Author's Note:
Ah this chapter was so hard to write! But yet I loved writing every part of it. Hmm, please tell me what you think, anything I can improve on? Thank you for reading! It's not over yet but I still thank you for reading.
Oh by the way, I'm changing my author name to "WordyAndRestless" because I think I've grown out of the "Angelic94" phase. It's a personal thing, I'm sorry I can't explain. But thank you for bearing with me and going through all the pointless teenage stages that no one understands. So now I'm known as "WordyAndRestless" thank you! and again I'm terribly sorry for any confusion.
Chapter 18 – Secrets of the Shrieking Shack
On the day of the full moon, Tonks found herself standing inside Albus Dumbledore's office, accompanied by Remus, Alexis, Mad-Eye, and Silvia. Remus had one arm around her shoulder, trying to stand with as much dignity as he could muster in his current battered state. Alexis, Tonks noticed, was fidgeting with her fingers. Her cousin must sense that something was up or something very wrong was going to happen soon. Mad-Eye Moody stood broodingly beside Silvia who had a soft, reassuring smile on her face. They were all waiting for Albus Dumbledore to speak, to allow Tonks and Alexis to help Remus down to the Shrieking Shack. They'd been waiting for the headmaster to begin for a while now, but the man seemed too preoccupied at the moment stroking the vermillion feathers of his phoenix, Fawkes.
"Albus," Moody grunted, fed up with waiting.
Dumbledore smiled and turned away from his phoenix, facing the witches and wizards in his room. "Ah yes, I believe it's sunset already," he spoke calmly in his soothing, reassuring headmaster voice. "I believe you've set all the precautionary shields around the Shrieking Shack?" he asked, turning from Moody to Alexis and Tonks
"We've set everything up sir," Tonks replied, glancing up at Remus.
"Explain to us what you've done," Moody grunted just before Silvia could ask.
"Lexi has set it up so that I'll be holding up the outside confinement charms, preventing anyone from going in and out of the shack entirely. Then Lexi will be the one holding up the charms that will keep Remus at bay and will allow me to go up and check on him often to make sure he's fine," Tonks explained.
"Nymphadora and Alexis will be coming with me?" Remus asked, surprised. They hadn't told him about it till then, knowing the selfless man would disagree and do all that he can to convince them to stay away. "It's dangerous," he spoke in a sterner voice. "Not to mention I won't have wolfsbane. They'll get hurt." Remus' bandages still covered him but he was fit enough to stand on his own now, only occasionally needing a little support as he regained his balance. Tonks held onto him, throwing him a dark glance that pleaded for him just to agree.
"I'm afraid Remus," Dumbledore began with a twinkle in his eyes. "That it's already settled. It took a lot of convincing out of Alastor. But Miss Tonks and Alexis will be accompanying you to keep you safe and keep all of us safe."
Remus opened his mouth, about to protest but Tonks tapped his shoulder and shot him a meaningful glare. He glanced in her eyes and forced himself to be quiet, sighing inwardly, afraid that he would hurt his own best friends, and the only people who cared about him.
"It's time," Moody grunted again, his electric blue mechanical eye shifting quickly between Tonks and Lexi. "You better get there early to prepare, constant vigilance for tonight."
They began filing out of Dumbledore's office, Moody clonking out first with quick, hasty steps. Tonks could tell that her mentor wasn't happy with leaving her and her cousin being the only ones to handle Remus, but it was during that time that she wanted to prove her wrong. Not only will they be able to handle Remus and keep him safe, Tonks wanted to prove to her mentor that along with her cousin Lexi, Tonks will help regain the freedom of an innocent man as well. She tightened her grip on Remus' shabby robes as she helped him out the door. Suddenly, she noticed that Alexis still hung around Dumbledore's office just behind Silvia.
"Something wrong Alexis?" Dumbledore asked and Silvia turned around along with Tonks and Remus to face them.
"I don't know," Lexi replied and for the first time, Tonks saw an expression of worry on her face. "Does anyone else hear that crackling noise, like something's burning?" she asked.
Tonks and Remus stood by the open door, watching as Dumbledore raised his index finger and nodded, acknowledging Lexi's hearing of the noise. When she listened closely, Tonks heard the noise too. It sounded like something was burning. Remus and Silvia must have heard too as they now watched the headmaster walk around his room, seeming to be looking for something. Tonks wondered what he was looking for.
"I seem to have forgotten to hand you two letters we received a few days ago from your mother and your aunt," Dumbledore spoke in a calm voice. "Ah, here they are," he spoke, smiling oddly pleasantly as he showed them the two velvet red letters in his hand, shaking and seeming like they were about to burn up.
Tonks and Alexis both swallowed an audible gulp. She could see her cousin scramble to take her wand out. Tonks moved forward gently, still supporting Remus with his arm around her shoulder. Silvia and Remus watched the girls quietly, recognizing the two velvet red letters in Albus Dumbledore's hands to be two red howlers.
"I'd open it quickly," Dumbledore spoke but yet he didn't move forward to hand the letters over. Tonks was beginning to think he was trying to buy time. Alexis took out her wand and waited for Tonks to snatch the letter as she knew of a way to cancel the effects of howlers.
Tonks took a deep breath when she finally got her hands on the two red letters from Dumbledore. She turned sharply to Alexis who had already begun to wave her wand in a complicated motion. Sadly, she was too late. The two letters jumped out of Tonks' hands, floating in mid-air as small traces of ember began scorching the letters. They pulled apart and slammed together as if tackling the other. The two letters morphed into one and shaped itself into a pair of bright, velvet red origami lips, the white of the letter inside forming to become paper teeth as the deep burgundy ribbon became the tongue. The letter turned to face both Alexis and Tonks who stood side by side. Both had received howlers from Andromeda Tonks before and it was just like being on the receiving end of the Black family outrage. It was never fun.
