. He remembered her as the little girl who cursed Bellatrix from years ago, and surely she remembered him as well since she kept questioning. Ever since then, he saw no point in denying his background to her, and it wasn't like they could do anything about it anyways. They already don't trust him and never liked him, he didn't have to care about what they think.
"So you don't deny it?" Alexis asked.
"No," he replied again, wondering where the girl was going at with the news.
It was Tonks' turn to speak and she made careful note to choose her words correctly less she somehow angered him and lowered their chance. "Since you were once a Death Eater, did you know anything about Peter Pettigrew's allegiance to Voldemort?" she asked carefully.
"No."
"Severus Snape, though we are not questioning you under order of the Ministry, it is crucial that you tell us the truth," Tonks spoke, trying so hard to control herself and her words.
"I knew these two girls were up to something, but exactly where were they trying to go with this?" Snape thought to himself as he looked at them intently. He was slightly surprised when he finally realized that Alexis Black and Nymphadora Tonks both resembled Bellatrix Lestrange so much. He wondered how come he never noticed this in all the years of being their teacher. "Pettigrew was never loyal to Voldemort. He feared him."
"And did this fear lead to him doing anything that would benefit Voldemort?" Alexis asked, looking at him with cold, dark eyes, almost matching his iciness.
"I'm not sure," Snape replied as he was forced to remember the past.
"Professor, please tell us what you know," Tonks spoke.
"Pettigrew…Peter Pettigrew is dead and was killed by Sirius Black," Snape thought. "Unless…these two plan on helping Black and that is why they are questioning me about Pettigrew. I had never quite paid much attention to that little rat…why would they?" His eyes turned from Tonks, to Alexis slowly. "Peter Pettigrew, for a brief period of time, had been captured by Voldemort. It was Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange who captured him and handed him to Voldemort since he was a member of the Order of the Phoenix who resisted Voldemort. What happened between Voldemort and Pettigrew I am not aware of, but Voldemort did release him after only several days of being held captive."
Tonks had to admit that was quite helpful. They never knew that Pettigrew had been captured by the Lestranges and brought to Voldemort, and she doubt Sirius or Remus did either. Tonks glanced at Alexis who had that look in her eyes again, that look that obviously said she was deep in thought. Tonks spoke, using her skills of interrogation to get more information.
"And was Pettigrew's capture before the death of Lily and James Potter?"
Snape had to force himself not to wince at the woman's name. "Yes, right before."
"Do you know exactly who the person was that revealed Lily and James Potter's location under the Fidelius Charm?"
"No. The Ministry had stated that it was Sirius Black."
"Have you ever thought otherwise?" Alexis asked.
He began thinking about it. Since before, Snape always thought that it was highly unlikely Black would sell out James Potter. "But this is Black we're talking about and he'd do just about anything…including selling out his best friends to the Dark Lord?" He began to ponder on that subject. Snape finally saw where the two girls were going with this.
"Pettigrew…professor did you notice any difference in the way Peter Pettigrew was acting after he was freed from being Voldemort's captive?"
"No. He was just as fearful of Voldemort after as he was before."
"Do you know why Voldemort didn't simply kill Peter Pettigrew and why he simply allowed him to leave?" Tonks asked.
"No. Voldemort never truly trusted the Death Eaters and only told them what they needed to know," he replied. "You two don't plan on helping Sirius Black do you?"
"Well we're not going to get any more information," Alexis sighed to Tonks.
"You two knew where Black is hiding," Snape spoke, taking a step towards them. "And you haven't informed your superiors. You are knowingly toying with the safety of the Hogwarts students and especially, Harry Potter."
"Wow. I'm surprised he actually worries about Harry's safety. And we all thought he completely despises the boy," Tonks thought. "We're simply investigating more into this very questionable case, professor. After all, you do know that the Ministry never gave Sirius Black a proper trial," Tonks replied carefully, never admitting they knew where Sirius is.
"Professor will you please repeat everything that you told us to Alastor Moody and a Wizengamot member as a solid statement once the case is reopened?" Alexis asked.
"Absolutely not."
"Professor Snape, what you know could greatly help Sirius Black," Tonks spoke. "Since you've already told us this, all you would have to do is repeat yourself."
"Help Black?" Snape replied, remembering all those years the man had tortured and humiliated him. "He betrayed his own friends. He's nothing but a hypocritical coward. And he nearly got me killed. Why would I help him?"
Tonks clenched her teeth and swallowed hard when she was about to snap at the man for calling Sirius a hypocritical coward. Luckily Alexis had held her back. Tonks took a deep breath and said, "Severus you'd be a fool to let an old school grudge get in the way of you saving an innocent man from a terrible fate."
