Chapter 7 – Marauders, Servants and Kisses
"You've lost your minds!" Ron exploded, Scabbers was still attacking Ron in his bid for freedom. Andrew pulled the rat from his friend's grip, suspending him in mid air.
"This is ridiculous!" Hermione agreed.
"You killed Peter Pettigrew twelve years ago!" Harry snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Black.
Black's face twitched. "I meant to," he growled, baring his yellow teeth, "but little Peter got the better of me … not this time, though!"
With that, Black lunged for the floating rat, but Andrew lifted him higher so that Black couldn't reach. Lupin grabbed Black and fought to restrain him. "Sirius, NO! WAIT! You can't do it just like that, they need to understand, we've got to explain.."
"We can explain afterwards!" Black snarled, still clawing up at Scabbers.
"They've – got – a – right – to – know – everything!" Lupin panted. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts even I don't understand!" Lupin was trying anything to get Black to calm down. "And Harry – you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!"
That made Black stop struggling. "Fine, tell them what you want Remus, but make it quick! I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for..."
"If you do that, you'll be running forever," Andrew said slowly, as if he were talking to a sulking child.
"I've had enough of this. I'm off." Ron said, trying to get up, but Lupin pressed a gentle hand on his shoulder and pushed him back to the bed.
"You're going to hear us out, Ron," he said quietly. "Andrew, you keep a hold on Peter while you all listen."
"Certainly," Andrew said curtly, his grip on the rat holding steady.
"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, losing his temper. Harry turned to Lupin, ignoring Black.
"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," he said. "A whole street full of them..."
"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" said Black, savagely, his eyes never leaving the rat as it struggled in the air.
"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," Lupin explained with a nod. "I believed it myself – until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's Map never lies … Peter's alive." Lupin pointed up. "He's right there, Harry."
Harry and Ron looked at each other, silently agreeing that Black and Lupin were both mad.
Hermione spoke up, in a trembling, would-be calm voice, trying to get Lupin to talk sense. "But Professor Lupin … Scabbers can't be Pettigrew … it just can't be true, you know it can't..."
"And why not, Hermione?" Lupin asked, sounding just the same as he did in class.
"Because … because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework – the Ministry keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register..."
"Just because it's the law to register, doesn't mean everyone abides with it." Andrew cut in, seeing the obvious. "Think about it, we now know that Black is an Animagus, and I'd bet good money that when you looked up a list of Animagi, Black wasn't on it."
Hermione nodded, then a look of comprehension crossed her face. "And if he were on the register, he would have been caught in his animal form."
"Well done, both of you." laughed Lupin. "I would give you both points but we're not on school grounds."
"If you're going to tell them the story, Remus, get on with it!" Black snarled. "I've waited for twelve years, I'm not waiting any longer!"
"Alright," Lupin sighed. "But you'll have to help me, Sirius, I only know where to begin."
Just then there was a creak of a floor board, and the door moved a little on its own. "This place is haunted!" Ron whimpered.
"No, it's not," Lupin replied. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted … the screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me." he brushed some of his greying hair out of his face. "That's where all of this starts, with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten."
Ron was about to interrupt but Hermione shushed him, watching Lupin intently. "I was a very small boy when I received my bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The Potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform..."
"Is … is it painful?" Andrew asked, curious and concerned.
"The transformation? Yes, unlike becoming an Animagus, the transformation into a werewolf is not a willing one, so the body naturally resists." Lupin answered. "But with the Wolfsbane Potion, at least, I can just curl up in my office as a harmless wolf."
"The Wolfsbane Potion, as I said, is only a recent discovery." Lupin continued. "Before I started to drink it, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other patents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me."
"That's just sick, it's not like you asked to be a werewolf!" Andrew snapped, exasperated.
"Thank you, Andrew." Lupin said with a grateful nod. "Luckily for me, Dumbledore became Headmaster, he was as sympathetic as you. He said that, as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school..." he sighed and looked at Harry and Andrew. "I told you and Harry, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts."
Andrew nodded. "It was planted because you came to Hogwarts." he said, clicking his fingers. "That's brilliant! You were brought here once a month to hide out, and the tree planted so no one would find you."
