Green Light in the Dark

by AStrangeHopefulDreamer

AU in which Sirius Black had a daughter with Marlene McKinnon. Following the death of her mother and godparents and the imprisonment of her father, Aurora Black is moved from home to home with various members of the Black family until she finally arrives at Hogwarts and finds not only new friends, but a true home. (Please keep comments respectful and think before you type.)

57. The Truth Will Out

Aurora did not step away.

She met her professor's eyes as calmly as she could, despite the thump of her heart. This had not been accounted for in her planning.

"Aurora," he repeated, breath shorter now, eyes furious, "I don't know what your father has told you, but you must step away. He is dangerous."

"No," she said quickly. There was nothing else for it now. "I know you think so, Professor, and I understand, but I've just been trying to explain—"

"She said Pettigrew's alive," Potter cut her off, staring at Professor Lupin like he was his final chance at survival. "That he's — he's an Animagus. And the — Black! He's a dog!"

Lupin turned his head slowly, his gaze focused over Aurora's shoulder, upon her father. "Peter Pettigrew is dead."

"But he isn't," Aurora told him. "I saw him, on the map. You've got it all wrong, you were lied to — Father, tell him!"

It took a second. "Remus," he croaked out. "Peter — we switched."

"I don't believe you." Lupin's hand trembled around his wand, still pointed at them — but Aurora was sure he wouldn't cast a spell so long as she was standing in its way. "You were the Secret Keeper. You were the spy. You killed them. You killed our — my best friends—"

"Remus, no. Think — look at the boy's rat!"

He stared at Sirius, eyes glinting. "What?"

"The boy — Weasley, Aurora said the name was, Ron Weasley — look at his rat. Aurora saw him on the map. It's him, Remus, please, you have to — you know it. You know I would never..."

Lupin's face was dreadfully pale in the light. Aurora nodded, pleading, and he said, in a low whisper, "The dungbombs." She blinked. "You set off the dungbombs in the corridor the other night, didn't you?"

She kept her face perfectly straight as she looked him in the eye and said, "I haven't the faintest idea what you mean, Professor."

Something like recognition flickered across his eyes before his gaze hardened, and he asked, "And it was you who took the map, Aurora? You stole it from my office."

"I had to," she said quickly, because there was certainly no lying about that part. "I saw his name, Professor. The map doesn't lie, and I know you know that."

The rat squealed fiercely where Weasley held him. Aurora forced herself to hold her professor's gaze, even though her heart was beating out of her chest and nausea swaying her.

"What d'you mean?" Potter said, still staring at her. "How'd Lupin know how it works? How'd you know Lupin knows how it works?"

Aurora ignored him. "Please, Professor. I saw his name on the map. It's him. Look at the rat, see for yourself. Granger told me it's lived far longer than any normal rat should. Only Animagi live like that. I know you know that, too."

Lupin turned to Aurora's father again, but he did not lower his wand. "But even — how would you know? Aurora, you can't trust what he says, you need—"

"Newspaper," her father said hoarsely, and Lupin blinked. He put a hand inside his robes and pulled out an old, crinkled copy of the Daily Prophet — the same one he had shown Aurora. "Fudge gave it me in Summer. Take it. Look, on the boy's shoulder—" he pointed to Weasley, who was shaking on the bed "—there's Peter. I knew him immediately. How many times had we seen him transform? You just need to look at him. It said he was going back to Hogwarts... Where Aurora and Harry were... I knew I couldn't let him hurt them."

"The front paw," Lupin said quietly. "The finer." Silence hung in the air. Then, he turned sharply as stalked over to Weasley and his rat, both of whom squealed as he knelt down. Aurora held her breath as Lupin inspected the rat with light from the tip of his wand.

"It's him," he whispered. "You're right, I know him, and the paw... He cut it off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," Aurora's father said grimly. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed James and Lily. Before I could curse him, he blew the whole street up with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet... Then sped off into the sewers to join the other rats..."

"Of course. Didn't you all know? The only bit of Peter Pettigrew they could find was his finger."

He turned sharply towards Aurora's father, light sparking in his eyes. She could feel her father shiver behind her, step forward, and then Lupin moved to embrace him. Her father choked as they connected, arms around one another.

"Remus," he said quietly, "Remus, I'm so sorry."

Aurora glanced away, feeling like an intruder, and as she locked eyes on Potter, Granger started to speak in a trembling voice, "Professor Lupin, you can't — he's a murderer. You can't believe them!"