"Call me a fool but I will never help Black. Everything he's done, he deserves to be in there. He was an arrogant and impudent fool who ravishes in the humiliation and pain of others. He does not deserve my help." Snape replied. "I have to admit, these two are rather loyal for still wanting to help the convicted criminal. But his case is over and done with and he does not need my help. He wouldn't even accept my help so why would I have to lower myself to help him?"
"Severus, be an adult will you?" Tonks replied but immediately wanted to slap herself. That definitely wouldn't help in convincing him to help Sirius.
"Nymphadora, out," Snape spoke. If she was going to chastise him, she might as well leave. He wasn't going to help Black, not after all the embarrassment and humiliation he'd had to face because of that man and his friends.
"Don't. Call me. Nymphadora," Tonks hissed, standing up and was about to say more when Alexis pulled her aside a little too roughly.
"Tonks, there's still a chance we could convince him some other time," Alexis whispered while still pulling Tonks towards the door.
She scowled at her cousin but nodded. Before Tonks left however, she turned around to look at Snape one more time and swore she spotted a little bit of guilt in his eyes when he looked at Alexis and her. "He's not an arrogant and impudent fool and he's definitely not a hypocritical coward. You'd know that to be true if you give him a chance and help him," Tonks spoke to him before leaving with Alexis. Again she spotted a small trace of guilt in his eyes and thought that maybe Alexis had been right when they could convince him to offer his help another time.
As he watched them leave, Snape felt a wind of guilt wash over him. What Alexis and Nymphadora had mentioned about Peter Pettigrew was questionable and they had strong reasons to believe that with his help, they could really help Black who was after all their cousin. But Snape wasn't going to help a man like him so easily, one who ravished in his embarrassment and humiliation. He would never forget all those things James Potter and Sirius Black had done to him, and not to mention Sirius Black knowingly played him into a prank that could have gotten him killed. A man like that didn't deserve his help…
Approaching the door to Remus' private office, Alexis and Tonks realized that without Remus inside, they wouldn't be able to get in. They'd try simply toying with the lock on the door, but their efforts would be futile as the Marauder and D.A.D.A. teacher wouldn't leave the safety of his private quarters to that of a simple metal lock. Tonks leaned on the door and sighed, looking at her raven haired cousin, wondering how they were going to gain Snape's help.
"How do you plan on convincing him?" Tonks sighed.
"Well his only reason for not helping Sirius seems to be because he thinks Sirius doesn't deserve it. Basically, he thinks Sirius is a complete git. If we could prove him wrong…"
"Yes but Sirius will never be friendly towards Snape. Even I can't stay friendly with him for long, how will we ever prove to Snape that Sirius truly deserves to be saved?"
"I don't know. But surely Sirius will be smart enough to be nice to a man who could greatly help in proving him innocent, no matter what happened in their past."
"Nymphadora, Alexis, why didn't you come in and sit down to wait for me?" Remus asked as he appeared out from the secret passage way behind his moving bookshelf. "Why trouble yourself with waiting for me out here?"
"We couldn't get inside Remus. And it'd be rude to break your charms," Tonks replied, remembering she could simply counter them, being an auror and all.
"But I left my door unlocked tonight thinking you and Alexis would come in before me."
"Fail," Lexi sighed and shook her head, smirking as she simply turned the doorknob and pushed the wooden door open.
"Thinking does complicate things," Tonks sighed as Remus chuckled and they walked into his office together. "Did you tell Sirius about how Snape could possibly tell him?"
"Yes and he wasn't too happy when he found out we'd have to ask for help from Severus of all people," Remus replied sitting down beside Tonks on his threadbare sofa as Alexis sat across from them, a smirk similar to Sirius' he'd seen earlier that night, playing across her face.
"He's not going to be happy when he knows that we'll have to keep asking Snape to offer us his help," Alexis replied, sitting back comfortably in the armchair.
"Snape told us what he knew, but he wouldn't repeat it to Mad-Eye or the Ministry," Tonks told Remus. "Following Wizengamot rules and regulations, for a witnesses' account to be taken seriously and marked as proper evidence, the witness has to speak with the Wizengamot member and also sign a paper saying his statements were true. If Snape won't repeat it, it's still just words, not evidence," Tonks sighed. "Snape still thinks Sirius is a complete git and doesn't deserve his help." She noticed that Remus had a small package in his hand and was about to question him what it was but before she had the chance, Remus was already questioning them.
"What did Severus know about Peter?"
"He said Pettigrew was captured by Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange for several days, before Lily and James Potter's death. Did you notice this Remus?"
Remus shook his head. "No. We all thought he'd been sent on an Order mission for Dumbledore but he came back and said the mission was a failure. I can't remember exactly how many days he was gone, but it was before James and Lily's death."