Lupin nodded. "Quite the detective," he complimented the Padawan.
Andrew shrugged, "It's a hobby."
Lupin then looked around the room miserably. "I have just told you that the transformations were painful, they were more so when I was a boy, because even then, I became a fully grown werewolf."
"Ouch!" Ron exclaimed.
"Quite. Also, because I was separated from humans to bite, I would bite and scratch myself." Lupin motioned to the scars on his face. "The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore even encouraged the rumour … even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it..."
"But, apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black … Peter Pettigrew … and, of course, your farther, Harry – James Potter."
"How long did it take them to notice?" Andrew asked, trying to move the tale along. He could sense another presence in the shack.
"Not long, I'm afraid. I made up all sorts of stories, mainly about my mother being ill and me needing to visit her. I was terrified that they would abandon me if they ever knew the truth. But they did find out, much in the same way you did, Hermione." Lupin then smiled broadly. "But they didn't desert me at all. Instead they did something for me, something that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."
"My dad, too?" asked Harry, amazed.
"Yes, indeed," answered Lupin. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here, were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong – one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."
"Nice to have some company," Andrew mused.
"Exactly, they couldn't do so as humans, I would have killed them, or worse. Instead, they kept me company as animals. They would all sneak out, under James' Invisibility Cloak, and transform. Peter, being the smallest, would sneak up to the tree and press the knot that freezes it, then they would join me." Lupin told them.
Black grew impatient and ordered Lupin to get on with it. Lupin then told them about the adventures they had, how soon enough they were leaving the Shrieking Shack and wondering the school grounds and the village. "I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did. And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."
"Ha! Wormtail, rat's tail. Nice." Andrew guffawed.
Harry started to ask what sort of animal his dad could turn into, but Hermione cut him off.
"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?" she ranted.
"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. He went on to say there were a few near misses and that the Marauders just laughed them off. "I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course..." He went on to explain why he felt that way, how he essentially blamed himself for his friends becoming Animagi, how he had wanted to tell Dumbledore about Sirius, but was too afraid of also telling the Headmaster everything.
"… so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along." Lupin finished.
"Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers for the first time, looking at Lupin. "What's Snape got to do with it?"
Lupin explained that Snape was a teacher, and that he had been in their year at school. He explained something that made Snape's hatred of Harry suddenly obvious. "… you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me."
He then told them how Snape had seen him with Madam Pomfrey, crossing the grounds to the tree, Sirius had told Snape how to get to the Shrieking Shack, James had heard of it and went to stop Snape, but not before Snape had seen Lupin in his wolf form.
"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," Harry said slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"
"That's right," sneered Snape as he suddenly burst into the room, shoot a disarming charm at Lupin with his wand and then pointed his wand at Black. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" Snape asked, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your Potion tonight, so I took a gobletful 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."
Lupin tried to say something, but Snape continued, only to stop when he heard slow, mocking clapping.
"Well done, idiot, you've done it again." Andrew said.
"How dare you speak to me, a teacher, in such a manner!" Snape spat.
"Oh, let me think, where the hell are we? Oh yeah! We're not on school grounds, so I don't give a shit who you think you are!" Andrew snapped, raising his voice.
"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, but then he was thrown across the room as lightning shot out of Andrew's fingertips. Hermione screamed as she realised what Andrew was doing. Snape slid down the far wall, his robes smoking slightly, a look of pure shock on his face.
"Now," Andrew said, panting, "we are all going to sit, quietly and calmly while Black and Lupin continue their story. We were in the middle of a conversation, before you barged in." Snape opened his mouth and Andrew nearly lost it, again. "SHUT YOUR FUCKING BIG MOUTH AND OPEN YOUR TINY EARS!" He bellowed, lightning crackling around his hands. "You say even one word, and I will kill you."
Snape shut his mouth and remained motionless. Hermione was quivering. "You attacked a teacher..."
"No, I attacked a rude, arrogant idiot who thought he'd get a little revenge without using his miniscule brain!" Andrew snapped, testing Snape to see if he'd take the bait, he didn't. "Good boy, now, Professor Lupin, I believe we were in the middle of something."
"I'm still not convinced," Harry said.