The 'them' hit Aurora sharply and she glanced away, glaring at Granger. "Hermione," Lupin said quietly as he pulled away from Sirius, "you must understand — I know what that rat—"

"I've been covering for you!" she said in a shrill voice, and he blinked. "I trusted you!"

"And you can still trust me," Lupin said, at the same time Aurora started, "He hasn't done anything, Granger."

"But he—" she started, eyes wide "—he's a werewolf!"

Aurora saw her father stumble slightly, heard Weasley give a small shriek, saw the shock flit over Potter's face and the momentary anger fill Lupin's. She, of all of them, fought to maintain her composure, even though the shock of the accusation hit her. It couldn't be true. Lupin was a professor and her father's friend, and he hadn't mentioned anything of the kind. Unless he didn't know, but he gave no semblance of shock, so much as anger than Granger had blurted it out. But Lupin was nothing like a werewolf — he was a good teacher, he was kind, protective, even. And he simply couldn't be a werewolf. Not a bloodthirsty monster — and if he was, Granger was a fool to blurt it out, and Aurora could not let that derail her mission.

"Say what you will," she went on, giving Granger her iciest stare, hoping she was wrong, trying to ignore the rapid leap of fear in her heart, "Professor Lupin has done nothing wrong. But surely you can see, if he believes the rat is Peter Pettigrew..."

"He's lying!" Granger said shrilly. "He's been helping him, you both have — you've been helping him to try and kill Harry!"

The words were like a slap. Aurora almost laughed. "I don't want to kill Potter," she said. "If I did, don't you think I would have done it already? None of us want to harm Harry, I promise you."

Granger's eyes darted about the room anxiously and then landed on Lupin, who was regarding with a mix of cold anger and forced rationality. "I'm afraid, Hermione, you are correct only on the count that I am a werewolf."

Potter sucked in a breath and Weasley drew his legs to his chest. The rat squealed, and Aurora's ears rang with the sound. She turned to her father, an unspoken question in her eyes, and he nodded. Her chest tightened — werewolves were dangerous, shouldn't he have had the sense to warn her? Lupin never seemed dangerous, but Aurora had heard stories of young children who had been bitten during the war as revenge for their parents' side, had heard tales of the wolves who stalked the countryside by the full moon, calculated killers even when not filled with the lunar bloodlust. But Lupin's eyes were still warm, and though he had paled at the reveal, there were no signs of any inclination to cause them harm, any of them. He still looked like their teacher even if now, with the cold realisation prickling up the back of her neck, Aurora could see — though perhaps only imagine — the wolf-like, sharp glint to his eyes, the haunches of his shoulders, the alertness in his wan figure.

"...I have not been assisting Sirius, nor do I want to kill Harry. Aurora." She started at her name, realising she had been staring, and stood sharply to attention. "Would you return your classmates' wands now?"

She had barely even realised she was still holding Potter's, or that Weasley and Granger's still lay on the floor beside her. Hands shaking slightly, Aurora picked the other two up and took a step towards Potter and Granger, who were staring at her as if they had never seen her before. "But I—" Potter started as Aurora gave Granger her wand "—I don't understand."

Lupin was a werewolf, and that was a terrifying thought — and she was furious her father had not thought to mention it — but there was also a mass murdering rat animagus in the room and any one of her classmates might hex her at any moment, and Aurora thought, head ringing faintly, that she ought to take this all one thing at a time.

"It's simple enough, Potter," she said as she handed his wand over, feeling his cold hand over hers, feeling his gaze slice into her. "If you would all do us the honour of listening for once, instead of jumping to conclusions."

"Jumping to conclusions?" Weasley said in a high pitch, as she passed his wand back to him. "We're not jumping to conclusions, he's a wanted mass murderer for God's sake!"

Bloody Weasley. Aurora kept her gaze locked fiercely to Potter's as she said, "The Ministry jumps to conclusions too, in war time. They let people slip through the cracks in their system. And when they have no one to defend them, to speak the truth..." She tried not to look at Lupin as she said this. "They can be wrongfully convicted."

"Not him," Potter said fiercely, "he was the Secret Keeper, everybody knew it—"

"Precisely," Aurora hissed, taking a step closer to him, close enough to touch. He didn't back down, and neither did she. "If everyone knew, then wouldn't it be perfect, if the Secret Keeper in fact became someone else entirely? The person everyone would least expect? The person who, unknown to everyone, was the spy who had let slip to the Dark Lord that my father was the Secret Keeper in the first place?"

