Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Peter cringed when he saw the way Severus, Remus and Sirius were looking at him. "Old friends," He began nervously, looking between Sirius and Remus.
"Shut up!" Sirius yelled angrily. "We are not your friends! How could you betray James and Lily? How?"
"I didn't have a choice." Peter all but whined. "The Dark Lord was too powerful, it was foolish to try and fight against him!"
"You coward!" Sirius snarled. "Give me a wand Remus! This ends now."
Remus nodded and handed Sirius back the wand Severus had taken earlier. "Together. One, two…"
"Stop!" Harry said horrified. He wanted Pettigrew to pay too but were they really going to kill the traitor in front of him and his friends?
"Do you really want to traumatize the children further?" Severus asked in irritation. His dark eyes fell on Peter and his wand hand twitched. He would love to make the man that betrayed his Lily suffer like he would never have suffered before. But not in front of his son.
"Shouldn't he go to Azkaban?" Harry asked quietly.
"Yes, listen to the dear sweet boy." Peter agreed, reaching out to Harry.
"Do not go near my son!" Severus said angrily, his voice sharp like ice. He narrowed his eyes. "Because of you my wife died." He hissed. "I assure you I will do you much more harm than even a hundred Dementors so do not make one move unless told!"
Sirius looked slightly impressed but then scowled. "You belong in Azkaban as well, Death Eater!" He spat out. "Now that I will be cleared I will be taking my godson away from you and getting rid of the glamour he is wearing!"
Remus looked at Severus nervously, not wanting his childhood friend to be hexed into next week. "Sirius, we will talk about this later okay?" He said to his friend.
"Incarcerous!" Severus cast thick robes to bind Peter's hands and feet. "Do I need to cast a muzzle on the mutt or can we head back to the castle now?" He asked sarcastically as he made his way to Ron and bent over his leg. A few murmured spells and a cast formed. "You will need to see Madam Pomfrey." He said.
Remus gave Sirius a warning look. "Yes, let's head back to the castle." He agreed.
Remus led the way, walking backwards to keep an eye on Peter. Ron followed helped along by Hermione. Sirius, Harry and Severus trailed behind them.
"Harry," Sirius said softly. "Whatever that over-grown bat has told you, I am your godfather."
"Don't call him that." Harry said in a slightly irritated voice. "I'm sorry Sirius but you are not actually my godfather and James was not my biological father." He felt bad for the man but he didn't like the way Sirius talked to his Dad.
"Black, Albus will confirm everything once we get back to the castle." Severus said evenly. He figured it would take Black looking into the pensive which stored all the memories for the mutt to accept the truth.
Yells up ahead made them see that they had fallen further back than they realized and they ran to catch up to the others.
"What's going on?" Ron was staring at Remus in shock.
Sirius immediately ran up to him. "Moony, did you take your potion?" He asked urgently.
"I was right, he is a werewolf." Hermione whispered.
Werewolf? Harry remembered earlier that his Professor had mentioned needing to take a potion.
"That blasted fool was supposed to drink it before he came here with me." Severus pulled the three teenagers behind him. "I thought he had caught up with me too quickly." He muttered, keeping his eyes on Lupin as he hid the children behind him.
They could only watch in horrified fascination as Remus began to change, his limbs growing longer, claws coming out of his fingers, his face getting larger and fur sprouting up. Soon there was no evidence that Professor Lupin had even stood there. A full blown werewolf was standing there staring at them.
"Remus?" Sirius said softly.
"Professor?" Hermione squeaked.
Remus stared for a moment longer before snarling and jumping towards Severus and the children. Sirius quickly transformed and was once again Snuffles as he jumped on Remus to divert his attention. In all of the commotion, Peter had been forgotten and he picked up the wand Remus had dropped. He gave Severus a nasty grin as he undid the ropes and transformed back into a rat.
"No!" Harry tried to go after him but his father kept a firm hand on his arm.
"We can't go after him Harry, not with a werewolf on the loose." Severus said in frustration. Pettigrew had changed too fast for him to stop him; they should have stunned Pettigrew to begin with. With Peter in his Animagus form, he could hide anywhere. "Let's go, we need to get Mr. Weasley to the infirmary."
"But what about," Harry started, gesturing to where the Sirius and Remus were running.
"I'm sure the wolf and the mutt will be fine." Severus interrupted. He looked at Ron hobbling along and flicked his wand. "Mobilicorpus." He ignored Ron's yelp as the red head was lifted up. "This will be faster." He smirked slightly as he kept one hand on Harry's shoulder as they approached the castle.
Harry sighed and as he turned to walk back with his dad, he thought he saw a flash of light near one of the trees.