"Then it's time we offered you some proof," answered Black, reaching up for Scabbers.
"Come off it," Ron said weakly. "Are you trying to say you broke out of Azkaban, just to get your hands on Scabbers? I mean ..." he looked to his friends for support. "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat – there are millions of rats – how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"
"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Black and frowning a little. "How did you find out where he was?"
Black picked up a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed out and showed everyone, it was a picture of Ron's family, announcing Mr Weasley's winning a prize at the Ministry. And right there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.
"Fudge said you'd asked for the paper from him, and you'd been heard muttering 'He's at Hogwarts' over and over in your sleep." Andrew breathed. "It wasn't Harry, it was Ron's rat!"
"My God," breathed Lupin, looking from the paper to Scabbers and back. "His front paw..."
"What about it?" asked Ron, defiantly.
"He's got a toe missing," said Black.
"Of course," Lupin gasped, "so simple … so brilliant … he cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transformed," answered 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..."
"And all that was left was a finger," Andrew finished. "Or so I heard."
"Look, Scabbers probably just had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages."
"Twelve years, I'd bet," Andrew answered.
"Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?" Lupin asked Ron, Snape was frowning more and more.
"We – we've just been taking good care of him!" Ron answered, losing ground on his argument.
"Ron, wake up! You told me that Scabbers seemed to get ill after you got back from Egypt, isn't that when you'd first heard that Black had escaped?" Andrew snapped.
Black then explained how Crookshanks had been helping him, how he'd stolen Neville's list of passwords and tried to catch Scabbers so he could bring the rat to Black.
"So that's why you were over Ron's bed, everyone thought you'd just gotten the wrong one." Andrew shook his head as he said this. "Mel and I have been losing sleep over nothing! You bastard! You owe me big time pal!"
Black laughed. "I'm sorry about that, it's just a shame that Peter then got wind of what was going on, and ran for it … this cat – Crookshanks, did you call him? - told me that Peter had left blood on the sheets … I suppose he bit himself … well, faking his own death had worked once..."
"And why did he fake his death?" Harry demanded, growing angry again. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"No," Lupin said, trying to sooth Harry.
"And now you've come to finish him off!"
"Yes, I have," said Black, looking evilly at Scabbers.
"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.
"Thank you, Potter." Snape said, moving to get up, only to gag and clutch at his throat.
"I thought I told you to keep your mouth shut!" Andrew yelled.
"Andrew, please release him," Lupin said, knowing a Force Choke when he saw one. Andrew released Snape and Snape sat back down, sulking a little. "Harry, don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your patents, 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 roared. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP, HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"
"Harry … I as good as killed them," Black croaked, he and Harry both looked on the verge of tears. "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."
By now, Andrew and Harry were putting the pieces together. "You were the obvious choice, you thought Voldemort would come for you, so you suggested Peter, to throw Voldemort off the scent." Andrew surmised.
"Only for Peter to turn out to be Voldemort's servant, all along?" Harry asked.
"Exactly, Harry. But there is only one way to prove it, together Sirius?" Lupin asked, Black nodded and they both pointed their wands at the floating rat. There was a flash of blue light, and Scabbers started to morph into the form of a short, balding man with bucked teeth and grubby skin.
"Good God!" Snape exclaimed, jumping to his feet, Andrew let it slide, now that he could see the truth.
"Well, hello, Peter," Lupin said pleasantly, like this sort of thing was normal.
"S-Sirius … R-Remus ..." Pettigrew's voice was squeaky, like the rat he had recently been, his small, watery eyes kept darting to the door and back. "My friends … my old friends..."
Black's wand arm rose, but Andrew stepped in the way. "Like I said, Mr Black, if he dies, you're still a murderer," he said quietly as he placed a hand on his wrist, gently pushing his arm back down. "Let him live, then you can be free."
"You-you don't believe him, do you … He tried to kill me." Pettigrew whimpered.
"So we've heard," Lupin said, coldly. "I'd like to clear up one of two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so..."
"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew shrieked suddenly, pointing a middle finger at Black, making it just that little more obvious that he had a missing finger. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me, too … you've got to help me, Re.." Andrew started choking Pettigrew, only for a second so he would shut up.