"NYMPHADORA. TONKS. AND ALEXIS. LYDIA. BLACK!" the letter shrieked in the familiar, enraged voice of Andromeda Tonks. Tonks couldn't help but cringe and almost whimper when she heard her mother scream her name. Alexis subconsciously backed away and heaved a breath, staring at the letter. Tonks was embarrassed when she realized that Remus, Silvia, and Albus Dumbledore were there and judging by the volume of her mother's voice, even a deaf man would be able to hear the letter a mile away. Tonks was so embarrassed; she could literally feel her embarrassment pulsing through the air. "I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! HOW DARE YOU BREAK A PROMISE, not showing up for Christmas dinner? You've gone and DISAPPEARED for months with no explanation other than a confidential mission! Does EITHER OF YOU know how worried we are? How can you two be so IRRESPONSIBLE? ALEXIS LYDIA BLACK! What will your PARENTS say? I may ONLY BE YOUR AUNT but I thought I had more respect from you! YOU CAN'T just disappear for months on end! And NYMPHADORA TONKS! I RAISED YOU TO BE BETTER THAN THIS! I KNEW IT WAS A BAD DECISION, letting you become an AUROR! Your father and I stayed up all night waiting for you and Alexis! If you two are up to your old, mischievous tricks again, I WILL FIND YOU MYSELF, AND BRING YOU STRAIGHT. HOME! You will NEVER leave the house, AGAIN! YOU WAIT UNTIL I GET A HOLD OF YOU! The next time I see you, THE BOTH OF YOU, you two will be in more trouble than the time YOU BLEW UP THE ENTIRE HOGWARTS LIBRARY!" The letter came to a shrieking and very threatening finish, tearing itself into pieces as those pieces burst into flames, leaving only ashes in its wake.
Tonks had to swallow yet another hard gulp after the letter was finished. Alexis heaved a heavy sigh, still standing frozen in her spot. Both Tonks and Lexi knew that Andromeda Tonks never made empty threats. They'd gotten howlers from her before, especially when they were in school and had gotten in trouble for something. Andromeda would scream at them through the letter and it'd be so vivid that Tonks could just imagine her mother standing there screaming at her. However, luckily howlers don't have eyes and could never imitate her mother's killer stares. If looks could kill, the eyes of Andromeda Tonks when she was angry could be a lethal weapon.
Alexis turned to Tonks as a thought suddenly hit them. They both remembered what had happened that summer when they came home after Minerva McGonagall informed Andromeda that the two girls had managed to blow up the entire library with dungbombs. Tonks remembered being screamed at for hours on end. She remembered being locked in the house with no traces of sunlight or outside air for months. And she remembered those icy, threatening glares that practically pulled her apart piece by piece. It had been a nightmare of a summer.
"Well that could have gone better," Dumbledore sighed. "I reckon you should be off now. I suspect you'll need time to prepare for moonrise," he smiled. He seemed unfazed by her mother's screaming and Tonks thought that if he'd handed them the letter earlier instead of buying time, Alexis could have charmed the howlers and saved themselves the embarrassment.
"Yes sir." Tonks walked out with Remus beside her and Alexis and Silvia behind her.
"It's alright Nymphadora, she only cares about you," Remus spoke softly, comfortingly.
"Tonksie, I'm more scared of Andromeda than Bellatrix," Alexis sighed darkly.
"I'm guessing you girls don't want to ever hear of this again," Silvia kept her smile subtle. Tonks knew she was trying hard not to laugh. It wasn't everyday you get to hear your fellow auror get screamed at by their mother. Tonks and Alexis both shot her a very dark glare. The woman with dark brown hair in sharp curls laughed nervously. "Right. I won't say a thing."
"What was that?" they heard a familiar voice gasp.
Tonks quickly morphed her features back to her disguise as a thirteen year-old, shrinking in height as well as she got off the last step from Dumbledore's office.
"Shut up Ronald!" another hushed voice sounded.
"Harry? Ron? Hermione?" Remus asked, looking at the trio standing before him.
"What are you doing here?" Tonks asked after her morph had finished.
"Professor Dumbledore asked to see us to speak about the dementors' particular interest in me," Harry replied. "Where are you headed?" he asked, his eyes showing bemusement as he looked at Tonks who was still supporting Remus, to his shabby and ill professor, to Alexis who had a her large bag around her shoulders and holding three heavy winter cloaks in her arms.
"We're just helping Professor Lupin to…" Alexis began, having a hard time thinking properly as she still could hear Andromeda Tonks' voice screaming in her ears.
"To a more suitable place to recover," Tonks smiled nervously.
"Ah yes. I've been feeling rather under the weather lately and the noise around school isn't doing me any good," Remus smiled nervously as well.
"Right. Off we go," Tonks spoke, pulling Remus along a little bit faster and he had to struggle to keep up. Silvia had left and turned down a different corridor while Tonks and Alexis helped Remus sneak away heading to the Whomping Willow, using the passage they knew led to the Shrieking Shack from there. Tonks heaved a sigh, knowing it was going to be a very long night. Somehow, the letter was foreboding the worse. Remus was shivering beside her as they walked and treaded through the snow. She held onto him tighter. Most of his wounds still aren't closed, but they will just have to do as they couldn't hold back the coming of the moon.
Inside the Shrieking Shack, Tonks still felt a feeling of fear, despite being there with Alexis and Remus, and knowing that the shack really wasn't haunted at all. All the doors were broken and you can see through part of the walls and ceilings to another room. Termites ate up a lot of the wood and the shack was moaning. It felt like it was swaying back and forth. It was falling apart. The walls were greyer than before and the wood seemed more unstable. Tonks took slow steps, afraid that if she fell she might just fall through to another floor.
The three of them walked in slowly, Tonks helping Remus settle down on the clawed and broken sofa in what she made out to be the living room. Alexis came in after them, crawling up from the small stairs that came from the passage way of the Whomping Willow. She turned to her cousin Tonks whose pretty face was marred with dirt and dust. Lexi had her wand held out as she set her bag down, facing them in the small, creaking room.
"I've got everything set up," Alexis began quickly. Tonks watched as her raven haired cousin dug through her bag in search of something. After a moment, Alexis pulled out two clear orbs that looked like a rememberall, but not quite. "These are spell holding orbs," she smirked.
