Chapter 3. The Guiltless Godfather
"Mrs Weasley," Harry asked on Platform 9¾, "may I invite Dobby to stay for dinner here?"
"Dobby, is that a friend of yours?"
"Yes, he warned me about the bad things that Mr Malfoy was trying to make happen at Hogwarts this year."
"Oh, alright then."
When they got to the Burrow, Ron showed Harry to his room. What with the camp-bed for Harry, Harry realised it would be a bit cramped to have Dobby stay as well. It didn't take long for him to think of an alternative, and he asked, "Dobby?"
"The great Harry Potter sir asked for Dobby?"
"Yes, I did," Harry said. "How are you?"
"Dobby is very happy to be free from his bad former master."
"That's good. Mrs Weasley asked you to stay for dinner. Will you, please?"
Dobby burst into tears.
"Now, now, there's no need to cry. Do house-elves not like human food?"
"Oh, no, but Dobby is feeling terribly guilty, because I caused the great Harry Potter to end up in the hospital wing, but, instead of punishing Dobby, he has made Dobby's dearest wish come true and now he asks him for dinner, like an equal. Harry Potter really is the greatest wizard that ever lived."
"There's no need to cry over a simple dinner invitation, Dobby. Especially since I'm not even cooking it. So, you will stay?"
Dobby nodded, "if Harry Potter sir wants Dobby to stay."
"Excellent. Now, do you have anywhere to sleep tonight?"
"There's no need to worry over Dobby, I will find somewhere."
"Well, as you can see, it's already a bit full here with two of us, so do you think you could go and stay with Remus Lupin?"
"Harry Potter sir wants Dobby to go and work for Remus Lupin?"
"No, I want you to go and stay with him. You know, have a holiday. I'm going to stay with him from 9 July, so until then you could stay in the room that I sleep in when I stay with him. That would give you 3 weeks to have a holiday, and think what you would like to do now that you are free of the Malfoys, after which we can discuss your plans and what I can do to help you achieve them. How does that sound?"
Dobby just stared at him.
"I think you're asking too many questions, Harry," Ron explained, "house-elves are used to be ordered about and just do as they're told."
Harry looked back at Dobby, but he couldn't tell what he was thinking, so he decided to present his own ideas while keeping on the look-out for any hesitation or sign of unhappiness from Dobby. "How about I write a letter to Remus explaining that you have just been set free and asking him to let you stay in my room while you consider your options?"
Dobby nodded.
Dear Remus,
Remember that I told you Dobby warned me about the terrible things that were going to happen at Hogwarts this year? Once Professor Dumbledore had looked at the diary of Tom Riddle and said that it was the cause of the petrifications, I gave it some thought, and realised that Mr Malfoy had not acted like the upper-class twit that he is at all when we met him in Flourish and Blotts last summer, and that he had handled Ginny's books, when Draco always acts like anything owned by the Weasleys has been contaminated with a contagious disease. And Ginny confirmed that she had found the diary between the books that Lucius had handled. Partly in protest over what Lucius had done and partly to thank Dobby, Ginny and I tricked Lucius into setting Dobby free on platform 9¾ this morning. Can Dobby stay in my room for a bit? It would give him time to think what he wants to do next. This morning he was still a slave of the Malfoys so I figure he could do with a holiday.
Hope you are well,
Harry
"There, now. Do you know how to find Remus Lupin?"
"Yes, Harry Potter, sir."
"Please bring him the letter, explain to him that Mrs Weasley invited you for dinner, and that you will come back for his answer after dinner. OK?"
Dobby nodded.
"Oh, I'd better write something more." Harry picked up the quill once more and spoke as he wrote, "P.S. Don't worry if there is a problem with Dobby staying with you, we can find somewhere for him to stay at the Weasleys if needed." "There you go, Dobby."
Mrs Weasley looked rather taken aback when she was introduced to Dobby. She hadn't realised that Harry had been speaking of a house-elf. In fact, she thought that a house-elf couldn't be the friend of a wizard. However, now that she had extended her hospitality she wasn't going to retract it. Harry had been focussed on Dobby, and didn't notice the reaction of Mrs Weasley, but Hermione saw something of the ambivalence that passed over her face.
After dinner Dobby went back to Remus, who said that Dobby was welcome to stay in Harry's room until Harry came, and that if he was willing to sleep on the couch that he could stay after that as well.
The three weeks at the Burrow were great, but uneventful. The Weasleys had won the Daily Prophet Galleon Draw and were going to go visit Bill Weasley in Egypt.