"Let him go, Payne," Snape said, sweeping forward and grabbing Andrew's wrist. "There's no sense in you killing him."
"Never planned to, Professor," Andrew said politely, having already released Pettigrew. "Just wanted to shut him up."
"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin.
"Sorted things out?" croaked Pettigrew, rubbing his neck. "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 Black was going to break out of Azkaban?" asked Snape, rolling his eyes at how pathetic this defence was.
"When nobody has ever done it before?" added Lupin, frowning.
"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, mirthlessly. "Voldemort, teach me tricks?" Pettigrew flinched when Black said the name. "What, scared to hear your old master's name?" Black asked. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't happy with you, are they?"
"Don't know – what you mean, Sirius..." muttered Pettigrew, he was sweating badly.
"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..."
"Alright, Black, I think you've made your point," Snape said, letting out a shudder.
"There's something I don't understand," Hermione said.
"For once," muttered Snape.
"Snape, I haven't slept this month, please don't test me!" Andrew groaned in exasperation.
"If Scabbers, I mean, this man … was one of You-Know-Who's supporters … well, he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for the last three years, why didn't he try to hurt Harry?"
"There!" screamed Pettigrew, pointing at Hermione with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"
"Dumbledore," Andrew answered, seething. "You're not about to even reveal yourself under his nose, let alone kill for someone who's half-dead!"
"You'd want to be quite sure that Voldemort was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, would you?" Black added. "Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you Peter?"
"If I were on your side, I'd say your plan was brilliant, but right now I'm struggling not to kill you myself!" Andrew spat.
While Pettigrew stood there, opening and closing his mouth, Hermione had a question. "Er – Mr Black – Sirius?" she said timidly. Black jumped at being addressed so politely, like he'd forgotten what it was like. "If you don't mind me asking, how – how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"
"Now that you mention it, Miss Granger, I'm quite curious myself," Snape sneered at Black.
Black frowned, trying to figure out how to answer. He told them that he didn't know, that he guessed that knowing he was innocent, kept him sane. It wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of him. With that knowledge, he was able to keep his powers, and occasionally turn into a dog in his cell, the Dementors couldn't tell the difference. Once Black had realised where Pettigrew was, he waited for the Dementors to bring him food, and slipped out of his cell, in the form of a dog.
"I swam as a dog back to the mainland … I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog..." Black explained.
"You came to Mongolia Crescent and the Quidditch match as a dog!" Harry blurted out.
"Yes, I had to see a good old Quidditch match again, you fly as good as your father did, Harry. And that Ravenclaw match! I've never seen tactics like that outside of professional level!"
"Thank you, I was inspired by my pilots training," Andrew said with a bow.
"You came up with those moves?" Sirius asked.
"I think we're getting a little off-topic now," Lupin said, grinning as he interrupted Andrew's response.
"You're right, Remus," Black answered, then he looked Harry in the eye. "Believe me, Harry, believe me. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."
All eyes turned to Harry, who opened his mouth to speak as a tear rolled down his cheek. He couldn't form words, so instead he nodded.
Pettigrew then fell to his knees and started to plead with anyone who would listen. "There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them!" Black spat at him.
"Remus! You don't believe this … Wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?" Pettigrew asked, holding his hands in a sign of prayer.
"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," answered Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.
"Forgive me, Remus," Black said back.
"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," Lupin was now rolling up his tattered sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"
"Of course," Black was grinning as he, too, rolled up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"
"No," Harry and Andrew said.
"My parents wouldn't have wanted him killed," Harry continued, "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!" gasped Pettigrew, he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "Thank you – it's more than I deserve – thank you!"
Harry brought his knee up sharply, colliding it with Pettigrew's chin. "Don't touch me!" he shouted, following up his knee with a sharp kick to Pettigrew's chest. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because I don't think either of my parents would want their friends to become killers, just for you."
Snape almost looked impressed with Harry, Lupin and Black lowered their wands. "You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Black. "But think … think what he did..."
"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does..."
Pettigrew was tied up by Lupin and Snape offered to drag him out. "If you try to transform, Peter, we will kill you. You agree, Harry?" Black said, Harry nodded.