"You nicked them from the Department of Mysteries didn't you?" Tonks sighed.
"Actually no. These were presents from the Department, after I got my promotion," she grinned. "They'll be able to hold up any charms without wearing out our energy. In order to…keep a feral werewolf at bay…sorry Remus, we'll need strong wards, ones different from normal protection charms. And not to mention we have to keep Remus from harming himself once in wolf form. So all the spells we have to cast would be a complete strain to us the whole night. That's why I brought these. Just cast your spell into these and they'll hold it for you. I have two here, one to keep up the wards outside so that no one comes in or out. And the other is for inside where we keep Remus upstairs and he'll be safe. I could also set it to alert us with a wave of light if Remus hurts himself while in wolf form."
"That sounds good," Tonks nodded. She was alert when they suddenly heard a loud thump. Tonks and Alexis' eyes shifted towards the stairs and the wooden door that led from the Whomping Willow to the shack. The door was closed, just like how they'd left it. But Tonks swore she heard quick, nervous breathing, and none of it came from Remus or her or Alexis.
"Is someone here?" Remus whispered to Tonks, their eyes searching the apparently empty room. "You heard breathing right?"
"But no one could have followed us without being seen," Alexis spoke.
Tonks nodded. "It might just be a figment of our imagination though," she spoke softly.
"I can just hear Mad-Eye Moody screaming constant vigilance in our faces," Alexis sighed. "Come on Tonks, help me unpack. Remus, I suggest you take this potion. It will further heal your wounds so that transformation won't make you scream bloody murder," Lexi spoke, handing him a large bottle of a greenish potion.
"Thank you Alexis, Tonks," Remus sighed, taking the potion Tonks brought to him.
"By the way, you can drop your morph now Tonksie," she laughed. "Seeing your thirteen year old self scares me a bit."
"How come you never said so before," Tonks replied, morphing back to her normal adult self, her hair grown out a bit longer as well but still retaining its bubblegum pink color. "And what's this?" she asked, unshrinking a large white package.
"That's food from the Three Broomsticks. I ordered enough to feed us and Padfoot."
"Speaking of Padfoot," Remus began. "Where is he?"
"Oh I told him to get some sleep before we came because he'll be the one walking up and down tonight making sure you're alright," Alexis replied. "I'll go wake him. Tonksie unpack."
"Blimey Lexi stop calling me Tonksie," Tonks groaned.
"Fine I'll call you Nymphadora," Lexi retorted.
"Alexis Black! I'm going to send you a howler of my own!" Tonks yelled at her cousin who disappeared up the rotting, creaking staircase.
Remus sat back and chuckled. "Nymphadora thank you for everything."
"Oh stop it," Tonks sighed, patting his hand slowly and rolling her eyes. "We're friends and I'd do anything to help you. Besides, in case you've forgotten, I made a promise to you during the October Blood Moon that I'd come to help and check on you every morning after your transformation. If I couldn't be here now, you'll still see me early tomorrow morning. You're not pushing me away that easily," she smiled.
He couldn't help but smile when he heard her repeat the promise. It seemed so simple a promise, but he was so grateful she cared. "I just don't want to risk you getting in danger."
"I'm an auror Remus. We've been through this before," she spoke with a serious look in her eyes, taking his hand. "I'll be perfectly fine. Like I said before, it's you we've got to worry about. You're still badly injured and moonrise is fast approaching."
Remus nodded. He was about to speak when he suddenly spotted his best friend and his best friend's cousin standing on both sides of the doorway. Tonks turned to follow Remus' gaze to meet the almost identical grins of Sirius Black and Alexis Black. She raised an eyebrow. Alexis looked like a lot of the Black family, but her resemblance to Sirius was shocking as well. The mischievous and darkly handsome/beautiful grin they had on their faces were…identical.
"I've never seen you so bloody beat up Moony," Sirius grinned.
"Well get used to it Padfoot," Remus replied, as he grinned a wolfish grin.
Sirius chuckled. His face didn't look as hallow and haunted as before. He was still lanky, but he didn't look starving like the first time Remus had seen him after Sirius' escape from Azkaban. Sirius was also wearing the winter cloak his cousins had bought him over his Azkaban uniform. He had a dark, Sirius-like grin on his face and Remus was glad to see that his best friend was doing well to recover the twelve years lost.
The lanky raven haired man continued to chuckle as he made his way over to Remus. However, just as Sirius got in the middle of the living room, something happened that none of them had expect. Not Remus, not Tonks, none of them.
"You!" a familiar voice shrieked.
Remus turned in the direction of the voice and immediately saw Harry Potter rip an invisibility cloak off himself, revealing a scared and worried looking Ron and Hermione in his wake. Before they could do anything, Harry lunged himself at Sirius and pinned the lanky man down to the ground, taking him completely by surprise. The boy with glasses and messy black hair took out his wand from inside his jacket and jabbed the tip at Sirius' throat, threatening him with a look of pure anger and rage in his eyes.
He looked at the man below him. Harry must have seen how different he looked from the wanted posters. Sirius wasn't laughing madly and his eyes didn't glisten with a dark, foreboding murderous twinkle. He didn't look like the murderer they made him out to be. But Harry was still seething with anger as he gripped Sirius' neck with one hand, his wand in his other.
"Harry!" Remus called after, attempting to stand but only faltering and falling back down again. Tonks gave him a look telling him to stay seated as she stood up slowly.
"It was you! I'm going to kill you," Harry growled, huffing with rage.
"Harry no!" Hermione shrieked and attempted to pull Harry off but the boy pushed her away harshly and she fell back into Ron's arms. "Harry you can't do that!"
"He killed my mum and dad! You're the reason they're dead. You sold them to Voldemort! He was my dad's best friend in school did you know that?" he asked, looking up at everyone in the room. "You killed your best friends. He sold my parents to Voldemort. He killed Peter Pettigrew and thirteen other muggles with a single curse," Harry continued to explain. "And he just stood there. All that was left of Pettigrew…was his finger."