For a moment, doubt flickered over Potter's features. Aurora swallowed tightly. "He laughed. They said he laughed, when they took him to Azkaban. They said he confessed, he said he killed them!"

"Because I did," her father said hoarsely, and rather than triumph, Potter's face flashed with fear. "I as good as killed them, Harry, in telling them to make Peter the Secret Keeper instead of me. But I — I had to. They had taken Aurora once already, they had killed Marlene, I couldn't—"

"Sirius," said Lupin quietly, as something overcame Potter's features. It wasn't quite understanding.

"Your mother," Potter said, voice brittle but quiet. Aurora nodded slowly. "But Fudge said, in the pub, that he — he lead the Death Eaters to her! That he had turned! That he wanted her to turn too, when he gave them up, but she resisted! It's his fault she's dead!"

She couldn't bear to look at her father's face when Potter said that. Rage ran through her, searing over her chest. "That is a lie," she said in a low voice. "It is not my father's fault. None of it is. And doesn't quite make sense, does it, Potter? That a man who married a muggleborn, whose own child was a half blood, who had spent his whole life being a willing blood traitor and proud of it, would turn over his chosen family so easily?"

And he just stared at her. Like he had never seen her before, and like he was terrified of it. Aurora's heart thudded in her chest. "The Death Eaters came for me as a hostage, to make my father talk. That's why my mother was killed. She and my father were trying to save me. They never gave your parents up."

He was shaking, she realised. Partly with rage, partly with shock. She forced herself to keep looking at him as her father said, "Harry, believe me... I loved James and Lily. I would never betray them. James was like a brother to me."

"You're... You named my parents as her godparents."

"I did."

She saw the question in his eyes, as he struggled to put the pieces together. For once, she held back her sneering comments, still holding her breath.

"I want to know the truth," he said suddenly, and Granger gave a low sort of moan.

"Harry, we can't stay here, we need to—"

"No," he said decisively, eyes still locked with Aurora. "I want to know. I need to know, Hermione."

Aurora nodded in understanding, taking a small step back. "I don't know why I believe you," Potter told her. "I'm not even sure I do."

"That's fair," she said, voice as devoid of emotion as she could make it, because she was terrified that if she let any semblance of feeling seep into her words, they would crack. "And understandable, for once. Well done, Potter."

Then she broke their eye contact, feeling something cold, and looked to her father and then Lupin, whose face was set grimly. "Tell them. You can both do it far better than I. There are parts even I don't quite know or understand." Like Lupin being a bloody werewolf.

Lupin nodded. Her father looked like he wanted to protest, to snatch the rat and run with her, but she pleaded with him to stay. It would be much easier. Potter wouldn't get in their way once he knew the truth — she felt oddly certain about that. Potter, if he truly thought he was doing the right thing, would not sway from it. He was stubborn like that.

"Alright," Lupin said, and her father nodded too, though his gaze kept darting to the rat. "As Harry said... He has a right to know."

She could calm her breathing now, only somewhat, as Lupin told them all the story of how he had become a werewolf and how in school, his three best friends had become Animagi to help ease his burden. Sirius the dog, Padfoot, Peter the rat, Wormtail. He told them how he had kept the secret of the Animagi, even after Sirius escaped, out of shame about betraying Dumbledore's trust all those years ago. As he spoke, Potter's gaze kept flicking back to Aurora as though trying to decipher something.

"... in a way, Snape was right," Lupin was saying, "that I was hiding something — not that I was helping Sirius."

Her father nodded slowly, eyes flicking away. "Aurora told me he's a teacher here. And not a great one from the sounds of it."

She hid a smile at the tone.

"Snape was at school with us, you see," Lupin continued. "He fought very strongly with Professor Dumbledore against my appointment as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He has been telling the headmaster all year that I cannot be trusted." Aurora made a sound of annoyance — of course Snape has. "You see, Sirius here once played a trick on Snape which nearly killed him... A trick which involved me."

Aurora saw her father's face pale as she turned to him. This was not something he had mentioned by specifics before, and from the grim look on Professor Lupin's face, she wasn't entirely certain that she wanted to hear it.

"Served him right," her father muttered, but he didn't meet anyone's gaze, not even Aurora's. Something uneasy rose within her chest. "He was always sneaking around after us, seeing what we were up to. Hoping he could get us expelled."