When Harry arrived with Remus Lupin they talked with Dobby, who said he would like to do housework for a wizard family. Remus explained that Dobby's idea of a holiday was to clean the cottage from top to bottom and cook all the meals, which had given Remus the time to start a garden plot with potions ingredients. Harry asked him if he would agree to work in Remus' cottage, to which Dobby agreed. Then Harry asked Remus what salary he earned, which was about 9 to 30 Galleons a month, depending on what kind of work he could find, which was mostly in muggle society. Harry started off with an offer of 20 Galleons a month, but Dobby would not hear of it. Eventually Dobby hit on the argument that he would accept room and board as part of his payment and managed to talk Harry down to 1 Galleon a week. Then Harry had another negotiation on his hands, when Remus pointed out that if Harry was going to pay Dobby, then Dobby should work wherever Harry was staying. However, Harry said that the Weasleys didn't have much room to house Dobby, and Mrs Weasley hadn't wanted Dobby to take over the housework when Dobby had offered, and at the Dursleys Dobby couldn't be seen by the muggles, and during the school year the Hogwarts house-elves took care of him. Remus negotiated the concession that Dobby would look out for Harry while he was at the Dursleys and help as much as the Grangers would allow when Harry was there, and during the school year Harry would call on Dobby whenever he needed something, and the rest of the time Dobby would live with Remus, and, in return, Remus would pay half of Dobby's salary. The next negotiation was slightly easier, as Harry had already convinced Dobby once for him to join them during meals, so he only had to insist once before Dobby gave in.
Remus had been offered the position of Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Remus had wanted to discuss the latter with Harry before making a decision. Harry was all for it, so Remus said he would accept.
Like previous holidays, Remus spent several hours most days teaching Harry defence and potions. Harry insisted that Dobby join them as well. He pointed out that brewing potions was skilled work, and it would be good for Dobby to be able to earn a living, since Dobby had admitted that witches and wizards were used to getting house-elf labour for free, so would not be particularly inclined to pay Dobby. Remus, who had noticed that Dobby wanted pay for its abstract value rather than for its purchasing power, argued that Dobby would be able to help Harry if he ever got ill. Harry also pointed out that Malfoy would not be happy with what Harry and Dobby had done, and although that was more of an argument for Dobby to join the defence training, Harry argued that there were potions from befuddling draught to the mist creating potion that could be used in defence. House-elves were not allowed to own wands, so the range of spells that Dobby could learn was smaller, but he was so good at summoning wands that Harry had to learn a special variant of the sticking spell in order to stand a chance against Dobby, and Dobby also got very good at the body bind.
When Remus received a letter from Albus Dumbledore that Sirius Black had broken out of Azkaban prison, Remus explained that his cottage was warded against intruders, so he would be fine being alone in the garden, but that he was only to leave the property together with Remus for the rest of his stay. Harry didn't spend much time in the neighbourhood anyway, so he agreed that this was a reasonable precaution.
On his last day with Remus, they had a quiet but still really nice birthday celebration. Ron, Hermione and Hagrid had sent him presents, and his Hogwarts letter had arrived as well. They agreed that Harry would join Ron and Hermione to buy his school supplies.
The next day Remus took Harry to the Dursleys. Although they never told Harry, Vernon had convinced his sister to delay her visit until Harry had gone to the Grangers, so Harry missed a rather unpleasant experience thanks to that, and Harry had his permission form to visit Hogsmeade signed. He argued with his aunt and uncle that they could either accept that any chores would somehow get done overnight, or they could not set him chores. After that, they were even less inclined to feed him than they always had been anyway, but thanks to Dobby he didn't go hungry at the Dursleys for the first time. He had saved his summer homework so that he would have something to do, and though he didn't enjoy himself while he was there, he at least managed to feel indifferent towards his relatives.
Harry's stay with the Grangers was once more very enjoyable. Hermione's parents had noticed how little of the world Harry had experienced, so they sent Hermione and Harry off to the cinema every Wednesday and on the weekends took them to the Science Museum, Hide Park, an amusement park and a play. Because Hermione's parents were working during the week, there wasn't time for more, but Harry appreciated their efforts hugely.
Mr Weasley had written to Hermione's parents that they were staying in the Leaky Cauldron on 31 August and also explained to them about Sirius Black, but they concluded that Black would be much more likely to look for Harry in the Leaky Cauldron than to be able to figure out where he was staying with Hermione. Although a much more minor consideration, Hermione's parents also felt they saw too little of Hermione throughout the year already, and really would rather not give up on another day with her if there wasn't a good reason for it, so they did their shopping with the Weasleys and then went back home.
The next morning, after breakfast, Hedwig complained loudly when Harry tried to get her to go into her cage, leading Emma to suggest, "Err, Harry, did you say Hedwig understands English?"