Andrew ran downstairs, smashed a broken chair apart and used some chords from Snape's wand to make a splint for Ron's leg. "Professor Snape? Mind if I help you with 'that'?" Ron asked, he'd taken Scabber's true identity personally.
"Very well." Snape answered, conjuring manacles so that Pettigrew could be chained to the both of them.
Crookshanks led the way down the stairs and through the tunnel, while they were walking, Black remembered something.
"You said you've not slept this month, how are you not exhausted?"
"I suffer from 'Nodormiunus', once for a random month every year, I don't sleep," Andrew explained over his shoulder. "In our first year I went six weeks without sleep, last summer I went seven … good God and holy Yoda, I hope I'm not aiming for eight this year!"
"Must be boring," Black answered.
"Believe me, it is," Andrew sighed. "Thankfully Dumbledore lets me roam the castle when it's 'that time of year', but it's still lonely if I'm honest. The worst part is when I do sleep."
"What happens then?" Lupin asked, curious.
"I go into a week-long coma to catch up."
"That'll be during the summer holidays," Hermione said, quickly doing the maths in her head. "If you stay up for more than four weeks, otherwise it'll be last year all over again … you don't have that car this year, do you?"
Andrew laughed. "No, she's still in London, but I know what you mean, I'll let my Master know when I get back to the temple."
Snape, Pettigrew and Ron had to travel down the tunnel, sideways and single file, Lupin kept his wand trained on Pettigrew and the others followed behind.
"You know what turning in Pettigrew means," Sirius said to Harry.
"You're free," Harry answered, repeating Andrew's logic.
"Yes, but … I don't know if anyone ever told you this, but I'm your Godfather," Sirius continued
"Yeah … I'd heard," Harry said, conscious of Snape listening in, he didn't want to admit he'd overheard Hagrid and Fudge in the Three Broomsticks.
"Well … your parents appointed me as your guardian," Sirius said, sounding like someone who was struggling to put his words the right way. "If anything happened to them..."
Nobody said anything, Harry waited for Sirius to continue.
"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your Aunt and Uncle," Sirius went on. "But … well … think about it. Once my name's cleared … if you wanted a … a different home..."
"What? Live with you?" Harry was so happy he didn't even notice when he bumped his head on the tunnel ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"
"Of course. I thought you wouldn't want to," Sirius said, missing Harry's tone.
"Mr Black, you misunderstand." Andrew called. "When you met us in Mongolia Crescent, we were sort of running away from his guardians."
"Seriously?" Sirius asked Harry.
"When can I move in?" Harry asked, not missing a beat. Sirius broke into the first true smile they had seen and swept Harry into a hug.
Nobody said a word then, until they reached the end of the tunnel, Crookshanks slipped through first and must have pressed the knot, because Snape, Pettigrew and Ron clambered up without getting attacked.
"You should have seen what happened the first time I met this tree," Andrew said.
"You mean when you crashed into it?" Snape called.
"It wasn't a crash!" Andrew shouted back. "More an … uncontrolled landing." he finished lamely.
Sirius laughed. "I bet the tree didn't like it."
"There's still bits of the car left, if you know where to look." Ron called, having just noticed a wing flapping in the light breeze.
Once they were all out, they started making their way towards the castle, Pettigrew wheezing and whimpering all the way. "One wrong move, Peter," Lupin threatened, pointing his wand into Pettigrew's back, Snape was also pointing his wand at Pettigrew's chest.
The castle lights were getting larger and larger as the group got closer. Then a cloud shifted, the lights from the castle were drowned out by the brightness of the moon. Everyone froze as Snape's earlier words rang in their ears. 'You forgot to take your Potion tonight'.
"Black, get them out of here!" Snape shouted, trying to unshackle himself from Pettigrew and Ron.
"Snape, NO!" Andrew shouted. "Ron won't be able to hold Pettigrew, get moving, I've got this!"
With that, the Jedi tackled Lupin, trying to get him away from the others. "Of all the times to not have my web-shooters!" he complained as Sirius transformed to try and help as Lupin let out a long howl.
"No you don't!" Snape snarled, pointing his wand at Pettigrew. Pettigrew then stomped on his foot and shoved his wrist, Snape's wand let out a flash and Crookshanks was laying on the ground, unconscious.