"Harry, let. Him. Go," Tonks spoke softly, making sure every word she said was clear.
"No!" Harry shrieked, looking up at her and then turning from her to Alexis who had now shuffled over beside Tonks. "I trusted you! And after all this time, you've been his friend," Harry spoke, sounding hurt. "You lied to us! And you even disguised yourself to be our friends!"
"Harry let Sirius go and we will explain everything," Tonks sighed, trying to get closer to him, holding both her hands out. "Let him go."
"No! He betrayed my parents! He killed Peter Pettigrew."
"No he didn't Harry," Remus spoke up in defense of his friends. "I thought so too. We all did. But the truth is Sirius is innocent. He never betrayed your parents, it was Peter Pettigrew."
"Pettigrew's dead. You killed him!" Harry spoke, turning back to Sirius, shaking in rage.
Sirius let out a laugh as he looked at his godson in the face. Harry had James' face, but Lily's eyes. That was the first thing that registered in Sirius' mind. The second was that his godson now had him at the tip of his wand with rage in his eyes. "Are you going to kill me Harry?" Sirius laughed, sounding like he was taunting the boy.
"Sirius be quiet," Tonks and Remus both spoke at the same time.
"It's not him Harry now let him go," Alexis sighed, stroking her cheek as she crossed her arms. Her eyes turned from the boy to Hermione and Ron who stood together at the corner, staring at the scene with fear and disbelief in their eyes. "Now if you will just calm down we'll explain to you everything," she spoke, sounding more commanding and older.
"No don't believe them Harry," Hermione spoke up, breathing heavily. To Tonks, the kids looked as if they've had a bad run in with the Whomping Willow. But then she remembered they must have gotten to the shack using that passage. "Tonks…if that's your real name, is a metamorphmagus. She pretended to be a kid this whole time. And Lexi is Alexis Black. She's related to him! And he's a werewolf! They want you dead too. They've been helping Black this whole time," she spoke, pointing a finger at each of them.
Remus sighed as Tonks wanted to face palm herself. Hermione just managed to give all of them the skeptical look they hated so much. She managed to keep herself calm, knowing that they need to explain to the kid. She turned back to Harry who was staring at them in confusion.
"Hermione you are correct in saying Nymphadora…err Tonks, is a metamorphmagus," Remus spoke in a shockingly conversational tone. "And you're correct in saying Alexis is related to Sirius. And you are correct in saying that I am a werewolf. But none of us are trying to kill Harry. None of us want Harry dead, I assure you."
"Professor Dumbledore hired you when he knows you're a werewolf?" Ron asked and his skeptical look was worse than Hermione. "Is he mad?"
"It did take a lot of convincing, especially to the other teachers that I am trustworthy."
"And he was wrong you've been helping Sirius Black," Harry cut in.
"I have been helping him only because he's an innocent man. He never betrayed your parents. He never killed anybody. He was Peter's scapegoat," Remus explained calmly.
"And Hermione, being a werewolf does not make someone untrustworthy," Tonks spoke.
"How did you know Hermione?" Remus asked.
"Since Professor Snape set the essay."
"Oh he'll be delighted," Remus managed a dark chuckle. "Harry I was your father's friend," Remus began in a softer voice. "And so was Sirius. But Sirius never betrayed them. Peter Pettigrew was their secret keeper and he betrayed them."
"Peter Pettigrew was killed by him. The ministry said those muggles saw him do it," Harry spoke, trying to make sense of what was happening.
"They saw what Peter wanted them to see," Sirius spoke up in a louder, much more serious voice. He simply laid there, unafraid of Harry as he spoke to the boy. "It was Peter who killed those muggles in an explosion spell. The dirty coward cut off his own finger so that everyone would think he was dead! And then he transformed into a rat!" Sirius retorted.
"Expelliarmus," a dry voice spoke as Harry's wand flew out of his hand. A soft squeal was heard from Ron as they all turned towards the entrance to the living room and saw Snape enter, his wand in his hand. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? I knew you three were helping him into the castle," Snape spoke, pointing his wand towards Lexi and Tonks. "You were trying to help prove him innocent as well."
"And we could have actually had somewhat of a start if you hadn't let some childish grudge get in the way of saving an innocent man," Tonks spat.
"Professor," Hermione spoke, glancing between Snape and Remus. "What's going on?"
"Yes Black, Lupin, and Nymphadora," Snape replied. "What's going on?"
"Which Black are you speaking to Snivelly?" Sirius laughed as Tonks growled at Snape.
Snape made a look of disgust on his face as he pointed his wand down to Sirius. "I could do it you know. I know the spell. But why deny the dementors…"
"Severus don't be a fool," Remus spoke up, trying to get up from the sofa but his wounds are preventing him from doing much. He cringed from the pain and had to give up again.
"I told the headmaster again and again that none of you are to be trusted," Snape spoke, turning from Remus to Tonks, to Alexis. "And here's the proof. Not even I'd dream that you'd use this old place as your hideout."
"Severus, why don't you shut up and listen?" Tonks grumbled at him.
"We asked you before what you knew about Peter Pettigrew being the spy for Voldemort," Alexis spoke. "You knew information that pointed to Sirius being innocent all along. And you wouldn't help him because of what he did to you back in school. Since we aren't lying to you and Sirius actually is innocent, will you sit back so we can explain it to the kids?"
"Alright, explain yourselves then," Snape spoke, eyes still skeptical and cold.
Tonks was taking a small step towards Harry but Snape's wand pointed up to her. She suddenly heard a noise emit from her robe pockets. It was a small noise that sounded like metal gliding on glass. She recognized that noise immediately and turned to Alexis who had realized it too. Soon the noise grew louder and everyone in the room heard. Bemused expressions fell on all their faces except for Tonks and Alexis.
"He's here," Tonks spoke to her cousin, turning from Alexis to Sirius then to Remus.
Alexis nodded and scrambled to pick up her two orbs left lying on the clawed and broken table in the middle of the room. She handed one to Tonks. Lexi then took out what Harry thought looked like a glass compass and showed them all where the noise was coming from.