"Yes, pretty well."
"Maybe you should tell her that she can either stop complaining and get into the cage or fly to Hogwarts by herself." Although Emma didn't understand Owl as well as Harry did, even she knew that the wing flapping meant that Hedwig would much rather fly.
"Alright, come and say hello for breakfast tomorrow, OK?"
Hedwig agreed by lightly nipping his ear and flew off.
At King's Cross station Remus and the Weasleys were waiting for them. "Remus," Harry exclaimed, "what happened to you? You look awful."
"Nothing to worry about, Harry, I have a chronic disease."
They said goodbye to Hermione's parents and walked onto Platform 9¾. Before they could get on the train, Mr Weasley took Harry aside and explained the Sirius Black had been talking in his sleep in the days before his escape from Azkaban, "he's at Hogwarts," and that the ministry thought 'he' meant Harry, therefore Mr Weasley had come to exhort Harry to be really careful and not leave the school grounds or go anywhere alone even when inside Hogwarts, and that the ministry had stationed the guards of Azkaban outside the school entrances over the headmaster's protests. Harry agreed to be careful, and Mr Weasley escorted him onto the train.
Remus had gotten onto the train with them, which was very unusual; no teachers had been on the train the previous two years, but Harry was happy enough about it, even if Remus fell asleep a short way into the journey.
Before they got to Hogsmeade, the train stopped, even though there was no station. And then a black cloaked figure opened the door to their compartment and the cold got even worse, the figure inhaled all the warmth and happiness and in its place came the sounds of screaming, at first in panic, then in outrage, and as the screaming turned into a seemingly impossible combination of defeat and defiance, Harry fainted.
Harry woke up feeling terrible, but then Remus gave him a piece of chocolate, which made things a lot better. (Did anyone mention that magic was weird?)
When they got to Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall took them to her office, where Harry first had to convince Madam Pomfrey that he was fine, and then Professor McGonagall gave Hermione a time-turner and told Harry that if he wanted to attend both Arithmancy and Muggle Studies that he would have to agree with Hermione which class they would take first before they went back in time together to take the other, and that Hermione was to keep the time-turner because she was also taking Divination. She then spoke very forcefully about the dangers of time-travel, and that they would be fine, as long as they kept to the rules of making sure they were not seen by others, or by their past selves, and only used it for classes and absolutely no messing about under any condition whatsoever, were they totally clear on that?
Back at the opening feast, Professor Dumbledore introduced Professors Lupin and Hagrid.
The next morning, they got their schedules and Hermione had Divination and Muggle Studies and Arithmancy at the same time, so Harry whispered in Hermione's ear, "which one first?"
After a moment, Hermione answered, "top to bottom, I'll see you in Muggle Studies and then we can go back together."
Harry nodded.
Hermione went off to Divination with Ron, but before he had found the Muggle Studies classroom Hermione came running to join him. As Remus had warned him Muggle Studies was severely outdated, and it was small wonder that Mr Weasley couldn't pronounce telephone. Arithmancy started out easy enough, as Professor Vector took time, while introducing the basics, that everyone knew their primary school level algebra. Ancient Runes jumped straight in the deep end, as they had to learn a new language, while dealing with concepts such as the meaning of a word changing depending on context and how magical languages generated a morphogenetic field so that combinations of runes acquired efficacy in warding and enchanting over time. During Care of Magical Creatures class, Malfoy insulted the hippogriff and was bitten. Harry thought he should have considered himself fortunate that Hagrid's warning, that insulting a hippogriff might be the last thing you do, had not come true. Instead, he whined irritatingly and repeatedly. Defence Against the Dark Arts class was a practical lesson with a boggart. It was very interesting, and much better controlled than Lockhart's attempt to teach them about pixies, but Harry got the impression that Remus had purposefully prevented him from facing the boggart, and he was rather insulted. Harry went to visit Remus after the last class of the week, starting a habit they would keep through the year. When he confronted Remus about his keeping Harry from the boggart, however, he admitted that it was not lack of confidence in Harry that had made him do it, but that he'd been worried that in front of Harry a boggart would turn into Voldemort and create a panic.
Oliver Wood, their quidditch captain, was a seventh year, and he was determined to win the school cup for the second time in a row, because he wanted to become a professional quidditch keeper. As a consequence, he was even more fanatical about training than he'd been the previous years. Harry didn't mind. It allowed him to clear his head, and he loved the flying.
There was a little fly in the potion: despite his signed form, Professor Burbage wouldn't let him go to Hogsmeade. On the one hand, Harry was disappointed, but on the other hand, he had seen the various dangers in Hogwarts and was not keen to add to them, so when Ron tried to push him into begging the professor to change her mind, he agreed with Hermione that it wasn't worth the risk.
