He looked even worse than the time Theodore last saw him standing opposite Stuggle's, truly a decaying vestige of what he probably used to be. There he was, slowly moving out of the dense shadows to present himself to the boy who had him cornered, defenceless, and begging. Black was wearing the same prison rags that were soiled beyond imagination, the bloodstains now more of an orange than red. His hair was even filthier than before, and a rancid smell that filled the entire alleyway had been unwillingly inhaled by Theodore, who was disgusted to say the least.

Theodore held the bone-wand tightly in his left hand, pointing it straight towards Black's chest as the escapee submitted, raising his grubby thin fingers to show that he meant no harm. But Theodore didn't care; he was going to do harm. He could see the way Black was trembling by the mere sight of him, his breathing unable to rest at ease while the boy's eyes were reminiscent of his father's. Yes, this anger, this… willingness to just strike Black down like the animal he so much posed as — Theodore could do it. He could end him right there, but…

"Theodore, I —"

"Viripin, change," Theodore commanded immediately.

Viripin did not refuse for a second and slid off the boy's shoulders to touch the ground gracefully. Suddenly, the serpent grew tenfold, towering over Theodore and Black while her features became almost devilish in some sense. Her chrome eyes lost their natural colour as they matched Theodore's; her mouth gained fangs the size of spears broken in half while her stance screamed 'predator'. All Theodore had to do was to say the word, and she'd kill him right where he stood. One word.

Black cowered from Viripin's sudden increase in mass, and fell to his knees as the two closed in slowly. "I thought — I thought that you wanted to talk…"

Theodore narrowed his eyes while his unnatural smile of pure maliciousness started to spread along his face. "Talk? You thought that I got out of my own bed, outside the castle and into a place crawling with Dementors, just to talk with you? You, of all people? You're a funny man, Black. Real funny."

"Please, Theodore! Keep your voice down," pleaded Black as his eyes darted to the end of the alleyway. "If the Dementors see us — see me here, then they will not hesitate for a second to kill us —"

"If you never escaped Azkaban, then they wouldn't have been here in the first place. Then again, that would mean that I wouldn't have had you like this, begging for your life right in front of me…"

"Theodore, please," Black croaked, "please listen to what I have to say."

The Parselmouth allowed the ball of light on the tip of his wand to remain in the air as he kept the other wand in his hand, even though the Patronus served well as a light source. "I don't want to listen to whatever fucking thing you've got to say to me. You actually think that I'd just forget?"

"I'm trying to —"

"You know, maybe I should chuck you over to the Dementors, see how they'll react when they can finally rip that thing you call a soul out of you."

"Theodore, I'm ready," hissed Viripin above his head. "Just tell me when."

"Don't worry. I want to make this man beg before we finish him off. I promise, you can do whatever you want with him afterwards," Theodore hissed back before his attention landed on Black again. Black's sunken eyes were quivering with so much fear that Theodore felt a little too good with himself.

Black took one deep breath, then blew out of his nose to ease himself before talking. "I know that you won't do that."

"Know that I won't do what," snapped Theodore.

"Throw me to the Dementors. I know that you won't do it," Black returned in an oddly calm voice.

"Yeah? Why not?"

"If you wanted to kill me, then I would've been dead already. I know that even you can't be that heartless. Surely, there must be some of your mother's compassion hidden inside of —"

Theodore's anger nearly exploded as a whip extended from the tip of the bone-wand and wrapped itself around Black's neck, yanking him harshly to Theodore's feet. He made sure that it was tight enough to breathe, but not so much that he'd asphyxiate prematurely.

"Valerie Potter had no compassion! She was a murderer who destroyed several families, and was Voldemort's right-hand woman! She never had compassion," Theodore spat savagely, secretly wondering where these suppressed feelings towards his mother came from.

"She — wasn't like that —" Black choked on the ground as his skeletal pale face turned pink, then a deep shade of scarlet.

Theodore flicked the wand upwards, forcing Black onto his knees so that he could look at him again. "How the fuck would you know, huh, that my mother was such a saint that almost everybody who knew her had to lie to me about her?"

"She wasn't… Please, Theodore…"

"Tell me how! Oh wait, I forgot! You were in Voldemort's inner circle with her, weren't you? You were his spy against the other side, the side your best friends were on."

