Alexis Lestrange and the Grim

by Keith the Evil Dark Lord

(3rd Story to Alexis Lestrange Series) Alexis is ready for her third year at Hogwarts but when Black escapes Azkaban everything goes haywire. Dementors, a werewolf teacher, more Marauder secrets, and, worst of all, people want her and Harry to stop being friends! Alexis is sure it all has to do with her parents and this year she's determined to find out who they are no matter what.

23. Chapter 23

3 Chapter 23: The Truth in All

For a second, nothing happened. Then...

Hermione screamed. Ron fell backwards on the bed. Alexis and Harry both jumped and swore simultaneously.

In a flash of blue light, Scabbers the rat had transformed into a man. A very short, thin man, with colorless and balding hair. He had the the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. His eyes darted to the door and back again.

"Well, hello, Peter," said Remus 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..."

Sirius's wand arm rose but Alexis grabbed. He looked down at her in surprise.

"Wait," she hissed and Sirius complied.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter," said Remus ever so casually, "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, "you don't believe him, do you...? He tried to kill me, Remus..."

"So we've heard," said Remus, 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 Sirius with his right hand. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too...You've got to help me, Remus..."

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Remus.

"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again, the only door. "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 Remus, 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!"

Sirius started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room.

"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said.

Pettigrew flinched as though Sirius had brandished a whip at him.

"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" said Sirius. "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 Sirius. "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 Remus. "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 Remus 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!"

Sirius's face contorted.

"How dare you," he growled, sounding suddenly like the bearsized 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; he was almost panting for breath.

"Me, a spy...must be out of your mind...never...don't know how you can say such a -"

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Sirius 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; Alexis caught words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy," but was paying more attention to the ashen color of Pettigrew's face and the way his eyes continued to dart toward the windows and door.

"Professor Lupin?" said Hermione timidly. "Can - can I say something?"

"Certainly, Hermione," said Remus 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," growled Sirius. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for twelve 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.

"Um, Sirius?" said Alexis.

Sirius jumped, once more surprised by Alexis for using his first name.

"How did you get out of Azkaban without the use of Dark Magic?"

"Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I -"

But Remus silenced him with a look. Sirius was frowning slightly at Alexis, but not as though he were annoyed with her. He seemed to be pondering his answer.

"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "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..." He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off 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 mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand..."

"But then I saw Peter in that picture...I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry...perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again..."

Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Sirius as though hypnotized.

"...ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies...and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors..."

"So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive..."

Alexis eyes widened.

"Harry," she said grabbing her best friend's attention. "Remember what Arthur Weasley said? About the guards saying he was talking in his sleep, always the same words, 'He's at Hogwarts.' He was talking about Pettigrew!"

Harry's eyes lit up and Sirius nodded before continuing.

"It was as if someone had lit 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, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring 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 thin...thin enough to slip through the bars...I swam as a dog back to the mainland ...I journeyed north and headed towards London but I stopped in Surrey on the way... I... I had to make sure you were okay, Harry. Lily's sister was never the kindest woman..."

"That explains why he was on the Knight Bus with us," said Alexis.

Sirius gave her a puzzled look.

"I wasn't on the Knight Bus."

"But- you called me Trix! I only used that name on the bus-" Alexis's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Sirius hadn't overheard Alexis use the alias Trix, he had been the one that gave it to her. She had accidentally read his mind!

"But I followed you to London," Sirius continued. "I thought that I could warn you, Harry, about Peter but then, well," Sirius smirked, "Alexis became very protective."

Alexis smiled sheepishly, remembering knocking Sirius out near the end of the summer last yet.

"After that, I stayed in Hogsmeade until Alexis brought me to the school. I spent most of my time in the boat house, except when I came to watch the Quidditch games, of course. The way you two fly, bloody déjà vu..."

Sirius finally turned to Harry, who did not look away.

"Believe me," he croaked. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."

And Alexis knew, at long last, Harry believed him, even before he nodded his head yes.

"No!"

Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.

"Sirius - it's me...it's Peter...your friend...you wouldn't -"

Sirius kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," said Sirius.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Remus instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this - wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Remus. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus," said Sirius.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Remus, who was now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course," said Sirius, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," said Remus grimly.

"You wouldn't...you won't..." gasped Pettigrew. And he scrambled around to Ron.

"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 was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.

"I let you sleep in my bed!" he said.

"Kind boy...kind master..." Pettigrew crawled toward Ron. "You won't let them do it...I was your rat...I was a good pet..."

"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," said Sirius harshly. Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his injured leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.

"Sweet girl...clever girl...you - you won't let them...Help me..."

Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified.

Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Alexis. There was so much fear in his beady eyes but it only seemed to amplify when he met Alexis's gaze. Whimpering as if she had just hit him, Pettigrew turned away from Alexis and towards Harry.