It wasn't the only thing that Ron and Hermione fought about. Crookshanks had chased a sick looking Scabbers around the common room, and Ron had blamed Hermione for not keeping her cat in check.
On Hallowe'en, Sirius Black had managed to get into the castle and had attacked the portrait of the Fat Lady. She was replaced by Sir Cadogan, who kept changing passwords so often it became difficult to keep track, and challenging Gryffindors to duels; frankly, he was a bit of a nightmare.
During the first quidditch match of the year, the dementors entered the stadium and attacked Harry, who fell off his broom, leaving him in the hospital wing and his broom destroyed by the Whomping Willow. Harry got Remus to agree to giving him patronus lessons, but said it would have to wait for the holidays.
Fred and George Weasley apparently thought that keeping Harry from going to Hogsmeade was an unreasonable thing to do, and gave him the Marauders' Map. Remus had told Harry about the Marauders, so this present impressed him quite as much as his invisibility cloak. He had trouble not to burst into tears as he thanked them.
"Ehm, Harry?" Hermione whispered during dinner that night.
"Yes?"
"Well," she said tentatively, "we overheard some teachers talking to the Minister of Magic in the Three Broomsticks about Sirius Black. But I figure you're better off not knowing. Would that be alright?"
"No. I want to know."
"Sirius Black is your godfather." Hermione hesitated, but then continued, "he was the best friend of your father. Your parents knew that You-Know-Who was trying to find them, so they went into hiding by using the Fidelius charm, which apparently hides the secret inside a person's soul. This person is known as the Secret Keeper. Then, the only way to learn the secret is if the Secret Keeper voluntarily tells you. Your parents hid the secret of where you were living in Sirius Black, so he must have told You-Know-Who."
Harry stayed silent, and soon he lost his appetite, he just sat still, staring at his plate. People were finishing dinner, and when the Great Hall was starting to get empty, Hermione quietly said, "I'm sorry, Harry."
Equally quietly, Harry asked, "how did you find out?"
"Professor McGonagall was talking to the Minister of Magic and some other people about Black, and then she said all that. They didn't notice that we were sitting behind the Christmas tree at the next table."
"Was Remus there?"
"No, Hagrid was there, though. He said that Professor Dumbledore had sent him to collect you. He must have had a way to find out you had been attacked. And Hagrid said that Black had showed up and tried to take you off him, but that Dumbledore had told him differently, so he didn't hand you over."
Harry was silent for a minute, and then asked, "and then?"
"I don't know, he didn't say."
Harry got up, and said, "I'm going to Hagrid. Are you coming?"
Hermione agreed, and Ron, who had been silent throughout the whole tale, came along as well.
Hagrid was drunk, but Harry figured that might have been for the better, it made him talkative. He repeated what Hermione had said. But then, Harry asked, "But Hagrid, you don't have a proper wand, only your umbrella. And they say Black killed thirteen people with one spell. Didn't he try to stop you?"
"No, he didn't. Actually, he gave me his motorcycle. I figured he had realised that with his master gone, he would have to run."
"And did he run?" When Hagrid looked confused, Harry prompted, "is that how he ended up in Azkaban? Because they caught him trying to run away?"
"Not exactly. They found him a few days later after he had killed Peter Pettigrew."
"Who is Peter Pettigrew?"
"He was another of your father's friends. They were always getting into trouble. Four Gryffindors in the same year. James, Sirius, Peter and Remus. Remus Lupin."
Harry looked shocked at that revelation.
When Harry said nothing further, Hermione prompted Hagrid, "what happened after Black gave you his motorcycle."
"I drove it to the Dursleys. Professor Dumbledore had said he would meet me there. He needed to take care of something first."
"What did the Dursleys say?"
"We never spoke to them. Professor Dumbledore left Harry on the doorstep with a letter. Professor McGonagall was against it, but Professor Dumbledore said it would be best like that."
The three students sat in stunned silence.
His broom had been his second present since his parents had been killed. Although he read the reviews of the brooms that were for sale, he dithered on buying one. And then he was sent the most expensive broom on the market as a Christmas present. Anonymously.
His aunt had sent him a paperclip as a Christmas present. As it turned out, indifference was a much worse feeling than resentment for maintaining the blood-wards around the Dursley's house. His shortened visit over the summer where he had used Dobby to shield himself from having to interact with them as much as possible, together with the mutual lack of feeling that was invested in the paperclip caused the wards to collapse at this point. Although Professor Dumbledore in his habitual manner never told Harry about it, this event would have large repercussions at the end of the year.