"Theodore —"

"And you just betrayed them," hissed Theodore, ignoring the man's pleas. "You betrayed them like your friendship meant nothing to you. For what? For power? To be feared, even though you're at the mercy of a fourteen year old boy?"

"I can't — breathe…" Black slurred.

"Not only did you betray your best friend to Voldemort, not only did you blow up your best friend to bits to save your pathetic self — you had the absolute audacity to sleep with Valerie Potter. My mother, Black. My own fucking mother who turned on her own brother —"

"It's not true," was all that Black managed to squeeze out as his eyes became bloodshot and almost on the verge of exploding out of their sockets. "Please… can't…"

Theodore furiously swished the wand as the whip released Black from its hold, after throwing him against the side of Tomes and Scrolls. Black gasped painfully as he gripped his neck to soothe the stinging pain that Theodore inflicted, the redness across his throat very visible, even in the dead of the night.

"Why did you let him go," asked Viripin with a hint of anger and confusion in her voice.

"Can't let him off that easy. Plus, whatever lies he has to say to me, I want to hear them."

"But —"

"Stand down, Viripin. I said don't worry."

Viripin held herself back, and kept her eyes trained on Black, knowing that if he attempted to strike at her or Theodore, she'd be the one to finish him.

Black clambered onto his feet while using the wall for support. The redness around his face had disappeared, but the scarring around his neck didn't leave. He held his chest to fill his lungs with air again, and started to walk towards Theodore like everything had been understood. A mistake on his part.

Theodore had the wand aiming straight towards Black's head, unshaken and unwavering. "Don't you move another step closer. If you do, then I'll do it again. Well, before she tries to get to you first."

"I understand. Thank you for —"

"There's no need to thank me, Black. You're not in the clear; I don't have to listen to you."

"I know, just… please. Give me a chance to explain myself. Can I?"

Theodore's eyes merely widened to give him permission to speak.

"Thank — I mean, yes! All right… OK." Black took another deep breath, rubbed his sore neck once more, then spoke. "Whatever stories you've heard, or rumours that went around for the past thirteen years are not true, or at least some of it is not true —"

"So, what, you were just an innocent civilian who just found his way into the Death Eaters?" Theodore interjected.

"I'll get to that soon. Theodore, if you think that I — that I slept with your mother, then you were told lies. She was James's older sister; I never saw her in that way. I would never do such a thing to him."

"And Pettigrew? Am I supposed to forget that you killed him as well?"

For the first time, Black's face darkened completely at the mention of Pettigrew's name. His protruding knuckles cracked as he tightened his fist, and he had a murderous look that made Theodore on the edge in case he tried anything.

"Pettigrew… Believe me, I was trying to kill him. After what he did, after everything he took from me, I had to do it," Black muttered.

"Wait — trying? What do you mean trying?" Theodore asked as his grip on the bone-wand loosened by just a tiny bit.

"Trying, as in failed."

"That can't be right," said Theodore firmly. "Pettigrew's dead because you blew him up into pieces, as well as the Muggles. All that they could find was —"

"Was his finger, I know. But believe me, Theodore. That treacherous bastard is living and breathing to this very day."

Treacherous? Was this man even madder than he thought? Did he honestly believe in his own 'innocence' to blame his dead friend who was reduced to merely a finger?

"Theodore — I did not betray the Potters. I was not their Secret Keeper."

"Let me guess. Pettigrew was? There are dozens of ways that you could've still given up the Potters. Scare Pettigrew into giving you their location, kidnapping him straight to Voldemort —"

"But I didn't! I was fighting on the other side, right next to James and Lily! You think that I would discard my best friend who gave me a home when my own family wouldn't? I would've died without a second's thought, than to betray them to Voldemort, and I mean that."

Theodore swapped the wand in his other hand, and shook his left arm. Viripin was silent and still, and the goat was standing by her side idly, eagerly waiting for Theodore to leave, if he wanted to that is. "If Pettigrew's alive, then where is he? He wasn't with me."

"I didn't think so," Black replied again in the calm voice. "Pettigrew is very much alive, but he was hidden very well. Very well that even you had no idea where exactly he was hidden."

"What do you mean…?"