"Harry...Harry...you look just like your father...just like him..."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Sirius. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed...James would have understood, Harry...he would have shown me mercy..."

Both Sirius and Remus strode forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," growled Sirius. "Do you deny it?"

Pettigrew burst into tears. Alexis stomach tightened. Harry grabbed her hand. She was so angry, righteously angry, all for Harry. All she wanted to do was hurt Pettigrew, hurt him horribly.

'What's wrong with me?' Alexis thought to herself.

"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 never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen...He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me -"

"DON'T LIE!" bellowed Sirius. "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!" gasped Pettigrew. For the first time he looked at Alexis with a look of pleading. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Sirius, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Sirius. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

Sirius and Remus stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.

"You should have realized," said Remus quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter."

Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall. Ron looked away, but Harry stood cold.

"STOP!" Alexis yelled.

She didn't know what had come over her. She had wanted to see Pettigrew pay for his crimes as much as anyone but the pitiful man in front of her brought out the memory of McPherson's death. Alexis wasn't going to live through it again if she could help. Releasing Harry's hand, she ran forward, placing herself in front of Pettigrew, in front of the wands.

"We can't," Alexis said. She turned to Harry who met her eye. "We can't do it."

"You're... You're right," said Harry. He stepped forward next to his best friend. "We can't just kill him."

Sirius and Remus both looked at each other.

"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Sirius snarled. "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," whispered Harry. Alexis took his hand and squeezed it. "But I can't let you two become killers. My dad would never want it, not over him."

"We can hand him over to the Dementors," supplied Alexis. "He can go to Azkaban where he belongs."

"Thank you!" cried Pettigrew. He threw his arms around Alexis and Harry's feet causing the two to nearly fall. "Thank you - it's more than I deserve - thank you -"

"Don't touch us," Harry snapped, pushing Pettigrew away in disgust. "We're not doing it for you."

"We're doing it to keep two innocent men out of prison," finished Alexis.

She turned to Sirius and Remus just as they began to lowered their wands.

"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Sirius. "But think... think what he did..."

"He can go to Azkaban," Harry said, repeating Alexis. "If anyone deserves that place, he does..."

"Very well," said Remus. "Stand aside, you two."

Alexis and Harry hesitated.

"I'm going to tie him up," said Remus. "That's all, I swear."

Harry stepped out of the way, dragging Alexis along with him. Thin cords shot from Remus's wand this time, and next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.

"But if you transform, Peter," growled Black, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too, "we will kill you."

"Right," said Remus, suddenly businesslike. "Ron, I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing."

He hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand, and muttered, "Ferula." Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint. Remus helped him to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince.

"That's better," he said. "Thanks."

"What about Professor Snape?" said Hermione in a small voice, looking down at Snape's prone figure.

"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," said Remus, bending over Snape and checking his pulse. "You were just a little - overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er - perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safety back in the castle. We can take him like this..."

"I'll get him," volunteered Hermione. She muttered, "Mobilicorpus."

As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrists, neck, and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling.

"Bloody brilliant, you are, Moony," praised Ron. There was an odd moment when Remus raised his eyebrow before remembering Hermione had adopted his old nickname. He, along with everyone else in the room, couldn't help but to smirk at the strangeness of the situation.

"Here you are, Harry," said Remus, handing Harry his Invisibility Cloak.

"And two of us should be chained to this," said Sirius, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."

"I'll do it," said Remus.

"And me," said Ron savagely, limping forward.

"Are you sure?" Alexis asked, worried about Ron's injured leg.

"I'm fine, Padfo- Hex," said Ron. "Just catch me if I fall, alright?"

"Funny," Alexis said dryly, rolling her eyes.

Sirius conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, left arm chained to Remus's right, right arm to Ron's left. Ron's face was set. He seemed to have taken Scabbers's true identity as a personal insult. Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way out of the room, his bottlebrush tail held jauntily high.

.

The journey back through the tunnels to the school was silent. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; Remus, Pettigrew, and Ron went next. Then came Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by Hermione's spell. Alexis, Harry, and Sirius brought up the rear.

"Sirius?" Alexis asked abruptly as they continued their slow progression through the tunnels.

"Yes, pup?" said Sirius. He sounded almost as if they were having a friendly conversation during a spring walk not while trekking through a tunnel that led to a once believed haunted house. "Oh, you don't like pup. Yes, Alex-"

"Pup works," Alexis said perhaps a little too hastily. "I, um, have a question for you."

"Ask away... pup."

"What..." Alexis took a deep breath. She could finally get the answers she was looking for. "What is her name? My mother, what is her name?"

Sirius stopped in his tracks, blocking Alexis and Harry's way. He turned around to face them, a look of surprise on his face.