Ron plunged his hand into his robes, trying to reach his wand, but he was too late. With a 'pop' Pettigrew disappeared, he had transformed and darted off through the grass.
At that moment, Andrew flew back into view, Lupin's jaws were inches from the Jedi's face as his hands were pressing against the werewolf's chest. Andrew brought his feet up and then used his hands to charge up a Force Push, sending the beast flying. The Whomping Willow, having woken up, then smacked the flying werewolf and sent him soaring into the Forbidden Forest.
"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled. The dog nodded and ran off after the rat.
Panting, Andrew got to his feet. "Dude needed a breath mint!" he growled. "Come on, we'd better get Ron up to Madam Pomfrey."
Snape nodded and started pulling Ron to his feet, that's when they heard a dog whining and Harry took off running towards it.
"You two get Ron to hospital!" Andrew ordered, taking off after Harry and ignoring Snape as he ordered the two boys to come back.
When they caught up to Sirius, they found him being subjected to Force Lightning. "JAX STOP!" Andrew bellowed at him, sending a Force Push to knock him back.
"What the hell, Payne!" Jax demanded, igniting his red blade.
"He's innocent, we've got … well had evidence," Andrew explained, igniting his own blue blade. "I can't let you kill him."
Jax seemed to consider this, much as he was growing to … tolerate Payne, he still had his orders, kill Black or die trying. "I'm sorry … but I still have my orders." he genuinely looked sorry.
"Then I'm sorry too," Andrew said, getting between Jax and Sirius, getting into his preferred stance.
"Make it convincing," Jax muttered to him, Andrew was briefly confused, then Jax charged at him.
Andrew blocked and Jax sent a feeble kick to his side. Andrew dodged it and swiped his foot at Jax's head. They continued to trade blows, Andrew quickly realising that Jax fully intended to lose this fight, but not easily. He punched Jax in the face three times and as he reeled from the blow, the Sith swept Andrew's legs from under him, as Andrew hit the ground, Jax plunged his saber down, barely Andrew's right shoulder, causing the Jedi to cry out in pain.
Andrew kicked the Sith away and kipped up onto his feet. The two locked sabers again and traded blows, weapons humming, feet and fists flying. Jax gained an upper hand by channelling lighting through his blade, stunning the Jedi long enough to spin and plunge his lightsaber into Andrew belly.
Andrew screamed in pain, he could feel that the blade hadn't hit anything vital, and that Jax hadn't decreased the power on his weapon. Uncertain if it was more his luck or Jax's training, Andrew sent Force Lightning into Jax's chest, forcing him backwards. The Padawan checked to make sure his blade was on minimum power, knowing this was going to hurt like a bitch, he leapt forward and thrust his blade through Jax's heart, the pain of his attack rendering the Sith unconscious.
"He's beaten, come on, we've gotta check Sirius." Harry told him, Andrew nodded, clutching his wounded abdomen, but then he froze, as did Harry.
Hundreds of Dementors were swooping across the lake, they were coming from all sides. It seemed the battle between Andrew and Jax had attracted their attention. Luckily Andrew's wand was still inside his lightsaber, because his right arm was otherwise useless now.
"(Harry's going to be free of the Dursleys!)" Andrew thought to himself. "Expecto Patronum!"
Harry nodded and moved to guard Sirius' other side as Andrew swung his Patronus blade at the nearest Dementor, killing it instantly.
The Dementors didn't like that and, as one, lowered their hoods, intent on using their Kiss on the Jedi, Harry fell to his knees, losing consciousness as Andrew struck down Dememtor after Dementor.
One Dementor then grabbed the Jedi from behind, gripping tightly over his belly wound. Andrew dropped his lightsaber as the pain overwhelmed him, he dropped to one knee, bringing the Dementor down on top of him. Harry and Andrew were both about to be subjected to the Dementors' Kiss, when a Silvery Stag and Husky charged through them, driving them off.
With the Dementors gone, Harry and Andrew watched the Patronus' float back across the lake to two waiting individuals, but before they could understand who had saved them, Harry blacked out and Andrew flopped back onto the grass, exhausted from his wound and the effect of the Dementors, but still fully alert.