Blood Ties
Part 32
Rating, summary and such are same as before.

Note 1: Thanks for everyone's wonderful reviews. And sorry about the super late update, so there will be 2 (32-33) updates in a roll! Forgive me?
Note 2: Thanks Joahn for beta-reading the story!

...

"Hello Harry."

Hermione immediately put herself in front of Harry. "If you want to kill Harry you'll have to kill us too."

"No." Black took a step forward. "Only one will die tonight."

"Then it'll be you!" Harry screamed and rushed forward, tackled the man into the floor and pointed his wand at him.

"Harry!" Buffy took a step forward, torn, not knowing what to do as she watched Harry's hand shaking with fury.

Black only laughed. "Are you going to kill me, Harry?"

Suddenly, another man rushed into the room. "EXPELLIARMUS!" Harry's wand flew away from his hand.

Professor Lupin stood at the doorway, his wand pointing at Harry. Everyone stared at him nervously until he nodded at Harry. Harry immediately got off from the escaped prisoner and went to join his friend.

"Well, well, Sirius." The professor slowly moved towards Black. "Looking a bit ragged, aren't we? Finally the skin reflects the madness within."

Black raised an eyebrow. "You'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you, Remus?"

The two men stared at each other for a moment. Then slowly, Lupin held out his other hand, and helped Black to his feet. To everyone's horror, the two men embraced, petting each other's back like brothers.

"NO!" Hermione stepped forward, looking at the professor angrily. "I trusted you! I covered up for you! And all this time you've been his friend!" She pointed at Lupin and turned towards her friends. "He's a werewolf! That's why he has been missing classes!"

Everyone looked up, dumbfounded at the new information. Professor Lupin took a step forward, staring at Hermione. "How long have you known?

"Since Professor Snape set the essay."

"Well well well. You're really the brightest witch of your age I've ever met-"

"Enough talk Remus." Black cried as he threw his hands into the air like a madman. "C'mon. Let's kill him-"

"Wait-"

"I DID MY WAITING!" Black shouted. "Twelve years of it! In Azkaban!"

Lupin studied his friend for a moment, before turning towards Harry, watching him as he handed over his wand to the escaped prisoner, sighing. "Very well. Kill him..." Black immediately took the wand. "... but wait one more minute." Black said as he turned back towards his friend. "Harry has the right to know why."

"I know why." Harry said painfully, not believing that the professor he had looked upon had been his enemy all these time. "You betrayed my parents! You're the reason they're dead!"

"No Harry. It wasn't him." Lupin explained." Somebody did betray your parents but it was somebody who until quite recently I believed to be dead."

"Who was it then?!"

"Peter Pettigrew." Black said. "He's in this room! Right now! Come out, come out Peter." He sing-song voice echoed the house as he took a steps towards the gang. "Come out, come out and play-"

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

The wand flew out of Black's hand. Looking up, they found Professor Snape standing there, his wand pointing at Black as he sneered. "Ah, vengeance is sweet. How I hoped I'd be the one to catch you."

Lupin slowly approached the Potion Master. "Severus-"

Professor Snape turned his wand towards Lupin, and the other professor immediately took a step back. "I told Dumbledore you were helping your old friend into the castle and now, here's the proof."

"Brilliant Snape, as usual come on the wrong conclusion." Black walked right in front of the Potion Master. "Now if you excuse us, Remus and I have some unfinished business to attend to-"

Snape poked his wand right towards the other man's neck. "Give me a reason. I beg you."

Remus looked worried. "Severus, don't be a fool-"

Black ignored his friend as he smirked at Professor Snape. "He can't help it. It's a habit by now-"

Lupin frowned. "Quiet Sirius!"

Black turned towards his friend. "You quiet, Remus!"

Snape shook his head. "Listen to you two. Quarreling like an old married couple."

Black looked annoyed. "Why don't you run along and play with your chemistry set?"

Snape narrowed his eyes, his wand dug even deeper into Black' neck. "I could do it, you know? But why should I decline the Dementors, who are so longing to see you?" He raised an eyebrow as Black slowly moved backwards. "Do I detect a flicker of fear? One can only imagine what it must be like to endure the Dementor's Kiss. It's said to be unbearable to witness but I'll do my best."

"Severus please-"

"After you." Snape told Lupin and Black as he nodded towards the doorway.

Taking the chance that the three adults weren't looking, Buffy slowly reached for her wand and stuffed it into Harry's hand. Harry glanced at his friend, took the wand, and slowly took a step forward. Ron, seeing what Harry was trying to do, pulled Hermione back a bit.

Snape turned towards Harry, looking on curiously as he pointed his wand at Black. Suddenly, Harry turned, and pointed his wand at Snape. "Expelliarmus!"

Snape's wand flew away. The Potions Master growled. "How dare-"

But before he could get another word out, an invisible force pushed him flying towards the opposite wall, knocking him out. "Willow!"

"Hey." The redhead waved at Harry a bit, but her darkened eyes never once left Black and Lupin while half supporting Xander.

Xander grinned at them moved to join the gang. "When we saw Snape on our way back to the castle we figure you would need a hand."

Harry turned back towards Lupin and Black, his wand pointing at them. "Tell me about Peter Pettigrew."

"He was at school with us. We thought he was our friend." Lupin explained.

"No. Pettigrew's dead." The boy-who-lived turned towards Black. "You killed him."

Lupin immediately positioned himself in front of Black. "I thought so too until you mentioned seeing Peter on the map."

Buffy frowned. "The map's lying then."

"The map never lies." Black rolled his eyes. "Peter's alive! And he's right there!"

Everyone followed Black's figure, and found Ron, who was still sitting at the corner. Buffy and Hermione who was standing closest to him immediately stepped back away from him. "Me?! You're mental-"

"Not you!" Black rolled his eyes again. "Your rat!"

"Scabbers?! Scabbers had been in the family for-"

"Twelve years. A curiously long life for a common garden rat. He is missing a toe, isn't he?"

Ron hugged his rat tighter, trying to shield it as Black moved towards him. "So what?"

Harry blinked. "All they could find of Pettigrew was his-"

"Finger!" Black growled. "Dirty coward cut it off so everyone would think he was dead! Then he transformed into a rat!"

Harry put on his resolve. "Show me."

Black nodded, and turned towards Ron for the rat. Ron tried to hold onto his pet, but Buffy stepped forward, and wrestled the rat out from Ron's grasp and gave it to Black.

Lupin picked up two wands from the floor and handed one to Black. Black held up the rat. "Ready Remus?"

"Ready." Lupin said. "On three. One... two... three!"

"Holy crap!"

...