"You mean, they never told you? Dumbledore never told you- Tomas never told you?"

Alexis shook her head.

"They're under an Unbreakable Vow," she explained simply. "And the Ministry thinks I'm going to help you get to Harry so..." Alexis broke off, not willing to jump to any assumptions too soon. She looked away from him and at her feet.

Sirius placed his calloused covered hand on Alexis's cheek gently. She looked up to meet a smiling face just as a warm hand, Harry's hand, took hold of her own.

"You're mother's name is Bellatrix," said Sirius softly.

"Bellatrix?" repeated Alexis. The name was not new to her. "As in Bellatrix Black? You're cousin?"

"Lestrange, actually," corrected Sirius. "She married before I was even out of Hogwarts, I think. I was more or less exiled from the family before then."

Alexis's eyes lit up. Lestrange, the name the sorting hat gave her, the name the centaur called her, the color of her eyes - it all made sense now.

"So we're..."

"Cousins."

"Oh," said Alexis. Everything was making a little too much sense right now. "Can I use the term uncle instead?"

Sirius's lip twitched into an uncontrolled smile.

"I suppose."

"But isn't Malfoy related to the Lestranges?" asked Harry.

"He is," said Sirius. "His wife, Narcissa, is your aunt, Alexis. She is Trix's youngest sister."

"So Draco is my cousin and Lucius is my uncle," stated Alexis aloud. She turned back to Sirius. "Why do you call my mother Trix?"

"When we were younger and not so set in our ways," said Sirius as they began to move again, "your mother and I were friends. She was friends with all the Marauders in fact."

"What happened?"

"Me," stated Remus from the front. He had not turned around nor had he spoken in a very commanding voice but Alexis couldn't bring herself to ask for a better explanation. There was too much unknown emotion in her Defense Teacher's voice.

Silence once more filled the tunnels. It wasn't until they drew near the end did Sirius speak again.

"You know what this means?" he said to Harry. "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You're free," said Harry.

"Yes..." said Sirius. "But I'm also - I don't know if anyone ever told you - I'm your godfather."

"Yeah, I knew that," said Harry.

"Well... your parents appointed me your guardian," said Sirius stiffly. "If anything happened to them..."

Harry eyes widened. Alexis couldn't help but to grin at the sight.

"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle," said Sirius. "But... well... think about it. Once my name's cleared... if you wanted a... a different home..."

"What - live with you?" Harry said, squeezing Alexis's hand in his excitement. "Leave the Dursleys?"

"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," said Sirius quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd -"

"Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Sirius's. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"

Once more, Sirius stopped and turned around.

"You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry.

Black's face broke into a grin nearly identical to Alexis's. He looked ready to explode with joy.

"That invitation includes you, pup," Sirius said to Alexis. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"I- I can move in with you too?"

"Of course," chuckled Sirius. "As the eldest living Black outside of prison, you're technically my ward. It's my responsibility to raise you, though I'd rather look at it as a privilege."

"Can we get bunk beds?" Alexis blurted out. Harry nodded approvingly.

"I don't know if I'm going to be able to allow you two to sleep in the same room," teased Sirius, eyeing Alexis and Harry's hand holding.

"We're not-" blushed Harry.

"Why does everyone-" grumbled Alexis.

Sirius crackled loudly, startling Hermione and causing her to hit Snape's head on the ceiling of the tunnel.

"Only teasing, pups," he said but Alexis and Harry grudgingly let go of each other's hand, blushing the whole time.

They finally stumbled out of the tunnel and onto the dark Hogwarts ground where the only light was coming from the castle.

"One wrong move, Peter," said Remus threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest.

Silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. Snape was still drifting weirdly ahead of Hermione, his chin bumping on his chest. And then -

A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight.

"Shit," said someone next to Harry but he wasn't sure if it was Alexis or Sirius or both. He was far more preoccupied with the man turning into a werewolf in front of him.

"Run," whispered Sirius. "Run, Now."

But neither Harry nor Alexis ran as Remus began shaking violently.

"Tails!" they both shouted, moving to help their friend only to have their plan thwarted by Sirius. He grabbed the two of them and threw them back.

"Leave it to me - RUN!"

There was a terrible snarling noise. Remus's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's hair was on end again; he was backing away -

As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Alexis and Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from Ron and Pettigrew. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other.

"Sirius!" yelled Alexis as the werewolf threw her newly discovered uncle away like a rag doll. Her words only drew the attention of the werewolf which charged right at them only to be hit by a ball of blue light.

"Come here, you- you mutt!" shouted Hermione. She mumbled what sound like an apology with the words "Professor" and "didn't mean it," before taking off to the tunnel, Snape's unconscious body piled in a forgotten heap while the werewolf chased after her.