"Severus was very interested in where I went every month," Lupin said heavily, and Aurora's stomach twisted slightly. She wasn't sure that she would like what came next. "We were in the same year at school and we — er, well, we didn't really get along." Aurora snorted — from what she had heard, that was a definite understatement. "He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James' talent on the Quidditch pitch... anyway, Severus had seen Madam Pomfrey escorting me across the grounds on evening, when I was going to transform. Sirius thought it would be... amusing, if he told Severus that all he had to do to get into the Whomping Willow was to tap the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he would be able to get in after me."

Nausea lurched through Aurora. "You did what?"

Looking at her father, she knew it was true.

"...of course, Snape tried it. If he'd gotten as far as this house, he would have been met with a fully grown werewolf... but your father, Harry, had heard what Sirius had done. He went after Snape and tried to pull him back, at great risk to himself. Snape saw me, though, at the end of the tunnel. Dumbledore forbade him from telling anybody of course, but from then on... he knew."

"So that's why he doesn't like you," Potter said slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"Among other things," Lupin said tiredly, "but yes."

"But I still don't understand," Granger started, "how did you know we were here? And how — how can you be sure you're right?"

"Ah." He winced. "Well, I admit I was really rather lucky on that first front. I had thought the three of you might be sneaking out to visit Hagrid tonight, and wanted to keep an eye on the map, to be on the safe side. And yet, when I went to take it out of my drawer..." Aurora's cheeks burned as he turned his eyes on her. Still, she stared back, unabashed. "It had seemingly disappeared. Naturally, I assumed Sirius had gotten to it, broken into the castle and somehow discovered it, or else some other student had been poking about. I thought back to the dungbombs and thought perhaps it was Fred or George Weasley—" Ron Weasley made a sound of indignation and glared at Aurora, who simply rolled her eyes "—but my overriding concern was for the three of you.

"I went to the window to try and get a glimpse of the grounds, but of course I couldn't see you — I imagine your father's cloak came in handy, Harry?" Now it was Potter's turn to flush, but Aurora could barely think on it. "Snape came by just after that, with my potion, and of course I couldn't divulge all this to him. But once I had taken it, I looked again — and imagine my surprise when I see Aurora Black down in the grounds with the three of you and a great black dog." She could practically feel the judgment radiating from him. "Now, naturally, I put two and two together and — well, I didn't quite make six, but I assumed the worst, certainly, from the information I had. I saw Ron struggling with something, and I saw the dog leap at you, and that's when I started to run down here. I'm well-practiced in getting to this shack by now." A smile ghosted his lips. "But as it happens..." His eyes drifted back over to Weasley, who clutched his rat protectively to his chest. "I am quite adept at recognising my friends' Animagus forms, even after all these years. Tell me, Aurora — did you know Peter was alive before you looked at the map?"

"I..." She floundered, the words clogging her throat. There was little point in lying now, and Lupin seemed to be on their side. "Well, yes. I only knew of the map because my father told me. It must have been February, yes? Then I set about trying to find out. I didn't fully believe him until I had the proof, even if by that time I was relatively assured that Sirius didn't mean me any harm.

"I couldn't find the map in Filch's office, as my father had thought it would be. But I remembered just before Christmas, how Potter had been in Hogsmeade. It had bothered me for quite some time, the question of how he managed to get past the Dementors, and I thought surely that must be it. I tried to take it from him the next time we were in Hogsmeade, after following Weasley, but that was impeded. Draco went to Snape and I was certain one of you must have confiscated it. I was proved right when I found it in your drawer, Professor — and then, when I saw Peter Pettigrew's name on the map, clear as day."

"You didn't say anything," Lupin said quietly, eyes wide and shining. "Aurora, you should not have kept that sort of information to yourself."

"How was I to know how you would react?" she countered. "I knew it was risky. But he is the reason my mother is dead, and he is the reason for the miscarriage of justice against my father. He is the reason for the stain on my family's name. I decided it was my place to right this. Dumbledore is suspicious of me, he doesn't trust me. Snape hates me, and McGonagall would fall in line with Dumbledore. We had no proof besides the map. I needed to find the rat.

"Of course, it took me some time to actually get my hands on it. But I had thought I had seen the rat near Hagrid's hut, and it proved I was right again. Tonight, I decided I had to take the chance to find him, but naturally, Potter, Weasley and Granger all got there first." She shook her head. "I needed the rat, as I told them. I was only doing what I had to."