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"The Aurors caught Sirius and are holding him in an empty classroom." Dumbledore told Severus.
Severus had left his son and his students with Poppy in the infirmary with instructions not to leave. "As much as I hate to say it, Black is innocent. Pettigrew was the true Secret Keeper." Severus informed the Headmaster.
"Cornelius Fudge will not believe that without definitive proof." Dumbledore sighed. "Even if we pensive your memories he will try and disregard it. A stubborn man he is."
"And a stupid one." Severus muttered. He had never liked Fudge and how he had received the majority of the votes making him Minister, Severus would never know. "He will have my testimony, Lupin's, and the children. Surely he will see reason."
Dumbledore shook his head regretfully. "We will try of course. But Cornelius will not care for the testimony of a werewolf or of any children. There is you but he will fall back on the fact that you were a Death Eater, despite my own testimony that you only joined to spy."
Severus uncharacteristically slumped into his seat. They needed the Aurors help in finding Pettigrew before he could find Voldemort. It would be much harder for Lucius to follow their plan if Pettigrew found Voldemort first. There was no telling what Pettigrew had overheard during his time as a rat. "We need to try anyway." He said finally. "I will put my memories in a pensive and if it comes to it, I will take Veritaserum."
Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "Of course Severus."
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"I can't believe everything that has happened tonight." Harry said as he paced back and forth in front of the cot Ron was resting on. Pomfrey had given him potions for his leg and told him to stay off it for the night as it healed.
"Reading about werewolves certainly doesn't prepare you for seeing the transformation." Hermione shuddered.
"Scabbers was Pettigrew." Ron said dully. "I can't believe actually I cared about him."
"There was no way for anyone to know." Hermione said soothingly to her friend.
"Pettigrew got away!" Harry said in frustration. "If only there was some way to find him but he is probably off of Hogwarts grounds by now! If we could just go back…" He shook his head. Maybe he shouldn't have stopped Sirius and Remus from killing him.
Hermione regarded him uncertainly for a moment, seeing the defeated expression on his face, and then determination filled her eyes. "We can go back." She said confidently.
Harry and Ron just stared at her. "Well, all that studying has finally made her lose her mind." Ron remarked.
Hermione threw Ron a glare and then focused on Harry. She reached to her neck and pulled out an unusual looking necklace that was shaped like an hourglass. "We can use this, even though it is against the rules." She hated breaking her promise to McGonagall about not telling anyone of the necklace but she had to help her friend.
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"It's a Time-Turner. It is how I have been getting to all of my classes." Hermione explained. "Professor McGonagall gave it to me the first day of term."
"You've actually been going back in time?" Harry asked incredulously.
"You've got to be bloody joking!" Ron exclaimed.
"No, I am not joking." Hermione said impatiently. She looked at Harry seriously. "If we are going to do this, we need to do it now." She hesitated. "It can be dangerous and we can't be seen by anyone. We will also get into a lot of trouble if we get caught."
Harry nodded his understanding.
"What about me?" Ron complained.
"Sorry Ron. You're hurt." Hermione took of the necklace and then put the chain around both her and Harry's necks. She began turning the hourglass and Ron could only watch with bewilderment as his friends suddenly disappeared.
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Harry and Hermione hid behind a large rock near the Whomping Willow. They had already seen their past selves go inside. "This is the weirdest thing ever." Harry said, shaking his head.
"Shh." Hermione whispered. "Look, there goes your Dad. Professor Lupin is right behind him."
Harry itched to follow but Hermione kept a hand firmly on his wrist. "We can't be seen Harry." She warned him. That would be disastrous.
Harry sighed and nodded. As soon as his dad and Remus had entered the Whomping Willow he and Hermione made their way to the location where Pettigrew would soon escape. "If Professor Lupin in his werewolf form finds us…" Hermione trailed off, suddenly wondering if she should have done this.
Harry pulled her behind a tree near where Pettigrew would run. "Go back behind the rock. You'll be safer there." Harry told her. "I can do this myself."
"No, we'll have a better chance to grab him together." Hermione insisted.
Harry grinned. "And this is why you were put in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw." He joked.
Hermione started to smile and then her face paled slightly. "Here we go." She whispered. "We have to keep our eye on Pettigrew; he will be hard to see in the grass." She had her wand ready for lumos.
Harry looked to see Professor Lupin already transforming and his dad stood in front himself, Ron and Hermione. As soon as Pettigrew shrunk down to a rat Harry started to move towards him but Hermione stopped him.
"Not yet." Hermione hissed. She had cast the lumos so that she could keep track of where Pettigrew would run. Thankfully no one seemed to notice as they were preoccupied with Professor Lupin's situation.