"Who's here? What's that?" Harry asked quickly, looking up, still not letting go of his grip on Sirius' collar. "What's going on?"
"Tonks you're faster," Lexi spoke to Tonks and then turned to face the crowd. "This is a locator, a magical instrument from the Department of Mysteries," she explained as Tonks casted a series of charms quickly onto the clear orb that looked like a rememberall. "It can track down anyone as long as they're still alive. Tonks and I have been using this to look for Peter Pettigrew this whole time. And the indicator says he's in here, right now. Severus we would appreciate it if you lowered your wand," she spoke shortly to Snape.
"Now, if everyone will sit down, we will explain, everything," Tonks spoke after Snape reluctantly lowered his wand, his beady black eyes still glaring at them.
"Harry get off of Sirius," Alexis spoke, drawing her own wand as well. "Homenum Revelio," she spoke and a wave of light emitted from the tip of her wand. "He's really here."
"Scabbers!" Ron yelled when they all saw a rat dart across the room.
Not allowing herself to be distracted, Tonks quickly casted the final confinement and protection charms and it quickly pulsed waves of blue lights. Sirius broke free of Harry's grasp a bit too harshly as the boy fell back. The rat ran towards the open window in the living room but bounced back after the last wave of blue light pulsed from the orb in Tonks' hand and the orb began floating in the middle of the room. The rat scurried back onto its feet but Sirius had grabbed a hold of it. He held it in a vice like grip. Remus knew his friend was tempted to squeeze the life out of the rat, but luckily Sirius thought better of it and handed it to Alexis.
"Scabbers!" Ron cried but made no sudden movements. "Leave him alone. He's scared!"
"Of course he'll be scared," Sirius breathed and smirked. He bent down and offered to help Harry up but the boy pushed him away and went to stand near Ron and Hermione.
"You're all mental. Give Scabbers back!" Ron continued as the rat squealed.
"Ah you're a nasty little wanker aren't you?" Alexis smirked as the rat attempted to bite her finger but a previous protective coat around her hand prevented him to do so.
"What are you doing?" Severus Snape asked, still looming beside the doorway.
"Everyone just calm down and we'll explain everything," Tonks spoke again in a more commanding voice. Snape straightened himself, still not lowering his wand as he looked down his nose at them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood together, their eyes darting between Sirius, Alexis, Tonks, and Remus. Tonks heaved a heavy sigh. "After news of Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban, the Ministry worried that he was going after Harry Potter. So they sent a team of aurors and Unspeakables to Hogwarts in order to not only protect Harry, but to capture Sirius as well. That's why you saw Mad-Eye Moody that one time in the Great Hall. I'm an auror and Lexi is an Unspeakable. Lexi and I were the first to find Sirius and he explained to us what really happened that night when the Potters got killed. This was what led us to believe him. Sirius where's the clipping?" she asked as Sirius dug through his tattered prison robes and pulled out the newspaper clipping of the Weasleys in Egypt. Tonks handed it to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"That's us," Ron spoke. "What does this have anything to do with it? Don't hurt him!" he spoke, noticing Alexis was tightening her grip around the rat who was desperately trying to run.
"In that picture you had your rat in your hands," Sirius spoke, crawling up to sit beside Remus on the sofa. "That rat is actually an animagus, by the name of Peter Pettigrew."
"And we got Remus to talk to Sirius as well," Tonks continued, giving Snape a death glare as he seemed to be rolling his eyes. "After we've confirmed that it was indeed Pettigrew, Remus, Lexi and I have been trying to get a hold of the rat for months. That incident when your bed curtains were shredded and you were led to the Great Hall that had been our doing."
"I shredded the curtains and pretended to be Sirius," Alexis spoke. "It was rather easy to get past that dolt Sir Cadogan. I did it so we could have a distraction and a reason to openly take your rat. However, I've forgotten that the dirty little coward can bite. He bit Ron and got away."
"And Professor Snape here is withholding valuable information that could help in proving Sirius Black's innocence, all because of a silly, childish grudge," Tonks spoke through clenched teeth as she glared at the potions master in all black robes.
"Nymphadora…" Snape began.
"Don't. Call me. Nymphadora!" Tonks snapped.
"Grow up Severus," Sirius sighed. "It was a little fun back in school."
"The both of you nip it," Alexis sighed.
"Show me," Harry spoke up, ignoring the slight distraction. "Show me that's Pettigrew."
"You're all mental," Ron cried. "Scabbers has been in my family for…"
"Twelve years!" Sirius cut him off. "Curiously long life for a common garden rat!"
"We took good care of him!"
"He's missing a toe isn't he?" Sirius growled.
"All they found of Pettigrew was his finger," Harry began in a calmer voice.
Tonks huffed and ignored Ron as Alexis held the rat out at arms' length. Tonks flicked her wand at him, muttering an incoherent spell. Then suddenly, the rat in Alexis' hand quickly shifted and increased in size. He transformed from his rat form into his human form, Peter Pettigrew. Ron was struck silent, watching as his rat transformed. A very short and portly man took the rat's place. Alexis quickly grabbed his collar and held him still with her long, black wand pointed at his face. The man had small, watery eyes and thinned brown hair that had lost its color with a large bald patch. He scurried around, his eyes fearful as they fell on Sirius.
"Hello Peter," Remus spoke again rather conversationally. "It's been a long time.
"Remus! Sirius!" the man panted in a squeaky voice. "My old friends!"
"Get back," Alexis growled at the short and portly man, holding him up practically by his collar as he'd tried to push her away and escape. "I'm not going to hesitate to kill you."
"Sirius' little cousin!" Peter panted again, turning to her. "You've got to let me go." He turned to everyone in the room quickly, his finger pointed as Sirius. "You don't believe him do you? He tried to kill me! I knew he'd be after me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years."
"You knew Sirius would come after you?" Remus questioned. He got up with Tonks' help, walking over to Alexis who tightened her grip and nearly lifted Peter off his feet by his collar. "You knew Sirius would escape Azkaban when no one's done it before?"