"Hang on," Potter said, cutting in suddenly, "we don't know Scabbers is Pettigrew. I mean, Black could be lying. Both of them, I mean."

"I can see it clear as day," Lupin told them, though he did lean closer to inspect the cowering creature. Weasley looked like he was going to faint. "From the markings around his eyes, the shape of his tail... And the toes, of course."

"But it can't be him," Weasley moaned, "it just can't — you've got the wrong rat! He probably just got into a fight, Scabber's been in my family for ages—"

"Twelve years," Aurora said in a low voice, eyes fixed upon him. Weasley took in a shaky breath. "Or thereabouts. It has been an awfully long time — you told me so yourself, Granger, don't you remember?"

"We've been taking good care of him!" Weasley insisted, while Granger gaped.

"He isn't looking too great at the moment though, is he? I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was loose."

"And don't you remember the Hogwarts Express?" Aurora asked, glancing between them. "That first time we met, Weasley. The rat went berserk the moment he saw me."

"Because you were with bloody Malfoy, and Goyle was trying to nick our sweets!"

But Potter was looking at her with a look of frightened recognition. "It was before that," he said quietly. "Just when she introduced herself... Because she kicked him away, remember? You were furious..."

"It doesn't... Harry, you can't take her side!"

"I'm not," he said quickly, shaking his head sharply. "No, he — he would be scared! Because he knew what you are!"

"And what exactly am I, Potter?"

He opened and closed his mouth and seemingly could not form a coherent answer. "You're... Well, he'd know what your father did — he'd be scared because he had to fake his death because he knew he was going to kill him like he killed my parents!"

"Haven't you listened to a single word I've been saying, Potter?" Aurora snapped. "My father is innocent!"

"Well, you would say that wouldn't you, Black? You're about as insane as he is!"

"Is that really your only argument—"

"I'm not going to kill Peter," her father said in a low voice, causing them all to jump.

Everyone stared at him. "You're not?" Lupin asked, looking shocked, almost angry. "Sirius, he killed—"

"If I kill him, I'm still going to be wanted." She could tell this was difficult for her father to say, but he managed to get the words out. "I'll never be free. Aurora, didn't you tell them you only wanted to take the rat to Dumbledore's office?" She nodded numbly. "I want to prove my innocence. Aurora doesn't want me to kill him. So I'm not going to."

"You—" Potter looked back and forth between them, blinking in surprise. "But I don't—"

"Sirius," Lupin said again, "are you sure?"

She could see her father fighting with himself, but she looked at him fiercely, pleading, and he nodded. "I'm sure. But I want a confession."

"You said..." Potter looked faint with anger. "You said you as good as killed them, when you said they should make him Secret Keeper."

"I did," her father said in a rush, and Aurora felt the odd, sudden urge to reach out to him. "The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter. I'd had to leave Aurora with Frank and Alice — friends of ours—" Something tightened in her chest at the thought of Neville "—but when I got to his hiding place, he wasn't there. But there was no sign of a struggle. I went to your parents' house immediately, and when I saw their house, their bodies... I realised what I'd done, what he had done, too..."

His voice broke and as Lupin said, "Enough," Aurora moved closer to her father, close enough that she could bump her elbow against his. He had turned away, and she saw his arms reaching to her and she didn't know what to do before he put a hand carefully on her shoulder.

"There is one way to know what really happened," Lupin said carefully. "And I need to be certain to." His eyes darted to her father, but Aurora could tell that he already wanted to believe in his innocence. Perhaps he always had wanted to. "Ron, you need to give me that rat."

Weasley flinched. "What are you going to do to him? If I do?"

"Force him to show himself," Lupin said, and Aurora nodded. Her father had taught her the enchantment for forcibly turning an Animagus back into its human form, if she ever needed it: animalis novis, with a circular wand movement. "If he really is a rat, he won't be hurt."

It took a long and treacherous moment, but then, to Aurora's immense relief, Weasley finally gave up the rat. Her father turned to Aurora and slowly, she handed him her wand. Granger let out a small gasp.

"Together," he said, looking at Lupin, and Aurora stepped back, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Potter now seemed to be determinedly avoiding her gaze, while Hermione Granger wrung her hands nervously, watching as her father and Lupin aimed their wands at the rat shivering in the latter's right hand. Lupin counted down, and then there was a flash of bright blue-white light, and Scabbers the rat froze, then started to change.