"An Animagus. That's what Peter is, an Animagus. When I cornered him the night Harry's parents and your mother died, I attempted to kill him right there, but he got the better of me. I should've known that Voldemort must have given him some tutelage. He blew up the Muggle street, killing all those people while I was unable to act. He managed to slip away by turning into his form, leaving a finger behind to frame me for what I supposedly done."

"But you were laughing," said Theodore. "Fudge said that you were laughing like a maniac all the way to Azkaban —"

"Because I thought that Peter killed himself in the act of attempting to frame me! Peter was a terribly inept wizard who needed my help, as well as James's, ever since our first day at Hogwarts! For him to use such a curse, I thought to myself that he had gotten what he had deserved. I thought that there was no need to testify in court, until Crouch sent me straight to Azkaban without a trial."

Theodore's brain was wracked with confusion as he tried to make sense of what Black was saying. Yes, he knew that Pettigrew wasn't a great, or even a decent wizard. It would make sense for him to destroy himself using such a powerful curse. But if he was an Animagus, then he must've been competent enough. And if he really was a Death Eater, then for him to use curses properly didn't sound off either…

"If Pettigrew was an Animagus — if he was alive, that is — then what animal did he turn into?"

Black lifted his chin, scraping some of the dried blood off his fingers (that could've been Theodore's) and simply said, "A rat."

The bulb lit in Theodore's head again. The wracking was starting to dwindle as it was slowly becoming clear to him.

"Scabbers…" he whispered to himself, thinking back to what Viripin told him.

"Your friend's pet rat, I assume. I've heard about him from Crookshanks, the cat that belongs to your other good friend." Black smiled a little, showing some of his rotten teeth that still showed up, despite the darkness. "He's very intelligent, I say."

'So Crookshanks wasn't just a crazy cat? He knew that Scabbers was Pettigrew, so he tried to kill him, or at least reveal him to us so that we would know the truth. Pettigrew's alive…?'

Black began to approach Theodore slowly, only stopping when the boy became alert of this by keeping the wand firmly aimed to his head. "See? It's all starting to make sense now, isn't it? I'm not the one you should be after, Theodore. It's Peter. He's been in hiding for more than twelve years behind the Weasley family because he's a coward. He values his own life over anybody else's, and would even betray Voldemort if it meant that he'd live."

"Do we know he's telling the truth? Peter may have been an Animagus, but it's possible that he tried to defend himself from Black, and tried to hide from him."

"Maybe," he said in Parseltongue, before switching back into English. "How do I know that you're not mad, Black? Azkaban could've messed you up really badly; there's no telling that you're making this up as you go along."

"Theodore, listen to yourself! You're a smart boy, you should be able to put the pieces together! If I were mad, don't you think I would've tried to kill Harry, or you?"

"You did try to kill me!" Theodore returned viciously, the bone-wand spurting red and green sparks while his own wand was shaking in his back pocket. Fear was pumped back into Black as he stepped backwards again.

"Theodore — those were just accidents —"

"Accidents?!" Theodore nearly screamed.

"Please, calm down! The Dementors —!"

"You call stalking me outside my fucking home an accident?! You call cornering me in Little Whinging, almost killing Viripin an accident?!"

"Please, Theodore!" Black pleaded.

Theodore ignored him, the wand pointed high, probably to give Black a taste of the Blasting Curse as well. "You call following me and Harry up to school, scaring everyone, showing up and disappearing everywhere, trying to stab my face an accident?! And you don't call yourself mad?!"

"I'm not mad! Please, Theodore! We mustn't be heard, otherwise —"

"You're sick, Black! You're a madman and an animal, and you should be put down as such. If Viripin ever died that day, or if you killed Ron or Harry back in the dorm, I would've made you wish that you never escaped Azkaban! You're an insane, treacherous lowlife who betrayed his friends," Theodore shouted again in anger, forgetting everything that Black told him before.

"I told you already," said Black in a low voice, now trembling slightly. "I didn't betray anybody. It was Peter Pet—"

"Pettigrew is dead! If he was Scabbers then he's dead, don't you understand that? The Dementors can come all they want, as long as they take you away!"

