Kindred Spirits

by Tailkinker

This is a work of fan fiction based on the Harry Potter series and the Sailor Moon franchise created respectively by J.K. Rowling and Naoko Takeuchi. The characters and settings belong to their respective owners and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes and should not be considered as part of the official canon of either series.

Reflection and Departure

The door to the Hospital Wing burst open, and Professor Severus Snape stormed into the room. He scowled at the three teens in their beds.

"How did you do it?"

Harry tried to look as innocent as possible. "Do what, Sir?"

Cornelius Fudge, his lime-green bowler clutched in his hands, hurried in behind Snape. "Now, Professor, I cannot imagine why you think that these three—"

"It's always these three," snarled the Potions Master. "Or their red-headed cohort. Where is Mr Weasley, anyway?"

"He's with Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione.

"Indeed, he is." The Headmaster walked into the Hospital Wing, followed by Ron and Madam Pomfrey. Harry noticed that Ron was clutching Scabbers. "May I ask what your concern might be?"

"Sirius Black has escaped!" spat Professor Snape. "And I am certain that these three are behind it."

"How could they have been responsible when they have been in here all this time?" asked Dumbledore calmly. "Madam Pomfrey. Did any of these students leave since I departed with Mr Weasley?"

"No, they did not," said Pomfrey firmly. "The doors didn't move."

"There are windows," pointed out Fudge. His hands twisted his hat between them. "And Mr Potter is known for his...ah...daring, shall we say?"

"The windows don't open," said Pomfrey. "There's no telling what a person with spell damage might attempt, so I had all these windows sealed long ago. And as you can see, none of them are broken."

"There is another way that Black might have escaped." Snape's voice turned silky. "He has a friend within the walls of this castle. A friend with a dark secret."

"Indeed, he has," said Dumbledore. "In fact, that is the reason that I came down here."

Snape turned, surprised, and looked at Dumbledore. "What do you mean?"

"Professor Lupin approached me," said Dumbledore, "and warned me that Sirius Black was an animagus. And so I instructed Professor Flitwick to place several charms around the school, to alert me if an animagus passed through any door leading into the castle. And tonight, one of those charms was triggered."

"Is that how Black was captured?" asked Fudge.

"Of course not." Snape folded his arms across his chest. "When I rescued Potter and Tomoe from the Dementors, I realized that there was a third person present. I bound Black and brought him in myself."

"No, Cornelius," said Dumbledore. "The charms revealed that there was yet another animagus on the school grounds." He turned and indicated Ron. "This rat."

The rat was unmoving in Ron's grasp. Harry suspected that Dumbledore had rendered it unconscious in some way.

"I've never heard of a rat animagus," said Fudge.

"That is because there is no registered rat animagus," said Dumbledore. "I had cause to look into the registry myself just last week. There are only seven living animagi on the list," he stated. "And none of them have a rat as their form. Yet this rat is an animagus. Therefore, he must be an unregistered animagus."

"Well, that's good for six months in Azkaban," said Fudge. "But who is he?"

Dumbledore chuckled, and drew his wand. "Well, there's only one way to find out." He flicked his wand, and the rat flew from Ron's hands into the air. Then jabbed, and the rat...expanded. Like watching a stop-motion film of a seed growing into a tree. Except that instead of a tree, the rat became a rather fat, balding man with a pointed nose. The man dropped to the floor, lying on his back, still unconscious.

Snape's jaw dropped in shock. "Peter Pettigrew."

"What?" Cornelius dropped his hat. "Are you certain? It can't be! Pettigrew is dead."

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "Killed by Sirius Black. Yet here he is, alive and well. You will note, Cornelius, that he is missing a finger from his right hand?"

"But that means that Black is innocent!" exclaimed Fudge.

"It means that he is innocent of killing Pettigrew," retorted Snape. "However, there were twelve Muggles killed that day as well."

"That will be something for a trial to determine," said Dumbledore. "No short cuts, this time, Cornelius."

"Er...no. It doesn't seem to have worked out for the best last time." He knelt, and picked up his hat. "Though in my defence, Millicent Bagnold was Minister at that time."

Dumbledore flicked his wand, and Pettigrew floated off the floor. "Then shall we proceed to my office? I do believe that we should be calling in Rufus Scrimgeour to take custody of Mr Pettigrew."

The four adults left, with Snape pausing to throw a filthy look at Harry. Madam Pomfrey closed the doors behind them.

"So how did you do it?" asked Ron excitedly.

Harry chuckled. "Well, it was Dobby who caught Pettigrew and took him to Dumbledore. As to the rest...well, it's Hermione's secret."

"And I'm sorry, Ron," she said. "But I really must keep it a secret. Professor McGonagall made me promise."

Ron sighed. "Well, that's that, then. There's no way I'd expect you to go against McGonagall." He sat down on an empty bed. "So where's Sirius?"

"He took Buckbeak and left," said Harry. "He said that he'd be in contact, but I don't know how. It's not like he's got an owl."

"You could send Hedwig to him," suggested Hotaru. "Have her carry parchment, quill and ink."