His limbs expanded, his head reared back, then snapped forward again. He became more humanoid, fur turning to thin hair upon a grubby head. His little eyes were watery and slightly sunken, and he seemed like he had shrivelled into himself. His breaths came fast and shallow — his eyes darted to the door and Aurora moved slightly closer to it, in warning. Her father passed her wand slowly back to her, his eyes never leaving the man that had appeared before them.

Aurora's heart was racing. It was true. He had been telling the truth, and this was Peter Pettigrew, that wretched man — that traitor.

"Hello, Peter," Lupin said, far too pleasantly for Aurora's taste. "Long time, no see."

Pettigrew's terrified eyes darted around everyone in that room, and then widened when he looked up Aurora's father and Lupin. "Remus," he said breathlessly, "Sirius. My old friends... my friends..."

Aurora saw the fire of hatred ignite in her father's eyes, but Lupin seemed to still it with only a glance. "We've been having a little chat, Peter," Lupin said lowly, "about what really happened the night Lily and James were killed... and who really let Sirius and Marlene's location slip to the Death Eaters." Pettigrew shuddered. Aurora shot him a deliberately menacing smile. "You may have missed the finer points while you were squirming around there on the bed."

"Remus," Pettigrew gasped, a sheen of sweat breaking out over his head, "you — you don't believe him, do you? He tried to kill me, Remus..."

"So I've heard," Lupin said, voice cold. Aurora tightened her grip on her wand. "But I would like to discuss a couple of matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so kind."

"He's come to try and kill me again!"

"Don't any Gryffindors ever listen—"

"No one is going to try and kill you, Peter," Lupin said quietly. "We just need to get a few things sorted out. Don't you think?"

"Sorted out?" Pettigrew squealed. "I knew he'd come after me, Remus — I knew he'd be back for me, I had to hide!"

"You knew he would break out of Azkaban?" Lupin asked, voice cold and doubtful. "Which nobody has ever done before?"

"He's got Dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew squealed. His eyes darted to Aurora frightfully. "They all do, don't you remember, all those curses passed down — Ron, don't you see, you know what that family is like, Dark magic! And You-Know-Who taught Sirius tricks! Tricks he could use to escape!"

Aurora's father laughed, and she felt something cold seep over her. "Lord Voldemort, teach me tricks?"

At the sound of his old master's name, Pettigrew let out a squeal of fright. Aurora sneered. "What?" Sirius taunted. "Scared to hear his name? I can't say I blame you, Peter. The Death Eaters aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"Don't know — what you mean — Sirius," Pettigrew panted, shaking his head.

"See," her father started, "it isn't me you've been hiding from for all these years, Peter. It's Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, don't you think I didn't... They want you dead. And that's just as well for you, isn't it? I've heard them all screaming in there, wanting their vengeance... Sounds like they think the double-crosser crossed them. Sent Voldemort to his death, didn't you?" Pettigrew paled, whimpering. "And not all his supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are plenty still out there." Aurora shivered, feeling something cold slip into her stomach. "If they got wind that you were alive, Peter..."

"I — I don't know — don't know what you're talking about!" Pettigrew squealed, wiping sweat off his forehead. "If the Death Eaters are after me, it's because I put one of their best men in Azkaban — the spy, Sirius Black!"

"You liar!" Aurora seethed, lifting her wand towards him.

"How dare you," her father started lowly, dangerously. It sent a shiver through Aurora. "I, a spy for Voldemort? He killed my wife, he sent his followers to attack my daughter... Because of their blood... You led them straight to us, didn't you?"

"I don't—" Pettigrew started, eyes darting around, his urgency giving him away "—don't know — what you mean—"

"But you always did hang around people bigger and stronger than you, didn't you? I'll never understanding why I never saw it from the start... It used to be us you hung around with... Me and Remus... And James..."

"You must — must be out of your mind, Sirius—"

"James and Lily only made you Secret Keeper because I suggested it," her father hissed. "I thought it was the perfect bluff... Is that what you wanted, your plan B? Scare me, thinking that I was too obvious, putting my family in danger, that they would find me again, that they would never dream I switched with someone as pathetic as you... Why, it must have been the finest moment of your miserable little life, telling Lord Voldemort you could had him the Potters..."