"Moony!" cried Alexis and Harry together, though to who it didn't matter for suddenly a cry of pain filled the air. Sirius Black dove through the air and moments later he and the werewolf reappeared from the Whomping Willow.

Then a loud shout filled the air. Alexis turned away from the battle between Sirius and the werewolf only to find another fight taking place. Ron and Pettigrew were rolling on the ground for control over Ron's wand. Crookshanks was helping as best he could, scratching and biting Pettigrew every chance he received.

Suddenly there was a green light and Ron fell over motionless. Pettigrew froze for a second, his eyes meeting Alexis's. There was so much fear, more fear than when he had been first discovered, in the rat man's eyes.

"Expelliarmus!" yelled Harry but it was too late. Pettigrew had transformed.

"Damn it!" cursed Alexis, charging forward.

"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled.

A howl filled the air, signaling the werewolf's retreat. Sirius was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and back, but at Harry's words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.

Alexis ran over to Ron's body. He was so pale, his eyes wide open in surprise. He was so motionless it was almost as if he wasn't breathing...

"Tail?" Alexis breathed nervously. She reached out to touch him when she heard a yelping, a whining: a dog in pain...

"Sirius," Harry muttered, staring into the darkness.

Acting on instincts, he and Alexis jumped to their feet and took off running. The yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. They ignored the sudden coldness that surrounded them unaware of what it might mean...

The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lakeshore, they saw why - Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.

"Nooo," he moaned. "Nooo... please..."

Dementors were everywhere. There was at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. A horrible coldness filled Alexis's bones as they drew closer and closer.

"Happy thoughts!" Harry cried to Alexis lifting his wand.

Alexis nodded her head.

'I have a name. I am a Lestrange.'

"Expecto patronum!"

Suddenly Sirius fell flat on his chest, his body growing motionless. Alexis closed her eyes again, working hard to ignore the horrible voices in her head and focus on her happy thoughts.

'I have a family. I have an uncle and I'm going to keep him safe.'

"Expecto patronum!"

"Don't give up, Hex! Expecto patronum!" shouted Harry as the Dementors closed in to barely ten feet away.

Alexis gritted her teeth, her entire body shivering. She had to keep fighting.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" she yelled with Harry. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Silver wisps escaped them but it wasn't enough. Suddenly, Alexis's knees gave out and Harry's quickly followed.

"Don't- he's innocent," Alexis croaked as a Dementor drew closer to Sirius. "Don't!"

"Expecto... Expecto... Expec..." Harry suddenly fell over, his head landing on Sirius's back. His eyes were barely open and he was clearly dazed.

Alexis's wasn't looking much better. She was trying her best to stay up right when a sickly cold hand slithered around her neck from behind. Her body froze as a Dementor lifted her into the air with one boney, cold hand while the other moved for its hood.

"HEX!" cried Harry, but he sounded so far away. "HOLD ON, HEX!"

There was a sudden bright light, such a bright light that Alexis could feel warmth emanating off of it. The cold hand around her neck immediately dropped her as the light consumed her, Harry, and Sirius. She fell to her knees once more, coughing as the Dementors all disappeared.

And then the light changed form into a strong buck made completely of glowing white light. Alexis looked at it in awe before falling backwards. She tried to keep her eyes open but her vision was blurred. A familiar figure leaning over her.

"Harry?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"Tell me it was my father, Hex," whispered the blurred figure but Alexis knew it was Harry. His voice was as usual determine but a little shaky. "Don't worry. I'll understand. I- I got to go, Hex."

"Harry," Alexis repeated. She tried to sit up but Harry pushed back down gently.

"You're going to pass out soon," Harry explained. "And when you- when we wake up, we'll be in the medical bay. They'll have taken Sirius but we are going to save him just think fast and listen to Hermione."

"I-"

"It's alright, Hex," said Harry softly. He kissed her forehead lightly before standing up. "We'll save him- both of us."

Too tired to fight, Alexis let out a sigh before allowing her eyes to close but before she let herself fall unconscious, she spoke two words.

"Amo tu."

---

So no comment from me (though ya'lls are all welcome to make some!) other than I've decided with the title Alexis Lestrange and the TriWizard Champion. Really would like to hear all of your opinions/theories/curses towards this chapter though!

tikitay13: I added the delayed reaction to the change because of your last review. I thought it would have been hilarious if they had gotten the wrong rat!

sdddssf: As you wish!

iciclefangAJ: thanks for voting! I'm glad we agree!

Jessica02: glad you love it! Hope this chapter was up to standards too!

Ingrid: yousa gotsa!

phoenixfelicis07: Opinion very much needed. I really hope I messed with you a bit with the whole Remus thing! It was the plan at least! Please review as always!

Review!

DCF