A/N Hiya! I'm back YAY! And you'll all be pleased to know that I managed to finish this book - with a little help from Notes on my iPod, ;), and have even got 1 and a 1/2 of The Golden Quartet - Year Four ready! I can't wait! :) I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to leave a little review!
Chapter Eighteen
The Servant of Lord Voldemort
Amara yelled out in shock, Hermione screamed, Black leapt to his feet and Harry looked extremely shocked.
"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing the cloak aside, careful to keep this wand pointing directly at Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you..."
Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a goblet full along. And very lucky I did... lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."
"Severus -" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.
"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout -" Snape looked insane, a mad excitement written across his face. Amara felt intense loathing take over – he was only happy because he hated Black and Lupin, not because of anything else.
"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything – I can explain-Sirius is not here to kill Harry -"
"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, ignoring Lupin. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this... He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin... a tame werewolf -"
"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"
BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.
"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."
Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.
Amara stood still, trying not to get her wand up herself and firing a curse at Snape. Nobody made a move except for Hermione, who stood forwards to speak.
"Professor Snape – it, it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?"
"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You, Miss Matthews, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."
"But if-if there was a mistake -"
"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face. Hermione fell silent but Amara did not.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" she shouted, shocking everyone, including Snape. "What she said was true!"
"Miss Matthews," Snape said, his voice deadly. "I warn you now to hold. Your. Tongue!"
Amara started forwards but Hermione pulled her back and shook her head.
"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you..."
"The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle -" he jerked his head at Ron "- I'll come quietly..."
"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black... pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay... I -"
What little colour there was in Blacks face left it.
"You - you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat - look at the rat -"
But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes and he seemed beyond reason.
"Come on, all of you," he said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Lupin flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too -"
But Harry walked three steps and blocked the doorway.
"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin -"
"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry said. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defence lessons against the dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"
"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Snape. "Get out of the way, Potter."
"YOURE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN -"
"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black-now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"
Amara scowled in her hatred and raised her wand with Ron and Hermione. Harry had had the same thought as they yelled: "Expelliarmus!"
There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out.
Amara breathed heavily as Snape's wand fell onto the bed. She wiped her forehead, pleased with the resultant force of four spells.
"You shouldn't have done that," said Black. "You should have left him to me..."
"We attacked a teacher... We attacked a teacher..." Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble -"
"He deserved it," Amara stated, and Ron nodded slightly.
Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Black bent down quickly and untied him. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them.
"Thank you, Harry," he said.
"I'm still not saying I believe you," Harry retorted.
"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Black. "You, boy - give me Peter. Now." But Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest protectively.
"Why Scabbers?" Amara said suddenly. Everyone looked at her and she flushed. "I mean, there are millions of rats around the world – Pettigrew could be one of them! He might not even be in this country anymore!"
"I agree," piped up Ron weakly. "How's he supposed to know which rat is the one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"
"You know, Sirius, they raise a fair point," said Lupin, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"
Black put one of his claw like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others.
It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.
"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.
"Fudge," said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder... I knew him at once... how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts... to where Harry was...
"My God," said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw..."
"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.
"He's got a toe missing," said Black.
"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple... so brilliant... he cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself-and sped down into the sewer with the other rats..."
"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."
"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right -"
"Twelve years, in fact," said Lupin. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"
"We – we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.
"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again..."
"He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Ron, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.
But Amara remembered Scabbers looking ill before Hermione had bought Crookshanks. Hadn't Ron needed to get some medicine for Scabbers because he looked ill?
"This cat isn't mad," said Black hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me... Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me..."
"What do you mean?" breathed Hermione.
"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't... so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me... As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table..."
Amara shut her eyes slowly. It all fit – Crookshanks would've stolen them from Neville… unsuspecting Neville. It was absurd to think, but Amara had a gut feeling it were true.
"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it." croaked Black. "This cat-Crookshanks, did you call him? - told me Peter had left blood on the sheets... I supposed he bit himself... Well, faking his own death had worked once."
"And why did he fake his death?" Harry said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"No," said Lupin, "Harry-"
"And now you've come to finish him off!"
"Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers.
"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.
"Harry," said Lupin hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down-but it was the other way around, don't
you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father - Sirius tracked Peter down -"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"
He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly over bright.
"Harry... I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me... I'm to blame, I know it... The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies... I realized what Peter must've done... what I'd done..."
His voice broke. He turned away.
"Enough of this," said Lupin. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."
"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Lupin tensely.
"Force him to show himself," said Lupin. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."
Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head. "Ready, Sirius?" said Lupin.
Black had already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.
"Together?" he said quietly.
"I think so,,, said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One-two-THREE!"
A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small grey form twisting madly - Ron yelled - the rat fell and hit the floor.
Amara blinked as a blinding light went through the room. When she opened them, she saw a man had replaced Scabbers. He was very short, though a little taller than Amara, he had hair that was falling out and he seemed to have lost an awful amount of weight.
"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see.
"S-Sirius... R-Remus..." Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friends... my old friends..."
Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning took, then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.
"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed -"
"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, and there were beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "you don't believe him, do you...? He tried to kill me, Remus..."
"So we've heard," said Lupin, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'll be so -"
"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly, pointing at Black, and Amara saw he used his middle one instead of the index, which was missing from him. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too... You've got to help me, Remus..."
Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes.
"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin.
"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him."I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"
"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" said Lupin, his brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"
"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"
Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room.
"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said.
Pettigrew flinched, as did Ron slightly.
"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" said Black. I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"
"Don't know what you mean, Sirius -" muttered Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat now.
"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," said Black. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter... They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them... I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information... and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter -"
"Don't know... what you're talking about...," said Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Lupin. "You don't believe this-this madness, Remus -"
"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Lupin evenly.
"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban-the spy, Sirius Black!"
Black's face contorted.
"How dare you," he growled, sounding suddenly like the bear sized dog he had been. I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter - I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us... me and Remus... and James...
Pettigrew wiped his face again, panting hard. Amara was disgusted by the man already.
"Me, a spy... must be out of your mind... never... don't know how you can say such a -" he stuttered.
"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan... a bluff... Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you... It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."
Pettigrew was muttering distractedly, but Amara knew that he was not an innocent man.
"Professor Lupin?" said Hermione timidly. "Can-can I say something?"
"Certainly, Hermione," said Lupin courteously.
"Well-Scabbers-I mean, this-this man-he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"
"There!" said Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"
"I'll tell you why," said Black. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him..."
Pettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk.
"Er - Mr Black - Sirius?" said Hermione.
Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though he had never seen anything quite like her.
"If you don't mind me asking, how-how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"
"Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I -"
But Lupin silenced him with a look. Black seemed to be in deep thought.
"I don't know how I did it," he said. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me ... but it kept me sane and knowing who I am ... helped me keep my powers ... so when it all became ... too much ... I could transform in my cell ... become a dog. Dementors can't see you know ... . They feel their way towards people by sensing their emotions ... they could tell that my feelings were less - less human, less complex when I was a dog ... But they thought, of course, that I was losing my king like everyone else in there, so if didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I ha no hope of driving them away from me without a wand ...
"But then I saw Peter in that picture ... I realised he was at Hogwarts with Harry ... Perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again ... ready to strike the moment he could be sure if allies ... to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he betrayed Lord Voldemort? He's be welcomes back with honours ...
"So you see, I had to do something. I was the ink one who knew Peter was still alive ... . It was as if someone has lot a fire in my head, and the Dementors couldn't destroy it ... it wasn't a happy feeling ... it was an obsession ... but it gave me strength, cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to brig food, I slipped past them as a dog ... it's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused ... I was thin, very thing ... thin enough to slop through the bars ... I swam as a dog back to the mainland ... I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog ... I've been living in the Forest ever since ... except when I come to watch the Quidditch, of course ... you fly as well as your father did, Harry ..."
There was a lump in Amara's throat as he looked at Harry.
"Believe me," he said. "Believe me. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."
Amara watched as Harry nodded. She nearly smiled, but the thought vanished when Pettigrew fell to the floor in despair.