Pettigrew muttered under his breath, eyes continuously darting to the door. He truly was an awful liar.

"Professor Lupin?" Granger asked, like she was still in class. "May I ask a question?"

Aurora scoffed, but didn't dare take her eyes off of Pettigrew. "Certainly, Hermione."

"Well, Scabbers — this man — if he's been living in Harry's dormitory for three years, how come he's never tried to hurt him, if he's so dangerous?"

"There!" Pettigrew cried, clinging to any reason he could find. "Thank you, Remus, see! I have never hurt a hair on Harry's head! Why would I?"

"I'll tell you why." Aurora's father lurched forward. "Because you never did anything unless you saw there was something in it for you! Voldemort's been in hiding twelve years — half dead, they say! What would you have to gain, committing murder under Albus Dumbledore's nose! But you wanted to know... You wanted to know who was the biggest bully in the playground... So you found a wizard family to sneak into, keeping an ear out for news... In case your old master were to rise again..."

Pettigrew appeared to have been rendered speechless. Aurora itched to curse him.

"Er, Mr Black?" Granger started again, and Aurora resisted the urge to turn around and hex her — not least because of how uncomfortable it was to hear her father addressed in such a way. He seemed startled by it too.

"Yes? Hermione?"

"Well, if you don't mind me asking... How did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"

Aurora tutted and rolled her eyes. "Thank you," Pettigrew gasped, clutching at the straw Granger had doled out, "yes — exactly! That is precisely what I—"

"I don't know how I did it." Her father glanced to her, though, as he said it. "I think it was because I knew I was innocent. That wasn't exactly a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me. But it kept me sane, knowing who I was. It reminded me of Marlene and Aurora... It reminded me of what I had left in the world, even if I couldn't see my daughter. It helped me keep my mind so that when it all became too much, I could transform into a dog... My feelings were less complex, the Dementors left me alone more... And when I saw Peter, I knew he was alive and I knew I had to do something. Because I was innocent but he was a threat to Aurora and Harry — and I couldn't let them be hurt. It gave me strength, cleared my mind. So that I managed to slip past them, as a dog. I swam across the sea. I went to find Aurora first, saw she was safe with my cousin, and then I went to see you, Harry... Then I came North. I'd been hiding out in the forest and Hogsmeade, then I started hiding in the shack, aside from on full moons. Except when I saw Aurora... And when I came to watch the Quidditch." He nodded silently to Potter — Aurora had heard this before. "You fly as well as your father, Harry." Aurora tried not to grimace at the compliment. "Believe me. Believe me, Harry — I would never betray your parents. James was like a brother to me. I would have died before I betrayed them."

Aurora turned slowly to look at Potter, the emotion swirling behind his eyes. She held her breath, imploring him with her gaze. And then, he nodded. Her eyes burned.

"No!" Pettigrew cried. He fell to his knees. "Sirius, it's me — your friend... you wouldn't—"

Her father kicked him away. "There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them."

"Remus!" Pettigrew gasped. "You don't — you can't believe him! Wouldn't Sirius have told you if they changed the plan?"

Lupin shook his head slowly when Aurora turned to him. She could feel, too, Potter's eyes flicking towards her for just a moment. "Not if he believed me the spy. Not if he thought he couldn't trust anyone, without Marlene." She saw her father tense at the name. "I presume that is why you didn't tell me, Sirius?"

"Forgive me, Remus. After Marlene... I didn't know what to do with myself."

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend." Lupin rolled up his sleeves and gave Pettigrew a scathing look. "If you can forgive me, for believing it of you..."

"Of course." Her father's lips curled into a sneer. "Now, let us deal with him. Cornelius Fudge is here tonight, isn't he, Aurora?" She nodded. "No doubt he will be most surprised to see you. Who did you say the executioner was, Rory, dear?"

She ignored her annoyance at the affectionate name in favour of enjoying the fear in Pettigrew's eyes. "MacNair, I believe."

"I didn't — please, don't — I didn't mean to!"

"Imagine his face when he sees the little old spy. I wonder how quickly he'll pass you off to the Dementors... The man who let his master fall."

"You wouldn't—" Pettigrew said, face paling even further.

"Oh," her father said, taking a step further. "But I would."

"They — they wouldn't want that!" Pettigrew pleaded. "James and Lily — Marlene wouldn't want that! They'd show me mercy!"