Harry and Ron had tried to figure out who would anonymously send Harry a very expensive broom, and then Ron and Hermione had had a fight about whether the broom was safe. That argument was interrupted by Crookshanks trying to catch Scabbers, until Hermione had gone and shut Crookshanks in her dormitory.
(Because Harry hadn't gone to Hogsmeade,) Hermione kept up the argument that Harry should have the broom checked: "Please, Harry, I'm not asking you to get rid of the broom, just to have it checked. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would have ways to make sure it's safe."
"I'm not taking it to Professor Dumbledore," Harry stated firmly. "He's the reason I ended up with the Dursleys. Clearly, his acting like a kind grandfather was never real concern. Remember first year? 'I'll just put the Philosopher's Stone that Voldemort tried to steal from Gringott's in a corridor that even three first years can get through.' Remember second year? We'll just leave the students petrified for 7 months while the mandrakes are growing; they're only muggleborns after all." However, Harry now had an adult that he trusted, so he continued, "I will ask Remus to check, though."
Hermione beamed at him, and hugged him. Harry stiffened at first but then relaxed and hugged her back. "Thank you," Hermione said.
"Let's go then," Harry said.
Hermione was taken aback, but then schooled her features and said, "Harry, Professor Lupin is ill. It will have to wait a few days. Is that ok? Can you wait to try out your broom until it's been checked?"
Harry nodded, he'd rather wait for Remus than go to Professor Dumbledore, and he could vividly remember being thrown off his broom by Professor Quirrell. Hermione hugged him again. Ron was still upset with Hermione, but seeing that she had talked Harry around to her point of view he had no-one to help him maintain his bad mood.
On Boxing Day, Harry had dinner with Dobby. Dobby showed him the Room of Requirement, and told him about using the autumn to turn the garden of Remus' cottage into a bit of a physics garden, with lots of medicinal plants. He did lament that he didn't have enough to do now that it was winter. Harry encouraged him to keep practising potions that wouldn't hurt Dobby if he made a mistake. It turned out that despite Harry's permission to buy ingredients, that Dobby had been hesitant to spend Harry's money. Harry responded by doubling Dobby's salary. It took a while to convince Dobby, but when Harry stated that it wasn't only for Dobby's benefit, but for Harry and Remus as well if Dobby became proficient at brewing that Dobby finally gave in.
"Remus," Harry had gone to visit him five days later, "I got a Firebolt broom for Christmas. There was no card from a sender and Hermione convinced me not to use it until it had been checked. However, I'm rather worried what that would involve; these high-end brooms are rather delicate, what with all the interacting charms and runes, so I wonder if there is a non-invasive way of checking it over?"
Remus gave him a thoughtful look and was silent for a while. Then he said, "how about I ask Quality Quidditch supplies about it?"
"That would be great. Thank you, Remus."
Dear Madam/Sir,
Harry Potter was sent a Firebolt broom as an anonymous Christmas present. Could you please check your records whether any of the Firebolts you have sold could be the broom in question? If so, can you please tell us who was the donor? We're worried that Sirius Black or one of the other people who wish Mr Potter harm might have jinxed it. Does the manufacturer provide any warranty to have their brooms checked and/or serviced?
Thank you,
Remus Lupin
Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts
Dear Professor Lupin,
Thank you for your letter. We did receive an anonymous payment from Gringott's to send a Firebolt to Harry Potter. Therefore, we cannot tell you who the donor was, but the broom was sent directly from our store. Brooms are expensive, so our owls are well-trained to only deliver their packages to the recipients. For legal reasons we cannot offer you a formal warranty, but the owls showed no sign of having been intercepted, so we judge the risk of the broom having been tampered with as quite small. However, if the broom hasn't been used yet, then for a 19 Galleon fee we can exchange the broom for another new one and send it back to the manufacturer.
With kind regards,
Lucinda Dunn,
Quality Quidditch Supplies
Knowing that the Potters were rich, and wanting to impress on Harry that his safety was worth a lot, Remus convinced Harry to take up the shop on their offer, and Remus flooed to Diagon Alley to make the exchange. Harry thought that the Firebolt lived up to its raving reviews, although he wouldn't be lending his broom to Hermione, the broom responded on a hair-trigger.
In January Harry stopped time-travelling to Muggle Studies. On Thursday evenings he started training the patronus charm with Remus. What with quidditch practice and homework, that left Harry with very little time, but he was still managing on 24 hours a day. Hermione was slowly being buried under the work that the 12 classes combined with Hermione's perfectionism involved. He decided to speak to her, "Hermione?"