"He who must not be named taught him a few tricks!" Peter scurried, trying to back up.
Harry stood beside Snape, watching the scene. He couldn't believe his eyes. He spotted that the man was indeed missing a finger, and his jittery and nervous nature was making him seem more guilty by the passing second. Hermione and Ron turned to look up at him, Ron no longer defending his rat after seeing what he actually was.
"Voldemort?" Sirius laughed, getting up as well and about to grab Peter's collar if not for Tonks pushing him back. "What? Scared to hear your old master's name?" he taunted.
"D…don't know what you mean," Peter scrambled. "Severus," he spoke, trying to get to Snape but Alexis yanked him roughly back by his collar and Snape raised his wand, now pointed at no one but Peter. "Severus you honestly don't believe them do you? You hated Sirius. You know he's lying! He's lying I tell you!"
Tonks turned to see Snape who looked like he was lost in his thoughts, glaring at Pettigrew. "I'm believing everything I see right now," Snape replied dryly. "You seem more guilty than Black does," he spoke. Tonks was glad at least the man saw some sort of reason.
"Professor," Hermione spoke unsurely to Remus. "Can I…can I ask you something?"
"Of course you may Hermione," Remus replied.
"This…this man had been sleeping in the same dormitory as Harry for three years. If he's really working for You-Know-Who, how…how come he'd never tried to hurt Harry until now?"
"Yes," Peter panted, trying to scurry over to Hermione but Tonks pushed him back. "Kind girl, clever girl, thank you. You see? I'd never hurt Harry. Why should I?"
"Because you'd never do anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you," Sirius spitted at the traitor. "You'd never have the nerve to commit murder on Harry Potter under Albus Dumbledore's nose for Voldemort, a man who's thought to be dead."
"You mustn't believe his lies," Peter trembled. "He…the Dark Lord taught him everything! And he…he escaped from Azkaban. How can he do that without the help of dark magic? Answer me!"
Harry turned from Pettigrew to Sirius. No longer did they see anger or rage in the boy's eyes when he looked at the haunted man from Azkaban. Harry looked at Sirius with simple bemusement, asking for the questions to be answered.
"You want to know how I did it?" Sirius laughed bitterly. "I slipped right through the bars that's how! I don't know how I kept myself sane. It's because of you three," Sirius smiled wanly, looking at Remus, Tonks, and Alexis. "You three, the thought of seeing you again, Remus' bookworm self, Lexi's mischievous smirk, and Tonks' colorful hair, and my family, there's Andromeda too, it was the thought of you that kept me sane. And…I knew I was innocent. It kept me sane enough to live through Azkaban. I was underfed. In my animagus form, I could slip right through the bars, Peter!"
"You're an animagus too?" Harry asked.
"They all were," Remus answered for him. "Harry, your father, Sirius, Peter and I were the best of friends in school. Severus knew us. We were in the same year. We were called the Marauders," Remus sighed.
"The Marauder's Map…you made it…"
"Yes. Moony, was me, because I am a werewolf and transform on the full moon. Wormtail was Peter because he is a rat. Padfoot was Sirius whose animagus is a dog. And Prongs was your father Harry. His animagus was a stag. They were my best friends," Remus spoke softly, turning to Peter with disappointment in his eyes. "They found out I was a werewolf and instead of abandoning me or making fun of me," he looked up at Snape, his eyes pleading Snape to see that Sirius wasn't as bad as he thought he was. "They became animagi to accompany me during the full moon. They made my transformations better. Because you see, werewolves are animals, and won't hurt other animals. Werewolves behave like any other animals and in our wolf form, we only hurt humans because…because we smell them as prey. Severus has taught you all of this in class I suspect." Remus heaved a soft sigh as he gestured for Tonks to help him across the room. He raised his hand to a low beam on the ceiling and it was then that they all noticed the words carved on the beam. "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," Remus read as Sirius closed his eyes for a moment in grief. "Then there were four, now there are two."
"After everything you've done Peter, you're dead to us," Sirius sighed.
Pettigrew was shaking, trembling in fear. Even he knew that it was hard to believe him as all points of his arguments were easily shot down. Alexis' grip on him had tightened again, the tip of her long black wand jabbed against his cheek as she glared at him. He shook again under those eyes, those eyes that were so like Sirius'. Peter panicked and he turned in all directions. He harshly broke off Alexis' grip, causing her to grunt at him and was about to hex him until Remus held a hand over her wand and quietly shook his head as Peter ran around the room, knowing he was completely trapped in the shack.
"Admit it Peter," Remus spoke softly. "You sold James and Lily to Voldemort."
"I…I didn't mean to!" the portly man seemed like he wanted to shrink away but failed dramatically at the feat. "The Dark Lord, you've no idea the weapons he possesses! He was going to kill me! He'd kill me!" Peter cried.
"Then you should have died! Died rather than betray your friends, as we would have done for you!" Sirius shouted in a mix of anger and disappointment at the man.
"He was the one…not Sirius," Harry panted, regaining his wand and pointing it at Peter.
"That's not the only sick betrayal he's done," Lexi spoke up from beside Tonks. "Now that we've got one of your betrayals out of the way, shall we move onto another?"
"I…I didn't do anything else!" Peter cried, cringing back as Alexis allowed Sirius to completely grab the short man by his collar.
"Sirius, I told you this when I came to visit you, remember?" she asked with an icy smirk.
"As if betraying James wasn't enough, you tried to kill Remus too didn't you?" Sirius screamed at the man, lifting him a good foot off the ground by his collar.
"What?" Harry and Hermione both gasped, looking at them with worry and horror.
"It was him," Snape said dryly, realizing how his potion had been tampered with.
"Harry, when you three came to visit Remus err Professor Lupin in the hospital wing and you thought it was Sirius who poisoned Remus," Tonks sighed. "It wasn't Sirius. Sirius would never do that. It was this little traitor the whole time."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Peter squealed. "Remus…I…I would never hurt you! You're my friend Remus!"