"Why won't you listen?! I didn't betray them, I would never betray them! I wouldn't hurt Harry, and I wouldn't hurt you either!" Black's voice was growing deeper and deeper, and he was shaking to the point of convulsing on the floor, but Theodore was too blinded by anger to notice or care.

"STOP LYING! YOU WANTED TO KILL ME!"

"No, I swear! I — I didn't —" Black gripped his head in pain.

"YES, YOU DID! YOU WERE GOING TO KILL ME, JUST LIKE YOU KILLED JAMES AND LILY POTTER!"

Black started to scream and thrash on the spot as he was holding his head like it was about to explode. He clawed at his own face, screeching so loud that the castle could've been awoken. Strings of spit trickled down his mouth, his head jerked everywhere like he was having a fit. But he wasn't.

Instead of laying unconscious on the cold ground, Black's body started to grow quickly, his eyes went from grey to soulless-white in a second. His filthy, matted hair began to spread from his head, covering him completely as he still continued to grow. His face twisted into a hairy snout, his yellow teeth turned into white fangs and his body arched until the transformation was over.

"Grrr…"

The dog charged straight at Theodore quicker than before, jaws wide open to snap at his neck, but Viripin was even quicker. The Adder bared her fangs, and instantly knocked into Black to divert his jaws away from the frozen boy's face. Black crashed into the wall, creating a large hole before he shook off the momentary pain.

"Viripin, get back!" Theodore shouted as his wand was pointing at Black's body. She obeyed and zipped out of Theodore's way, but was caught in Black's jaws yet again as he lunged himself at her. Theodore narrowly missed the two as they almost flattened him, bustling into the open bare street while tripping down to the ground.

The Parselmouth groggily got up to his feet again as the goat clomped near his face. The sounds of hisses and barking went on behind him as the giant dog and snake battled each other. He quickly turned around and lifted the bone-wand to aim at Black, but the wand wasn't in his hand. Theodore looked across the floor, hoping to see something that resembled the wand.

'No, no, no! I couldn't have dropped it! How else am I supposed to —?'

The rasping breaths returned. Theodore slowly looked up and around him to see one, then three, then seven Dementors gliding towards them from every corner of the High Street. His lungs instantly felt like they were infected, to fail him at any second as he frantically looked for a way out.

Black and Viripin didn't seem to notice the Dementors closing in, only clawing and snapping at each other to see the victor of their battle. Black sunk his jaws into Viripin's tail, earning a quick fling straight into Tomes and Scrolls, almost decimating the bookstore. Black bounded out quickly enough, and shot towards the Adder as he knocked her into a cottage that had its door caved in.

"Viripin, stop," shouted Theodore. "Stop, there's Dementors! Stop!" He turned to the goat that stood still and attempted to make it move. "Go on! Attack them, do something! Please!"

The Patronus shone brighter than before and sped towards the Dementors. Several of them staggered as the goat attacked like a battering ram, sending multiple Dementors colliding into the buildings and stores.

Theodore tried to look for the bone-wand again, but the number of Dementors was increasing too quickly for him to register. He had to let it go, it wasn't worth dying over.

"Viripin, leave him to the Dementors!"

"I'll be fine! Just get out of here, I'll be behind you!" She grew large leathery wings that resembled the Thestrals, and started to flap, but Black attacked her at the neck, forcing her on the ground. "Go," she hissed loudly, seeing the look of lividity on Theodore's face.

Theodore forced it out of his head, and brought out his own wand as he turned away from the snake and dog. The goat was starting to fade, and the Dementors was breaking through its defence. Not thinking a second further, the Parselmouth ran towards Honeydukes and swished his wand as he jumped. Lifted straight from the ground and into the air, Theodore felt his body becoming lighter as he 'flew', jumping over Dementors before landing clumsily on top of Honeydukes.

"It worked! It actually — what the hell…?" Beneath his foot was the bone-wand, shaking slightly as Theodore bent down to pick it up. "How did you get up here…?" He quickly pocketed the wand carefully, and started to run along the rooftops of shops and houses, timing his jumps perfectly between the gaps. Theodore almost stumbled off the Post Office due to its higher grounding, but kept his balance at the last second.

'Viripin, where are you? Don't tell me you're still fighting Bla—?'