"What?" Hermione was starting to get irritated at the least interruption.
"Hermione, I know Professor McGonagall said you could only use it to attend your classes, but I think you're being too literal about it. Why don't you ask her whether that includes time to take a nap during the day, or to study in the library while you're here as well? You're running yourself ragged."
"She said -"
"I know what she said, Hermione, but most students would use it to play pranks, or, I don't know, have two boyfriends at the same time. When she said it was only for classes, she could have meant that that included time to do homework. And to get enough sleep."
"That's not what she said, though."
"You asked me to go to a professor, and I did, and he traded in my broom for another one. Now I'm asking you to go and talk to Professor McGonagall."
"Alright."
After their next Arithmancy class, Hermione said, "Professor McGonagall agreed with you about taking a nap or doing two kinds of homework at the same time."
Harry smiled at her and bumped her shoulder, "thank you."
Although Harry had been practising the patronus charm for weeks now, progress had been slow. Professor Lupin tried to encourage him with how far he had come and that the shield he could now cast was really remarkable for a third-year student attempting a post-NEWT charm, but Harry was struggling with divided intent; on the one hand he really didn't want a repeat of the first quidditch match, but on the other hand he secretly yearned to hear his mother again. Even though it was the worst moment in his life when his mother had been killed, it also was the moment that showed his mother had loved him enough to die for him.
"Remus," Harry asked quietly at the end of the lesson, "why didn't you tell me that Sirius Black was my godfather, and that he was your friend?" It had taken him a long time to gather the courage to bring up this topic, but he really needed to know.
"I was ashamed. That he managed to mislead me for years, and that I never put the evidence together. There is much more to the story, and I couldn't bring myself to come clean."
"But it was much worse to have to be told by Hermione than it would have been hearing it from you." Remus nodded, but when he didn't say anything, Harry asked, "will you tell me the whole story?"
And Remus, being more afraid of losing Harry over keeping the truth from him than over him learning what the actual truth was, had told him a very condensed story of his life, how as a child he had been bitten by a werewolf who had been angry with his father, how James, Sirius, Peter and he had been sorted into Gryffindor and quickly became the chief pranksters who called themselves the Marauders. How the Whomping Willow and the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack had been put in place for his transformations. How the other three had figured out he was a werewolf, and instead of abandoning him had become animagi so that they could keep him company during the full moons. Of the enmity between Severus Snape and James and Sirius; an enmity that had slowly escalated over the years. How Remus and Peter had gone along with it, not being quite as vindictive as the other two but not principled enough to put a stop to it, until Sirius had gone too far and told Severus how to get past the Whomping Willow and how James had intercepted Severus just as he got to the Shack, seeing Remus as a werewolf, and had saved his life by transforming into Prongs. And how Dumbledore had silenced Severus and refused to expel Sirius to protect Remus.
It was quite a lot to take in. Harry couldn't find the words to say, so he hugged Remus. To Harry it was a hug to thank him for telling him the truth, but to Remus it was a hug that promised Harry wouldn't shun him for being a werewolf.
Then tensions between Ron and Hermione rose to a pitch yet again when Ron found blood on his sheets and Scabbers disappeared. To make matters worse, Ron also found several hairs of Crookshanks under his bed. Hermione argued that that wasn't proof. Privately, Harry thought that Crookshanks making his earlier attempts at catching Scabbers were evidence enough. However, he didn't want to escalate yet another argument between Ron and Hermione, so he pointed out that Scabbers had been poorly even before Hermione had bought Crookshanks and that going out quickly might have been preferable to the slow decline he had been showing anyway. Ron was not mollified, even though Fred and George said the same thing.
Then the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match came around, and just as Harry had spotted the snitch and was slowly gaining on it, three dementors were hovering over the quidditch grounds. Harry, who had been worried something like this would happen, had kept his wand readily accessible, so while he kept flying after the snitch he whipped out his wand and roared, "Expecto patronum". No sense of cold was overtaking him so he continued after the snitch and with his wand still in his hand he managed to close the rest of his fingers over the snitch. Harry didn't get a chance to see what had happened to the dementors, as the rest of his team-mates met him in a mid-air scrum. Once his view cleared, instead of dementors, he saw four Slytherin students trying to extricate themselves from two robes that looked just like dementor robes. Remus came to congratulate him on casting a full patronus while Professor Burbage was deducting points and giving detentions to the Slytherins. Unfortunately, the celebrations in the Gryffindor common room did not extend to a reconciliation between Ron and Hermione.
