Chapter Seven

Harry barely glanced over his shoulder, watching and hearing his sister stumble after him. A slow smile crossed his face as he glanced down at the wriggling form in his hands, holding it up, "Go, little rat. Make your decision wisely." Then in the shadows, he let the wizard turned animal free. Standing back to watch the amusement begin.

"Harry!"

"Ember!" "Wait!"

She wouldn't. This he knew. Nothing was going to stop her. He looked up, well, almost nothing. She cried out in pain as something slashed at her chest, striking hard and true, shoving her backwards through the air. She landed painfully, her friends gasping as they caught up. They all stared at the shaking willow tree, "The Whomping Willow."

"I tried….I tried to tell you," gasped Hermione.

"Harry's in there!" Ember pointed, not caring about the magical tree. She had to get inside. She saw him slip inside.

"But it'll attack if we get to close!" Ron was trying to pull his two friends away, forgetting Ember's stubborn mind when set.

Then out of no where a small rat flew through the waving branches, paws striking a knob at the trunk and slipping through the dark hole next to it. "Hurry!" They were shocked to see the limbs freeze in mid-swing, at least until Ember pulled away.

Never once did they question following her. Inside they stumbled and tumbled and fell. The ground's dust and dirt exploded around them, choking them. Eyes wide as a crumbling yet standing abandoned shack shook and creaked around them. Curiosity drove them forward, momentarily forgetting why they had come. Rooms were torn to shreds as if a monster had fought to get out. Stairs moaned as they hesitantly placed weight upon each step. Moving, moving, moving. It was all they did. It was all it did.

In the final room, they halted. There they stood, staring at a single filthy mattress lying upon the dirty floor. No one had been here in years yet it looked slept in. The single pillow and blanket crumbled partly to the floor as if thrown aside or kicked away. A small ratty crate by its side, upturned with a broken glass leaking water on it. Tiny feet prints scattered about the dust and dirt, seemingly going in no direction, pacing. "What?"

A high pitch giggle made them jump, turning when the door groaned its abuse being pushed open. A raggedly dressed prisoner giggled as he stepped forward. He grinned, showing crooked teeth, sharp and pointy but yellow and crooked. Skin pale and smeared with they hoped was dark mud. Eyes sunken and wild as they stared, pinned to one little girl as her friends stepped in her path slightly. He curled dirty fingers in straggly filthy blonde hair, uncaring as he yanked strands out. "We finally meet!"

They wanted to run but he blocked the only exit. Or someone was. "Harry!"

In the door way, forcing it back as the boy in question stood, watching.

"You wanted to know." They blinked as Harry raised his wand, no one really saw his wand up close. Ember opened her mouth but a mumbled word, a flash of light, and Ron hit the ground screaming, hands grasping at his leg, sounds of bones breaking and the smell of coppery blood filled the air. With another flick their wands vanished only to land at the man's feet.

Ember could only stare in shock as her brother then turned his back upon her and walked away.

Peter grinned widely, believing the being didn't care enough to stop him. He now had a way and means to fulfill his goal. Giggling madly, he scooped up a wand, "Such a lovely reunion."

The girls crowded Ron, who blissfully went numb and out cold from the pain. They could only stare as Peter raised his stolen wand high, "Say good…."

"Experlliarmus!"

Peter howled with rage as the wand was torn from his grip. Determined he went for the other two but they too were taken away. Fury forced him to face his interlopers only to turn white with shock and fear, "S-Sirius!"

"Black to you, you rat!" Sirius Black stood tall and proud, wand out, eyes gleaming with dark hatred as he spat at his ex-friend. The man cowered from him, desperate for a way out. "You don't deserve to say my name anymore."

Trying to play on the man's need to prove he wasn't as Dark as his family has he had friends to keep him free, "You wouldn't abandon your friends, now would you, Padfoot?"

Sirius roared with anger, barely restraining from attacking, "Abandoned? You abandoned us first! You betrayed us!"

Remus, who had silently allowed Sirius to confront Pettigrew, rushed to his students, trying to help. He had no anger for Peter. All he had was, why? Why had Peter left the only group to take him in? Why had Peter betrayed them? Why had Peter willingly lead Voldemort to where Lily and James lived? Why had he tried to aide in killing two innocent babes? Why was abandoning their friendship worth the pain and sorrow and darkness?

"He was too powerful!" Peter whined, trying to play the sympathy card until he could escape.

Remus blinked, not realizing he had spoken aloud. But that didn't deter Sirius, "You were always weak! We tried to help! Befriend you! Train you! And the first thing you do was willingly go and betray the only people who loved you!"

"Remus, you can't….you can't believe this!" Remus Lupin had been the shyest kid in their time. His affliction made him withdrawn and scared. No matter what was done or said to him he never once fought back. He held onto what little kindness thrown his way. No matter who gave it to him. His weak constitution would be perfect to persuade.

But said wizard was so tired. All his life he suffered greatly. He took whatever kindness he could, even when it dinged his pride, sobbing in the dark with no one around as he tried to stand tall. But betrayal after betrayal and being stepped on so many times, one could only take so much before breaking. And that's what he was doing, breaking. "Believe what, Peter?" He couldn't take much more before nothing was left. Blank green eyes stared back at him, shaking that image away to find Peter staring, not Harry. "What do you want me to believe? You and Sirius were the only ones to know. Then suddenly James and Lily are found. They almost died, Peter! We almost lost Ember, we barely saved Harry! For awhile I wasn't sure what happened, that it couldn't be you. I'm still not sure even though everything says otherwise."