"Liar!" Sirius yelled, shaking the frightened man. "After that incident in the Great Hall, you needed to escape didn't you! And you heard that Albus Dumbledore had sealed off the entire castle and grounds so there was no way out. But you remembered, you remembered that Remus uses the Shrieking Shack each month to transform, and you knew that with Remus here, Dumbledore would leave the passage from the Whomping Willow to the shack open for Remus."
"And you were afraid that if you simply came to the Shrieking Shack on the night of the full moon, Remus in his wolf form would catch you," Tonks spoke, her anger and rage directed towards the squirming man who shook under her threatening eyes. "You were afraid that if he caught you, he'd figure everything out and hurt you. So you poisoned him."
"You were an idiot in school Peter," Sirius growled. "But if there's one class you were good at, it's potions!" He shot Peter a death glare. "So you snuck into Snape's office and added excess amount of aconite or the wolfsbane plant into the batch of wolfsbane potion Snape had in his office, knowing they were meant for Remus. You knew that if he drank it, he'd be poisoned and be put in the hospital wing, and he wouldn't go to the shack on this full moon. You were going to use that plan to escape!"
"Pettigrew," Snape sneered. "It was you. I knew I doubled checked I had the right amount of the ingredients when I brewed the potion. It was you who tampered with my potion," he spoke, sounding reasonably angry for the first time to Harry.
"You poisoned your best friend without so much as a second thought!" Sirius roared.
"No! You have to believe me! I didn't mean to!" Peter cried, reaching for Remus' robes. He clung onto Remus' robes even though the broken man wouldn't look at him. Remus turned to Tonks, his eyes showing pain of betrayal. "Remus! Remus you have to forgive me! I didn't mean to!" Peter continued to cry in a squeaky voice.
"You betrayed my parents. You killed those muggles. You framed Sirius. And now you poisoned Professor Lupin?" Harry asked, unbelieving that such a man existed.
"No please! Sirius' cousin," he panted, grabbing onto Tonks' sleeve. "You've got to help me. He's a werewolf. He would have killed me! You would hurt him too if you were in my position," he pleaded shamelessly. "You would be afraid of him too."
Tonks growled and neither Alexis nor Sirius were surprised when she suddenly shifted Remus' weight to Sirius and grabbed Pettigrew out of Sirius' hands. Tonks shook the man, slammed him down to the ground and punched him several times across his dirty, cowardly little face. "I would never do that. I'm not afraid of Remus. You little bastard!" she yelled, punching him again as he whimpered and a loud, painful crack was heard as her fist collided with his face. "You're pathetic. Remus was your friend! He never spoke bad about you! Even if he is a werewolf, there's nothing to fear about him. In fact, he's a better man than you will ever be."
"Settle down Tonks," Alexis breathed as she pried the angry auror off the portly traitor.
"No!" Peter squealed and scrambled to his knees, crawling over and gripping Remus' robes as he pleaded the man. "Remus please. You must forgive me. You know I'm afraid!"
"Peter," Remus sighed. "You betrayed James and Lily. You framed Sirius…and you even admitted that you tried to…hurt me. I could never forgive you," he spoke softly, painfully.
"I can't believe someone could actually do that," Ron gasped, disgusted.
"Enough talk," Sirius sighed, impatient. "Peter you don't know how tempted I am to wait until the full moon and actually feed you to Remus! You don't know how tempted I am to commit the murder I was imprisoned for, that is to murder you!" he screamed, grabbing the short and portly man again, this time jabbing a wand at his throat. "Ava…"
"No!" Harry suddenly screamed, stopping Sirius.
"Harry," Remus sighed. "This man…"
"I know what he is. He's a monster. But you can't kill him…Sirius. You can't kill him because then they would have a reason to throw you back into Azkaban. I don't want you back in there. My dad wouldn't. Professor Lupin wouldn't. And I know Tonks and Alexis wouldn't either. You can't kill him."
"I know you're just like your father Harry, merciful," Sirius sighed. "But he doesn't deserve it," he spat at Pettigrew who was crawling around on the floor.
"No," Harry replied calmly. "I just don't want my godfather to go back to prison."
Listening to the boy, he couldn't help but smile. "What do you suggest we do?" Sirius asked in a calmer voice now. "Give him to Remus and say it was an accident in the morning?" He then threatened and glared at Peter who whimpered.
"We'll take him back to the castle," Harry spoke. "We'll take him back to prove Sirius' innocence. He'll be charged for everything he's done right? Murder, betrayal, and everything?" Harry asked, turning to look at Lexi and Tonks, the two people he knew were from the Ministry.
"He'll be charged for everything. And if Professor Snape would testify against him, he'll face the proper punishment," Alexis nodded, assuring Harry of the justice.
They all saw Peter panic as he grabbed onto Hermione's pants. "Clever girl, please help me! I'll die in Azkaban!" he ran over to Ron. "Kind boy, kind master, you can't let them take me away. I was your rat. I was your rat!" he pleaded.
"Get away from me. I let you sleep in my bed!" Ron replied, sounding disgusted.
Peter scurried over to Snape. "Severus, you honestly don't believe them! This is all a scheme! I never made fun of you in school. Help me!" Peter panted as he clung onto Snape's robes, knowing he had no more chances with the others in the room. "Severus, help me! I never made fun of you! It was Sirius! You don't trust him do you! Help me please!" he pleaded.
"I hate Black…but it doesn't mean that you weren't the one who betrayed your own friends," Snape finally spoke. "I saw you then. You were captured by the Dark Lord for several days and during that time you must have told him Lily Potter's location so that he went and killed her," Snape spoke dryly. "You were the traitor all along. And you tampered with my potion. If you'd killed Lupin, I would have been the one taking the blame. You're a pathetic traitor, the lowest scum of the Earth."
"What will happen when we take him back? And what about Sirius?" Hermione asked.
"Mad-Eye Moody will bring Pettigrew to the Minister and we'll demand a proper trial with new evidence and new charges," Tonks sighed. "Sirius will get his innocence. This dirty little coward will go to Azkaban, where he belongs."