That night he had a dream that was a strange amalgamation of his run-in with Quirrell in the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night and his patronus chasing after invisible dementors, when he was rudely awoken by Ron's screams. "Black! Sirius Black! With a knife!" a terrified Ron declared.
It turned out that Neville had written down all the passwords for that week and had lost the parchment. All of a sudden, Neville was persona-non-grata in Gryffindor. After a couple of days, Harry, recognising the parallel with how speaking parseltongue had turned him into the supposed Heir of Slytherin, declared loudly to Neville in the common room that he thought changing the password multiple times in a week was over the top and that he wasn't surprised it had proven to be counterproductive. Neville looked grateful, though it didn't change all that much in the short term. Eventually, people forgot about it, though.
Before they felt they were ready it was time for exams. It was an exhausting week. After their last exam they got a note from Hagrid that Buckbeak was going to be executed. Hagrid told them not to come, but they didn't feel they could do that, so they went anyway. Hagrid was morose and distracted. Hermione took over from him to make tea and found Scabbers. Where Scabbers had always looked plump and lazy, he was now the polar opposite, he looked emaciated and agitated. He also didn't seem happy to see Ron, trying to get away from him. Then the executioner came, accompanied by the Minister, the headmaster and a feeble old member of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, and Hagrid hustled the pupils out his back door before the executing party got to his front door.
As they were walking back to the castle chaos descended. Crookshanks showed up, Scabbers bit Ron and ran off, Ron managed to recapture Scabbers, but was then attacked and dragged off by a large black dog. Harry and Hermione followed but were attacked by the Whomping Willow. Then Crookshanks came back and managed to still the Willow long enough for Harry and Hermione to follow the dog with Ron into a tunnel that started under the tree. A tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack.
When they got to the first floor bedroom, the dog had been replaced by Sirius Black, who disarmed them with Ron's wand. The chaos continued. Black made some disjointed statements, but all Harry could see was the person who betrayed his parents, and he attacked Black with his bare hands. Too surprised to get off a spell, Harry managed to hit Black hard enough that they ended up on the floor, where Hermione helped him to overpower Black. Harry managed to recover his wand. He couldn't do it. Harry wanted to avenge his parents, but he couldn't kill Black.
And then Remus showed up and disarmed Harry. The confusion continued. Hermione revealing that she knew Remus was a werewolf, Harry and Remus talking at cross purposes, until Remus gave Harry, Hermione and Ron their wands back and putting away his own wand. That shut them up. But Remus hadn't fully grasped the chaos that was still swirling in the background, so rather than starting with the main point, he started explaining at the chronological beginning, so that Hermione and Ron would know what Remus had already told to Harry. How Dumbledore had let Remus come to Hogwarts despite him being a werewolf. How he had befriended James, Sirius and Peter, who had figured out that he was a werewolf and in response, instead of abandoning him, had spent years of effort to become animagi.
Although Sirius was becoming impatient, before Remus could get to the main point, Snape showed up and disarmed and bound Remus. They all tried to argue with Snape to let Remus finish his explanation, but Snape was almost deranged in his eagerness to have caught Black. He threatened to call the dementors and have Black kissed, and speculated that the dementors might be interested to kiss a werewolf while they were at it. Harry, Hermione and Ron all decided at the same moment to disarm Snape. The three spells combined and knocked Snape unconscious.
Finally, everybody calmed down enough that Sirius could explain the main point, that Sirius had broken out of Azkaban because he had seen the picture of the Weasleys when they had won the Galleon draw, a picture that had Scabbers sitting on Ron's shoulder. How Sirius had admitted he was guilty of the death of Harry's parents, not because he had been the Secret Keeper, but because he had been the one to suggest switching to Peter Pettigrew as the Secret Keeper while telling everyone that Sirius was the Secret Keeper to protect Peter. To prove their story they turned Scabbers back into Peter Pettigrew.
Pettigrew tried to convince Harry that it was really Black who had been the Secret Keeper, but he had no convincing story of why he had stayed hidden for twelve years as a rat, while Sirius could provide lots of details of how things had come out the way they did. Sirius and Remus were going to kill Peter, but Harry told them not to, that he didn't want Sirius and Remus to become killers, and that they should send Pettigrew to Azkaban instead. Therefore, they tied up Pettigrew, splinted Ron's broken leg and started to leave when Harry reminded Remus, "when Snape showed up, he said he saw us on the Marauders' Map when he came to bring you your potion."
Remus looked stricken and then looked at his watch, then said, "we still have fifteen minutes, but that's not enough to get back to the castle. I will stay here."
After notifying the others of the modification of their plan, they sealed the entrance to the tunnel behind them, and made their way back. They made their way across the grounds, but before they could get to the castle they were attacked by all of the dementors that had been stationed around the school.