"No!" He shrieked. "Sirius - it's me ... it's Peter ... your friend ... you wouldn't ..."
But Black merely kicked him.
"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," he stated.
"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked. "You don't believe his ... Wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"
"Not if he thought I was they spy, Peter," said Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell m, Sirius?"
"Forgive me, Remus," said Black.
"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Lupin, rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were they spy?"
"Of course," said Black, a small grin flitting across his face. "Shall we kill him together?"
"Yes, I think so," said Lupin.
"You wouldn't ... you won't ..." Pettigrew crawled towards Ron in desperation. "Ron ... haven't I been a good friend ... a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you ... you're on my side, aren't you?"
But Ron looked revolted.
"I let you sleep in my bed!"
"Kind boy ... kind master ... you won't let them do it ... I was your rat ... I was a good pet ..."
"If you made a better rat than human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," said Black as Ron wrenched his foot away from Pettigrew.
But then Pettigrew turned to Amara and Hermione.
"Sweet girls ... Clever girls ... You - you won't let them ... Help me ..."
"Get away!" Amara hissed, tugging her robes out of Pettigrew's grasp. He then turned to Harry.
"Harry ... Harry ... you look just like your father ... just like him ..."
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" Black bellowed. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"
"Harry," whimpered Pettigrew, and Amara felt the urge to kick him. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed ... James would have understood Harry ... he would have shown me mercy ..."
Lupin and Black seized Pettigrew and threw him to the floor, where he lay twitching and terrified.
"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," growled Black. "Do you deny it?"
Pettigrew burst into tears.
"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord ... you have no idea ... he has weapons you can't imagine ... I was scared, Sirius, I was beer brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen ... He Who Must Not Be Named forced me -"
"DON'T LIE!" Black roared at him. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"
"He - he was taking over everywhere!" Pettigrew squeaked. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"
"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who ever existed?" Black demanded. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"
"You don't understand!" Pettigrew said. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" Black spat. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"
Lupin and Black raised their wands.
"You should have realised," said Lupin. "If Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye Peter."
Amara took an intake of breath as Hermione turned away from the scene.
" NO!" Harry yelled suddenly. He place himself in front of Pettigrew. "You can't kill him! You can't!"
Amara looked at Harry in confusion.
"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Black said. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."
"I know," said Harry breathlessly. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors. He can go to Azkaban. Just don't kill him."
"Harry!" Pettigrew gasped. "You - thank you - it's more than I deserve - thank you -"
"Get off me," spat Harry. "I'm not going this for you. I'm doing it because I don't reckon my dad would've wanted his best friends to become killers - just for you."
Nobody said anything until the two men lowered their wands.
"You're the only person who has the tight to decide, Harry," said Black. "But think ... Think what he did ..."
"He can go to Azkaban," said Harry. "If anyone deserves that place, he does ..."
"Very well," said Lupin. "Stand aside Harry."
Harry hesitated.
"I'm going to tie him up," said Lupin. "That's all, I swear."
So Harry stepped out the way. Amara's breathing seemed to be back to normal, and she squeezed Hermione's hand to reassure her and herself.
"But if you transform, Peter," said Black to a recently gaged and bound Pettigrew. "We will kill you. You agree Harry?"
Harry nodded.
"Right," said Lupin. "Ron, I can mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing."
He tapped Ron's leg and muttered. "Ferula." And bandages and a splint wrapped around Ron's leg. He lifted himself up with the help of Lupin and stepped carefully down on the floor.
"That's better," he said. "Thanks."
"What about Professor Snape?" Hermione asked.
"Is he still alive?" Amara asked.
"He's alright," said Lupin, "you were just as little over enthusiastic. Still out cold. Er - perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this ..."
He muttered another spell that lifted him in the air like a puppet.
"And two of us should be chained to this," Black motioned to Pettigrew. "It's to make sure."
"I'll do it," Lupin said.
"And me," said Ron.
Black conjured manacles to fix to Pettigrew and Lupin and Ron were attached to him.
Crookshanks leapt off the bed and out if the door, his tail held high.