Harry's eyes turned to Alexis who had shifted her wand to her left hand as she pulled off the leather bracelet she had on. Tonks raised an eyebrow, wondering where her cousin had gotten it. "It's a small present Tonksie," Lexi smirked subtly, answering Tonks' unasked question. "It's made of morphing material," she explained as she held the bracelet in her hand and with a tap of her wand, the bracelet turned into a metal rat cage. "I charmed it unbreakable. Put him in here."
"No! No please!" Peter squealed but Sirius grabbed him by the collar again and lifted him up. "No please! I didn't mean to!" Peter cried. "Remus! Tell them to let me go! I didn't mean to. Remus I didn't mean to hurt you! Sirius I'm sorry!" Peter cried.
Remus was the one who waved his wand, casting a spell on Peter that forced him back into his animagus form. Sirius now held the rat in his hand. He held it tightly as the rat attempted to pry its way out. Alexis opened the rat cage and Sirius set him inside, closing the door shut. The rat scampered around inside the cage, squealing and biting but to no avail.
"Cast a silencing charm on it as well, will you cuz?" Tonks sighed.
Alexis nodded and tapped the cage with her wand again, silencing the rat inside who still scurried all over inside the metal cage. She placed the cage down on the floor and sat down as Tonks helped Remus back to his seat in the sofa and Sirius sat on the ground beside Lexi. They looked up at Snape and the trio who still stood rather awkwardly beside the doorway.
"It's over. We finally got Pettigrew." Tonks sighed and turned to Sirius to see him grin.
"Betrayal. Murder. Framing of an innocent man. Hiding from the law. Attempt to poison another man. Pettigrew's got it rough with the Wizengamot," Lexi spoke as Sirius grinned wider.
"Now you know the truth," Remus sighed. "How did you three get here anyways?"
"I've been suspicious of Tonks and Lexi for a while. I told Harry and Ron and we watched them and realized they don't seem to be who they say they were. Tonks and Lexi both knew magic way too complicated for students. Hagrid told us a bit about knowing you two before. And we mailed Ron's brother Charlie and he said you were his friends," Hermione explained. "Then today, when Professor Dumbledore asked to see us, we heard someone screaming as we approached his office. It sounded like someone yelling at you two. And Harry heard the surname Black from Alexis Lydia Black," she turned to Lexi. "He wanted to follow you thinking you're suspicious. So after we spoke with Professor Dumbledore we quickly followed you here and through the Whomping Willow using Harry's invisibility cloak."
"Yes, I'd almost forgotten about James' cloak," Remus smiled softly.
"Of course Prongs would pass the cloak onto the next generation of Marauders," Sirius laughed, casually picking up a piece of dinner bread from inside a white box beside Lexi's bag.
"And Severus…thank you for telling us what you knew," Remus sighed.
"You repeated it already," Tonks began. "Can't you repeat it again as a testimony to the Wizengamot? And you can give them your testimony on Pettigrew tampering with your potion."
"If I am convinced that Black isn't a complete and utter git," Snape replied dryly.
"Thank you Severus. But I don't need your help if you're going to call me a complete and utter git. Go back and play with your chemistry set," Sirius retorted.
Tonks slapped his arm, her eyes giving him a threatening glare. "We need his help."
"We've got Peter and that's enough," Sirius replied stubbornly.
"Severus please ignore Sirius," Remus attempted to smile wanly. "Thank you."
"Git. He's only doing it because he's afraid he might get blamed for poisoning you. I think he planned to do it but Peter just beat him to it," Sirius grumbled.
"Sirius shut up," Lexi sighed. "Isn't it moonrise?" she asked Tonks and Remus suddenly.
Remus turned to Tonks and nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid so," he sighed, feeling his chest tighten and his heartbeat rising as the moon rose higher.
"Remus I'll help you upstairs," Tonks spoke, helping him to his feet. Remus opened his mouth about to say something but she'd already beat him to it, quelling his worry. "I'll come down right away and it will be Sirius who's checking on you often, to be sure you're alive. We'll monitor you through Lexi's charmed orbs," she gestured to the orb in Lexi's hand and the one in the air. "It'll emit a blue wave if he's in danger right?" she asked and Lexi nodded.
"Thank you Nymphadora," Remus smiled as he painfully took each step upstairs.
"I guess I'll be heading up to help my friend then," Sirius announced with a soft smile.
"Wait," Harry suddenly spoke and Sirius stopped and looked back. "You're…you're not going to get hurt are you?" Harry asked unsurely.
He managed to make the man smile and Sirius shook his head. "No. Moony won't hurt me when I'm in my animagus form," he spoke. "Don't worry Harry." Sirius smiled again and patted the boy's shoulder gently before he headed upstairs.
"Can you see how happy he is?" Alexis asked as she took a seat down by the sofa, tapping the second orb that looked like a rememberall with her wand and like the first one, that orb emitted waves of blue light and floated up to join the other orb floating in the middle of the ceiling. "He's got Pettigrew meaning he can get his freedom back. He's got his beloved godson back," she smirked at Harry who managed a small but genuine smile. "And he's not entirely a git," she then turned to Snape and smirked.
"Black is still as immature as ever," Snape sneered icily.
"But he's not a complete and utter git. He's loyal to his friends," Alexis defended with a soft, knowing smile. "And in time hopefully you'll see he's not as annoying as he used to be."
"Now how do we get out of here? Through the Whomping Willow?" Snape asked.
"Yeah…Lexi…?" Hermione asked unsurely. "How do we get out of here?"
"You can still call me Lexi," Alexis smiled. "My real name is Alexis Black, but I still go by Lexi. Tonks and Sirius calls me that all the time. Now for the matter of getting out of here…" she paused, gesturing towards the two floating orbs that glowed blue. "I'm afraid…no one can get in or out until sunrise," she smirked, turning to look at each and every one of their faces. "This is going to be even more of an interesting night that it already is," she thought, thinking about Snape, Sirius, Tonks, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and her having to spend a night together at the Shrieking Shack while a feral werewolf Remus stalked upstairs. "Oh yes, very interesting."