Harry gritted his teeth but stayed where he was until his dad, Ron, and their past selves turned towards the castle. Sirius and Professor Lupin had already run into the forest.
"Now!"
Harry and Hermione ran, spreading out as they kept their eyes on where the rat had headed. Thankfully Harry's seeker skills proved handy as he was able to keep track of the small creature in the grass. He sucked in a breath when he saw Pettigrew heading towards the gates of Hogwarts where he would be small enough to get through.
Harry was closer to Pettigrew than Hermione and suddenly he remembered the spell Hermione had used on Neville their first year. He didn't know if it would work on an animal but it was worth a shot. "Petrificus Totalus!"
The rat stopped and went completely still. Harry hurried over to it and picked it up, feeling the rat breathing and he could see the beady eyes moving frantically. "Hello again Peter." He said with a smirk.
"You got him!" Hermione said breathlessly as she caught up to him.
"We got him." Harry corrected her as he held tight to the rat. He would have rushed off too soon if Hermione hadn't stopped him.
"Harry, we need to hurry back to the infirmary. Our time is running out!" Hermione said urgently as she tugged him along and they both broke into a run, still being careful not to be seen by anyone.
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Ron watched his friends suddenly vanish in shock and then an instant later the infirmary doors flew open and Harry and Hermione hurried in, with Harry holding Scabbers!
"What in Merlin's…blimey, how…you just left!" Ron stammered with wide eyes.
"Relax Ron." Hermione assured him as she struggled to get her breath back.
"You caught him!" Ron shook his head and grinned. "Wicked!"
Harry continued to hold tight to Peter as he too struggled to get his breathing under control. He had never run so fast before, he was sure of it.
The infirmary doors opened again and Severus, Albus and Minister Fudge walked in. "If you would listen to their accounts of what occurred tonight, you will see they match what Severus has told you." Dumbledore was saying.
"They are just children and they could have been coached on what to say." Fudge countered.
"Harry what are you holding?" Severus asked suddenly.
Harry bit his lip and held out the still form of Pettigrew. "We got him." Suddenly Harry was worried about how his dad would react to what he and Hermione had done. Very worried.
Severus's eyes were wide with shock as he put the rat on the floor and once again turned him back into Pettigrew. "Incarcerous!" He immediately said as the previous spell had ceased to be in affect once Pettigrew turned back. The ropes bound Pettigrew who had already started complaining.
"No, let me go!" Peter struggled in his ropes. He glared at Harry. "You hateful child! I hope the Dark Lord finds you and-"
"Silencio!" Dumbledore stared at his former student as Pettigrew's mouth kept moving but no sound came out.
"Is that…it's Peter Pettigrew!" Fudge's mouth dropped open. "He's alive after all!"
Severus rolled his eyes at the stated obvious. He gave his son a stern look. "I will be very interested in knowing how you managed to capture Pettigrew." He said slowly.
"Um," Harry glanced at Hermione and then Fudge. He didn't want Fudge to know about the Time Turner. "We found him outside." He hedged.
Severus stared at his son with a mild glare. "Of course." He said though his look said that he would want the full story soon.
Dumbledore turned to Fudge. "As you can see Cornelius, Pettigrew is alive and Sirius is innocent." He said with twinkling eyes.
"Well," Fudge hedged, not wanting to look bad in front of the public. "Just because-"
"No Cornelius." Dumbledore said firmly. "Sirius Black is innocent and has suffered twelve years in Azkaban already. If you want to give Pettigrew Veritaserum to prove that he not only framed Sirius but also betrayed James and Lily, then I am sure Severus has a vial."
Fudge sighed, not wanting to bother with all of that. He needed to get back to his office and make sure he didn't come out looking like the bad guy in all of this. "No need Albus. Based on Severus Snape's account of what happened as well as Pettigrew clearly being alive and well, Sirius Black will be pardoned." He said reluctantly.
Harry grinned and shared a happy look with his friends. He avoided looking at his Dad as he was frankly nervous to.
"Let us take Pettigrew to the Aurors and tell Sirius the good news." Dumbledore said cheerfully. He levitated Peter and then he and Fudge followed proceeded to leave the infirmary.
Severus turned slowly to the three sheepish looking teenagers. On one hand he was relieved that the man who had betrayed his Lily was caught but not at the expense of Harry putting himself in danger. And with the look on his son's face, he knew the teenager had done just that. "All right you three. Explain." He said in a low dangerous voice.
TBC: I'm sure there are lots of plot holes on Harry and Hermione catching Peter this way, but I figured I would just have fun with it lol