Harry tried to encourage the others while shouting 'Expecto patronum' in an increasingly urgent tone, but after a week of exams and a night of visiting Hagrid, running after a dog animagus, disarming and being disarmed, and trying to stay on top of who had betrayed whom, he was simply exhausted. Hermione and Ron tried, but they had never learned to cast the spell in the first place, and Sirius was still recovering from 12 years being tormented by dementors in Azkaban and didn't have his own wand. Harry achieved a shield a few times that collapsed every time a dementor attacked, but soon he didn't even manage that much anymore, and he passed out.
He became aware of an argument, vaguely aware that it wasn't his mother pleading with Voldemort. In fact, it wasn't cold at all. He was even lying on a bed. Recognition dawned that he was hearing Snape speaking, "they attacked me, Black had obviously confunded them. Made them believe he was innocent. Of course, Potter has always been allowed to do whatever he pleased by the headmaster."
"We were not confunded," Harry broke in. "Snape rushed in without any interest in what was really going on," Harry had to think fast here, how to make Snape sound irresponsible, ah yes: "he attacked another professor. When professor Lupin tried to explain the situation he tied him up," 'keep it together, Harry,' his internal dialogue mustered him, 'cast more doubt on his reliability,' "he was quite deranged," 'and come across as totally together yourself. The minister! What's his name again?' "Peter Pettigrew was right there, Minister Fudge, but Snape absolutely refused to listen to all five of us, he wouldn't even go through official channels, he would just have had Sirius Black kissed because of a childhood grudge. He even threatened to have Professor Lupin kissed at the same time."
"Is that true, Severus?" Professor Dumbledore broke in, "did you threaten to have Remus kissed?"
Snape visibly did his own quick thinking, "he was defending Black. They are friends, Minister, he obviously was in league with Black, standing together with him. In the heat of the moment, I may have used strong words to try and talk sense into them."
"I'm disappointed in you, Severus. Minister, I would say it's obvious that Mr Potter is quite clearheaded, and the capture of a live Peter Pettigrew gives considerable support to the narrative that Mr Black gave, that the previous Minister and Mr Crouch, in their haste to resolve the issue, may have overlooked important evidence. A trial for Pettigrew and Black could show that you mean to uphold the law and correct mistakes the previous Minister may have made."
'Thank you, Professor,' Harry thought, 'give the fop a way to save face. As long as they get a fair trial I can live with Fudge pretending he was always intending to be reasonable.'
"Very well, Dumbledore," Minister Fudge conceded, "will you make sure that Pettigrew and Black are taken into custody by the DMLE?"
"Certainly minister. However, I insist you immediately have the dementors return to Azkaban. My students were almost kissed while they were on the school grounds, so I want them gone tonight."
"As long as Pettigrew and Black are taken into custody first, I see no problem with that."
"If you would just wait outside for a moment, minister, I need a quick word with my students, and then I will take you to my office."
Once the minister had closed the door to the hospital wing, Professor Dumbledore said, "I'm very disappointed in you, Severus. I have been quite clear with you that Remus was not in league with Sirius Black, but you were unable to let go of your irrational hatred. We will speak more of this."
It was quite clearly a dismissal. Snape nodded, and with his usual long strides also left.
"Now, Hermione, if you would please repeat what you said to me before Professor Snape woke up?"
"When I saw your patronus failing, I decided that I would wait until you had had time to recover and then lend you my time-turner. And then a stag patronus turned up just as I passed out."
"Now, a few more details," Professor Dumbledore spoke in a business-like tone, "Madam Pomfrey said that Professor Snape had been stunned. He only woke up shortly before you did. Do you know the Stupefy spell, Harry?"
"Err," Harry equivocated.
"I assure you, if I have to make a choice between preventing a time paradox, or facing the risk of one of my professors potentially having an innocent man kissed, that I will always choose the former. As long as I can claim ignorance of whether that involved the illegal use of a time-turner." Professor Dumbledore gave Harry one of his piercing looks. Apparently, he was satisfied that Harry had understood, because he continued, "the five of you were brought here by several house-elves. The house-elf who was in charge is called Irti. Now remember, you must not be seen. Do you still have your cloak with you?"
Harry checked, "yes, professor."
"Excellent. I suggest you rest while I take care of matters with the Minister. I will do my utmost to see that Sirius is treated well, even though he is likely to face some time in a ministry holding cell, but there should be no need for dementor guards."
"Thank you, professor."
"Please make sure that you are not seen. This is essential. And it is also best if you keep track of time, and return as soon as you can manage after you have left."
"Yes, professor. Thank you."