"AAAHHH!" Theodore's thoughts were cut short as his leg was caught in a pit on a shoddy roof belonging to a cottage, twisting his ankle as he fell to the side. He had no time to think for he was diving headfirst into the ground, sure to split his skull in half if not into pieces.

Theodore flailed his wand thinking about anything to break his fall but he was still falling. He swished it around some more until he felt his left leg being hauled straight into the air as the ground started to move further and further away. The blurred image of a large dog being circled by Dementors could be seen upside-down as he ascended quickly into the air. The dog seemingly slipped away into the shadows, evading the Dementors while they began to disperse through the streets of Hogsmeade, severely disappointed that they allowed a prisoner to escape once again.

The Parselmouth swung by whatever was carrying him, barely able to cling onto his wand as it almost slipped from his fingers several times. He wasn't flying, was he? No wizard or witch could fly, and he definitely couldn't, despite how highly he thought of himself. Could it be…?

The hazy ground started to come closer while the image of Hogwarts came into vision, albeit not clear in the slightest. He hovered so slightly above the grass before he flopped onto it, sprawling on the ground as his stomach felt dangerously explosive. Theodore's mouth began to feel watery and full, and he knew what was going to happen next. Clambering onto his feet, he vomited onto the ground and wiped his mouth with his sleeve wondering how the hell did he carry himself from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts from just his leg.

"Theodore! Are you OK?! This is what happens when you do stupid things: this entire thing was stupid! Oh, come here so that I can look at you!"

He followed the Adder's voice and stumbled to the ground to keep his head levelled with hers. All that he managed to make out was a lot of green and chrome, but he figured out soon enough that it was Viripin who saved him from falling, not himself. Theodore's sight became aligned, and he could see Viripin normal-sized and fussy over him as she checked his face all around.

"You seem all right. I don't know why you have such a problem with heights; we were barely twenty feet in the air," she hissed annoyingly as Theodore's stirring subsided.

"It's because of what happened when I was younger when Louise and I —"

"That's not the point!" she snapped. "Theodore, you are to never do this again, OK? You need to keep your bravado in check, otherwise you'll kill yourself these days!"

Theodore stood up and brushed his jeans as he said, "I'm not trying to impress anyone. And at least we got something out of that, right? We know that Black's a liar."

"Is he really? Things do add up though. Black's an Animagus, so it would make sense if Peter was one as well. Scabbers is very much a candidate for being Peter, in fact, I'm willing to bet that Scabbers is Peter."

"Was Peter, Viripin," Theodore replied as he took the Cloak out from beneath his hoodie. "Pettigrew's dead, whether Black killed him a long time ago, or if Crookshanks ate him, although I'm leaning towards the former."

"Then wouldn't he turn back into his human self if the vermin ate him?"

"Viripin, I don't — I'm just really tired, OK? We have to get back into the Tower before anybody sees us, before Snape sees us. We'll talk about this later, but we have to go to sleep now."

"Now you want to go to sleep…" muttered the serpent under her breath as Theodore threw the Cloak over them.

The two set for the castle following the carriage trail, eventually passing through the front gates and arriving at the front doors. Viripin flicked her tongue to smell behind the door, noting that Snape had passed by very recently. Taking these words with the upmost precaution, Theodore slowly opened them by just a little, and slipped right past before closing it behind him again. He tiptoed across the Entrance Hall and started on the steps when Viripin warned him that Snape was coming from the dungeons. Theodore suddenly made a break for it and ran as fast as he could, dodging Percy who came out from the Prefect's bathroom with Penny(?) and dashing straight for Gryffindor Tower. He thought that he heard Snape talking with Percy from behind, but didn't care at all when he reached the Fat Lady.

Quickly saying the password and avoiding the trolls' bats as they swung them fearfully in the air, Theodore closed the portrait and ran up into the dorm room, shaking with fear, relief and excitement. He silently folded the Cloak and placed it near Harry's face before he changed into his pyjamas. Viripin slid into her basket without saying goodnight, but he knew he didn't deserve it. She almost died for him, again, so now he was in her debt. But when hasn't he?