That was the wrong thing to say. Aurora didn't have time to stop her father as he lunged forward, hands flying to wrap around Pettigrew's neck. "Don't you dare," he spat. "Don't you dare pretend you know what they would want, don't you dare pretend that you know what Marlene would want!" Pettigrew cowered.

"They wouldn't have wanted this! Harry — Harry, your father—"

"Don't you dare talk to Harry!" her father yelled. "Don't you dare talk about James, you vermin—"

"Aurora — Aurora, your mother—"

"Don't you talk about my mother," she told him in a low voice, revulsion rolling through her. "I never knew her, or what she wanted... But now, I know who to blame. Now I know the truth. It's you or my father." She took a step forward, feeling a cold surge of power when he trembled, and aimed her wand between his eyes. "Take a guess who I choose."

And no one made a move to defend him, or to argue. For once, even Potter, Weasley and Granger were silent in alliance with her, waiting to see what he said.

Then, Pettigrew broke. "I was scared!" he wailed, features stretched in terror. "I was scared, it was me or them, you can't say no to the Dark Lord! People were dying all over the place! Sirius, Remus, please — I didn't mean to! I would have died—"

"You should have died!" her father shouted, voice cracking through the air. "Died, rather than betray your friends, as any one of us would have done for you! But no... You were always were a coward. And selfish, at that. James was so trusting, he would have done anything for you, for any of his friends!"

"He would have killed me! I didn't know it would kill them at first but then I couldn't leave — I just wanted to protect myself! What was to be gained by defying him?"

"What was to be gained by defying the greatest dark wizard? Only innocent lives, Peter! But you'd rather protect yourself, rather lead people to their deaths to protect their own skin! I should have known, should have seen you for the rat you always were!"

"Sirius," Lupin said quietly. "He has confessed."

"I won't do anything, I won't hurt anyone, I swear! You can't give me to the Dementors, you can't! Just let me go, Sirius, please!"

A cold smile worked its way over her father's face. "But, Peter... It's me or you, isn't it?"

He let out a squeal, made to lunge towards Weasley in one last plea, but Lupin stopped him, pushing him back. "You've said and done quite enough, Peter," he said, no traces of pity in his eyes — or perhaps they were merely very well concealed.

"I've spent twelve years as a rat! Isn't that penance enough—"

"As compared to twelve years in Azkaban?" her father shouted, voice rising dangerously high. "Starving, robbed of happiness? I lost my wife, my best friends, and I missed out on my daughter's entire childhood! Because of you!"

"Remus!" Pettigrew swung wildly.

"For twelve years," he said, eyes heavy, "I believed you dead. I believed all my closest friends had betrayed me or died... There is only Hestia and I left, you know, and I am sure she would have some choice words for you, too." Pettigrew paled. "We need to tie him up," Lupin said, sounding like he was trying to fight his own shaking voice. Aurora knew that feeling well. "We'll take him up to the castle. Someone needs to be tied to him, in case he tries to escape."

"I'll do it," Weasley said, though Aurora glanced at his leg.

"That needs strapping," she told him. "Or bandaging — preferably both."

"Yes." Lupin gave her a grim smile. "I can't heal bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey — this is best until we can get you to the Hospital Wing."

As he set about dealing with Weasley, Aurora's father tied up Pettigrew. Potter came to stand by her, and she could sense the question on his tongue.

"Black," he started. "Um, Aurora."

"Yes?"

He was silent for a moment. "You're sure you don't want them to kill him?"

A cold smile crept across her lips. "I know I don't want my father to spend the rest of his life as a wanted man, or for the Ministry to get away with what they've done to my family name."

She felt him nod. "Right."

"And you?" she asked, glancing sideways at his pale face. "Do you want him killed? I wouldn't blame you if you did."

He took a long moment to answer. "I don't think my parents would have wanted their best friends to become killers. Not for scum like him."

Some ounce of certainty settled within her. "Good," she said. "Then for once, I believe we are in agreement."

With that, she turned back to her father, who was watching them from across the room, looking far too pleased at the sight. "Come on then," she said loudly, "sooner rather than later. Professor Lupin — you said you'd taken your potion already tonight, yes?"

The Professor startled as if he'd forgotten all about the full moon. "I — yes. Yes, I have — I ought to only become a tame wolf, but even so..."

"You walk at the front then, so we can see if anything goes wrong. Father?" He jumped slightly at the address. "You're alright?" He nodded. "Then let's go."