Harry nodded slowly. "Good idea. First, though, I think I'll write to Ted. It's past time that Sirius got his trial."

Harry felt as though he hadn't had time to breathe in the last two days. After the chaos and confusion of Sirius' rescue on Friday, Saturday had been spent packing his belongings and attending the Leaving Feast. And Sunday morning, they boarded the Hogwarts Express for the trip home.

Hotaru was clearly still recovering from those hectic few days; she was asleep, her head resting on Harry's lap, much to his embarrassment. Ron had managed to persuade Hermione into a game of chess; they had the chessboard set up between them on the bench seat across from him. For all her brilliance, she didn't play often, and Ron had spotted her a rook. From what Harry could see, though, he was still drubbing her awfully.

The door opened, and Draco Malfoy stepped in. He glanced behind him at Crabbe and Goyle, then shut the door, leaving the other two boys outside.

Ron scowled up at him. "What d'you want?"

"A word with Mr Potter," said Malfoy. "It's not private; you needn't leave."

"How can I help you, Mr Malfoy?" Harry kept his voice carefully courteous. Malfoy wasn't acting his usual hostile self, and Harry didn't want to provoke him if he could avoid it. After all, this was the most civil that he'd ever seen Malfoy act.

"I've given some thought to what you told me at the beginning of this year," said Malfoy. "And if what you've told me is true, then I find my father's actions to be...worrisome. Can you offer me any proof of your accusations?"

"I think I can, yeah." Harry nodded. "Dobby."

Draco frowned. "Our old House Elf?"

Dobby appeared with a pop. "What can Dobby do for—" He froze, and turned to stare at Malfoy, a look of dread crossing his face.

"Dobby," said Harry. "Can you tell Draco what his father planned to do last year?"

"It is...difficult, Harry Potter," said Dobby. He wrung his hands. "Dobby is uncertain where to begin."

"Dobby," said Malfoy in a commanding voice. "I order you to tell me what my father did."

"Dobby doesn't need to follow your orders," snapped Dobby. "Dobby is a free Elf!"

"Seems to me you work for Potter, now," sneered Malfoy. "How is that different?"

"Dobby is paid!"

Harry chuckled. "He drove a hard bargain. I wanted to give him a galleon a week, but he argued me down to two sickles."

Malfoy snorted, then said, "Well, if he works for you, then he has to obey your orders, right?"

"Unless he doesn't want to," said Harry. Hotaru stirred in his lap, mumbling in Japanese, and he reduced the volume of his voice. "Plus, I think he still has a lot of conditioning from when he worked for you. After all, you tortured him."

"One has to keep a firm hand with a House Elf," argued Malfoy.

"I've found that kindness works better," said Harry. "Dobby. The diary that possessed Ginny Weasley. Did you ever see it before the start of last school year?"

Dobby nodded fearfully.

"Who had it?"

"Dobby cannot say!" The Elf wrung his hands again. "Dobby was ordered not to speak of it!" He grabbed his ears and twisted them.

"Dobby!" The Elf released his ears, and Harry shook his head. "We've talked about this. Only I get to decide if you're to be punished."

Dobby nodded. "Dobby remembers."

"Okay, thanks. That's all."

Dobby nodded again, snapped his fingers, and vanished with a soft pop.

Harry looked up at Malfoy. "So where would Dobby have been that he would have seen that diary? And who would have ordered him not to speak of it?"

"It's true, then," muttered Malfoy. "Father planted that diary on Ginny Weasley. Father put the entire school at risk...including me." He glared up at Harry. "Why would he do such a thing?"

"To try to defeat my father's Muggle Protection Act," said Ron. He and Hermione had abandoned their chess game, and had been following the exchange. "He bribed the Minister for Magic to try to kill the bill, but Fudge couldn't get the votes. Then he bribed several Wizengamot members, to try to amend it into non-existence. One of them dobbed him in. So his next attempt was to try to disgrace the Weasley name using a dark artifact."

"He would risk the lives of children—even pure-blood children—to further a political agenda?"

"You might not have noticed this," said Hermione, "but your father is not a very nice man."

"What about the Dark Lord?" asked Malfoy. He sounded as though he were grasping at straws. "He championed the Pureblood way. But you said he was a Half-blood?"

"His mother was a witch," said Harry. "His father was a Muggle named Tom Riddle. I met his...memory, I guess you'd call it, that was stored in the diary. He told me all of this."

Malfoy considered this again, then quietly said, "I've mis-judged you, Potter. Is it too late to start over?"

"That's up to you, Malfoy," said Harry. He indicated Ron, Hermione and Hotaru. "Remember that these are my friends. You wouldn't care for it if I insulted your friends, would you?"

Malfoy snorted. "I don't really have friends. Crabbe and Goyle do what I say, because their fathers tell them to. Nott and Zaibini ignore me. I wish that Parkinson would ignore me, too." He paused. "But...I'll try not to insult your friends."

"Then I'll see you next year, Draco."

Malfoy nodded. "Until next year...Harry."

He opened the door, stepped through and closed it behind him.

Hotaru quietly said, in Japanese, "This is why I like you so much, Harry-kun."