"Well Snape said the Lestranges captured him and brought him to Voldemort because of his status as an Order member," Tonks spoke, faintly remembering Sirius and Remus mention the Order of the Phoenix being a resistance group against Voldemort. "Lexi and I believe that during that time, Pettigrew must have sold the Potters out to save his own life. This proves that Sirius never revealed the Potter's location to Voldemort, proving he was never a traitor."
"So now we must convince Severus to help Sirius, despite what he's done to him during our Hogwarts years," Remus sighed, knowing the task was harder than it sounded. Being a first-hand witness, Sirius had been a complete and utter git to Severus. It would take a miracle for Severus to be willing to help him. "Isn't there any other ways of taking Severus' statements? Since he told you everything, can't the Wizengamot take a portion of your memories and see to it through a Pensieve…or possibly use Legilimency?" Remus asked, desperate to help.
"Unfortunately no because memories could be altered and Legilimency could be resisted, especially because Tonks is an auror and I'm an Unspeakable, the ministry won't use it on us."
"I guess we'll just have to convince him to help us ourselves," Tonks sighed. "And we also have to look for Pettigrew while he's still in the castle."
"Yes. I will try to talk to Severus whenever I can," Remus spoke. "And I can keep an eye on Peter's location through use of the Marauder's Map. Alexis, you and Nymphadora can use the locators to find him as well and the Ghost necklace of yours to catch him. Sirius will be safe for now at the Shrieking Shack and we have until spring to either get Severus' help or catch Peter."
Both women nodded. "We'll have to work with that for now," Lexi sighed.
"By the way Alexis, happy birthday," Remus smiled. "And Sirius said happy birthday as well," he spoke and handed her the small package Tonks had noticed earlier.
"Oh he of all people should know Lexi wouldn't accept presents on her birthday," Tonks sighed, remembering the many times she'd tried to give Lexi a present on the fifteenth of December, only be have the present returned to her in the form of an ingenious prank.
"Really? Well I still think you should take this anyways," Remus smiled as she took it.
Curious and wondering what her currently in hiding Azkaban escapee of a cousin had given her, Alexis opened the small tan package. After she tore apart the horribly wrapped package and opened the lid, a paper swallow suddenly flew out of the box and fluttered around Alexis. Tonks beamed when she saw a genuine smile dance across her cousin's lips.
"See this goes to prove that Sirius isn't a complete git," Tonks smiled.
"He has his moments," Remus nodded, glad to see Alexis smile as well.
Lexi grinned broadly and caught the swallow carefully in her hand as its wings folded up and it rested in her hand for the time being. She looked back in the box and found a smaller box and a note written in Sirius' sloppy and almost illegible scrawl. She read the note out loud. "Give this box to Moony and have him open it together with you and Nymphie. It's an early Christmas present to all three of you from me. Have fun," she read.
"How thoughtful," Remus spoke, suspecting something was up. Sirius was never one to think ahead that long into the future. He took the smaller white box that Alexis handed him and opened it carefully with Alexis and Tonks looking in.
"Bloody hell," Remus and Tonks spoke together, stirring a snicker from Alexis.
"That's a very symbolic present. I think Sirius is getting impatient," Alexis spoke, smirking at Remus and Tonks who were blushing and realizing that they were sitting so close.
"At least he's recovering and becoming his old self again," Remus sighed, trying to hide his blush as he diverted his attention away from Tonks. He couldn't risk letting his already racing heart to beat even faster, especially in front of Alexis. Remus had already established that he was, pulling all logical thoughts aside, in love with Nymphadora Tonks. But with his logical mind, he knew that he simply couldn't love her, not when he could burden her and she would never fall for someone like him. "It's just like Sirius to give us something like that for the holidays," Remus sighed, setting the box down on the table, mentally reminding himself to dispose of it later.
Tonks couldn't take her eyes off the content inside the box. Sirius was known for his awful Christmas presents, but she didn't think it could be as bad as that. She tried not to gag as she spoke. "So now not only do we have to convince Snape to help Sirius…despite his unfriendly history with the man, we also have to catch Pettigrew as well."
"Unfortunately yes," Alexis sighed, realizing they just made more work for themselves.
"Bloody hell that's a god awful present," Tonks groaned.
"I think Sirius meant to tell us that he wants Peter…dead or alive…" Remus spoke as he looked at the dead rat carcass lying in the box. The innocent little rat did look a lot like Peter's animagus form, and Sirius made it very clear what he now thought of Peter. Remus winced slightly at the shoe print on the rat's abdomen, looking like his lanky friend had flat out stomped on the little thing. Dead or alive…Sirius was getting desperate.