Sirius had had enough. James and Remus hadn't wanted to believe. The almost deaths of his twins forced James to wake up. Lily had always felt something wasn't right. But Remus, their sweet Remus, this betrayal had hit so hard. He wasn't about to let this rat ruin what was left of their tired friend, "Tell them," he hissed darkly, stepping forward, taking glee in making the man tremble and stumble away. "Tell my Goddaughter and your ex-friend, why. Tell them the reason you went to Voldemort," he never cared for the Dark wizard but his anger never once made him fear the man, "the reason her family was almost torn apart! How because of you she almost lost Harry!"

It was those words that woke Ember. Anger, hatred, disgust, and livid fury were born. She had to know before he was taken away. This time she would make sure he couldn't take Harry away again. That had to be why Harry walked away.

"I would never!" Peter then tried one last tactic, beseeching a little girl, "I would never, I had no choice."

"No choice!" Sirius roared his fury, scaring the man, "You went to him not even a day after we switched keepers. We trusted you to keep them safe. And you sold them! For what? The biggest bully on the playground? What was so good you had to give them up?"

Ember cried silently. Now she knew. Those rare stories never told again. The map never explained. A failed friendship that still made her mother cry. They grew up together, learned together, then fell apart. One simple desire tore apart the strongest bond of friendship. All she could do was cry for the loss. She couldn't imagine the pain and suffering of such a loss. She couldn't, didn't want to, imagine the betrayal.

Seeing his tactic fail, Peter grew his backbone. "But you knew of the switch? Why not tell Remus? Did you not betray them yourself? You always said I was weaker. You gave them to me! You gave them up first!"

Sirius' head snapped back at that. Remus feared for them all. That was the one thing they had yet to break their friend of. Sirius still felt he had betrayed them first, that he should be the one to suffer the years in prison. He had trusted the wrong person, had given hope in the dying friendship they never knew had already ended. For a moment he was lost in emotions until he remembered, "Yes, I gave them to you. I trusted you. I loved you like a brother. I thought of you as family. I had hoped you loved us and thought of us as family. I gave them to you in hopes of leading their enemy away. I was willing to give up my life to make them free. I trusted you with James' life. I trusted you with Lily's life. I dared to trust you with my Goddaughter's life." His eyes darkened to black with rage, "Never again will I make that mistake. I will see you crumbled to dust in the wind before I dare let you break that boy again."

Peter squealed in fear as Sirius abandoned the fact he had magic and dove for him, hands stretched out. Twisting away, he saw his only goal, reaching for a terrified child, "oh sweet girl." Ember's eyes widened as she tripped to get away.

"You will not touch her!" Sirius' anger knew no bounds as he struggled against Remus' magical bonds. His gentle friend determined not to allow the man to become what he hated.

Yes, Ember would have wanted that. Yes, knowing this man was free to hurt Harry again scared her. But despite all that, she could not allow her family to fall further apart. They were just barely healing now. "Uncle Sirius, don't."

Unlike the bonds that tied him down and the struggling of Remus to keep him still, her soft murmured plea struck deeper. "We need you. We can't do this alone."

Though still fueled with rage, Sirius understood. Like Remus with Harry, he couldn't deny Ember, he sneered at his ex-friend, lying with whimpers as Remus finally snagged his haggard form, "You live for now." Knowing what he could still do, he led the children out, carrying Ron's unconscious body while Remus led Peter.

But it seemed fate had another choice.

Remus inhaled sharply as clouds parted, lighting up the night with the brightness of a full moon. He had forgotten. For the first time in his life, he had forgotten what the day was. Amber colored eyes stared at the round object so high in the night sky as his wand fell from limp fingers. His attention only upon that and nothing more.

Sirius shoved the girls aside, handing them their fallen friend. He didn't care that the ropes binding Peter were rapidly falling or that the man was shifting forms. All he cared was the fact Remus was losing himself to the pull of a full moon. Peter darted off into the night as he struggled with a changing Remus.

"Black!"

Never had he been so happy to hear the dark tones of one Severus Snape. The man himself strolled out of the shadows, wand out, robes flaring. Black eyes barely glanced at the children, attention solely upon a changing wizard. He had been searching for Lupin when Harry mentioned both Black and Lupin fled the school. Angry, he gave chase. Lupin had not taken is potion that day. Now he found Black holding onto a changing Lupin while three Gryffindors watched. He stepped into their path.

"Get them back!" Sirius jumped back as the change was slowing. Immediately, he shifted. Where there once was a man now stood a huge black dog. Ember recognized the form as did Hermione. A Grim.

A large werewolf was sniffing the air before turning a yellow hungry gaze upon four human scents. His maw opened to show sharp teeth coated with saliva. His muscles bunched, ready to pounce when his fellow furry friend slammed into his ribs, knocking them backwards towards the forest.

Snape took this chance to check on the children before herding them to the castle. But Ember was just as stubborn as her father as she slipped his grasp, running after her uncles. "Potter!"

She ignored them, racing through the trees to find a small ledged clearing. Down by a trickling stream lay her Godfather. She could see that he had been injured, that Remus the werewolf had done some damage before loping off to who knew where. She slid off the ledge to the fallen man's side, "Uncle Sirius."

She nudged his shoulder, nothing. Then the cold set in. The forest! She had forgotten the Dementors had been forced to the forest. Now they came to find new prey, one unable to fight back. No! I wont let you! She stood over her Godfather, wand raised, determination etched upon her face.

It was hard to concentrate with so many Dementors but she could feel the bond humming. She tried anyways to force her guardian from her wand but all she got was whips of smoke. Her body began to shut down without her consent, no, no, no. This can't be happening! But it was.

Then the most glorious memory ever. "Expecto Patronum!" A familiar voice echoed through the night. A bright gleaming shape stormed its way across the stream, leaping head first among the Dementors. Their screams filled the sky as her eyes closed. She knew that form well, seen it all her life. "Dad."

Then darkness overwhelmed the light as a warm muzzle nudged her cold cheek.

She was safe.