Theodore crawled into bed and set the two wands underneath his pillow, the bone-wand settling a little as he drifted away. Black did not once cross his dreams, nor did Pettigrew. For the most extraordinary reason, he dreamt about Aberforth wearing robes similar to his brother as he taught him how to cast a Patronus, causing two dazzling snakes to fly from the tip of his wand.

"Theo!"

…

"Theo!"

"Mmmh…!"

…

Theodore shot up from his pillow as he was thwacked by something that was soft and sturdy. The dorm was filled with the early morning sunlight, yet the other boys were still snoring away in their beds except for Harry. He was standing next to Theodore looking amazed and confused at the same time. Theodore didn't need to say anything as Harry procured the Cloak from under his armpit.

"Is that the Invisibility Cloak," mumbled Theodore in an innocent voice.

Harry didn't suspect a thing as he grinned in response. "I found it on my bed when I woke up just now! I don't even know who or what managed to take it from the one-eyed witch, but I sure am glad that they did!"

"Have any ideas as to who it could be," asked Theodore as he sprinkled leftover ingredients for Viripin near her basket.

Harry shrugged. "Not a clue. Wish I knew though. Snape probably does. He has to be watching the Map day and night."

"Obviously. Snape will lose his shit if he knew that someone went back to get it for you anyway."

"That, my friend, is true."

Theodore got clean and dressed himself in his uniform as he took his bag from the dorm. He tucked the bone-wand underneath a sleeping Viripin for safekeeping, knowing fully well that nobody would dare to bother her in her sleep. Walking out the room with Harry as the others started to wake up, the two chatted with one another about going to the Weasleys and how it was like there. Harry had stayed over there the summer before the previous one, and told him that it was his best one yet. Theodore had yet to see if this was true, but knew that doubts could easily be destroyed upon first viewing.

"Good morning, Potter, Riddle, Misses Granger and Pierre-Sayre. Early risers, I see." McGonagall was standing in the middle of the common room, apparently waiting for the entire House to wake up to give some sort of an announcement.

Theodore turned to his left and saw Hermione and Elvira leaving the girls' stairway at the same time as him and Harry. Hermione's cheeks were a little more pink than usual, but faded away when she saw the two cousins walking side by side. And although it was very faint, Theodore also noticed something on her neck as well. Something red…

The rest of Gryffindor House finally came down talking loudly, ready for the new day until they hushed at McGonagall's presence. She was especially disapproving of Fred and George goading a first-year into eating a 'mint', but kept her cool and proceeded to speak.

"Now, as you may be unaware, the school has been informed that a skirmish down in Hogsmeade had occurred in the previous night" — Theodore resisted the urge to gulp painfully and carried on listening — "and that, according to witnesses that were awoken from the disturbance, Sirius Black was sighted in the village."

Murmurs flew left and right as Black's name escaped from nearly every mouth. Theodore looked over to Hermione to see if she was using her uncanny ability to know whether he was up to something or not, but it didn't look that way at all.

"Quiet! Now, not only was Black sighted in Hogsmeade, but witnesses have also reported that a young male was on the scene as well, running on rooftops while unknown beasts battled on the streets amongst Dementors."

"Wicked!"

"No, Finnigan, not wicked! The 'young male' was a student who decided to leave the castle beyond hours to foolishly wander in an area flooded with Dementors! Not only did he run the risk of losing his life to them, but Black was sure to be nearby!

"Now, the Ministry have just finished questioning multiple people such as store-owners and residents this morning—"

'Store-owners this morning? Aberforth didn't say anything? Wow…'

"—and were, unfortunately, unable to give an account of who that student may be. They have until the end of the school year to give themselves up because if you are caught out, it'll be expulsion and a broken wand with you! You have been warned."

The common room became noisy once again as McGonagall left through the portrait hole. Theory upon theory was built in a matter of seconds as to who the 'mystery boy' could be. Theodore kept a calm exterior as he and Harry went over to join Hermione, Elvira and Ron, who too were discussing the current matters.

"Whoever that guy is, is a proper legend," grinned Ron. "Walks out of school at the dead of night, goes straight into Hogsmeade, escapes Dementors, Black and beasts all at the same time, and he's probably sitting comfortably in the castle as well!"

"He's not legendary, Ron! He's incredibly stupid for doing something so reckless like risking his life, for what?"

Harry led the way to the portrait hole as he said, "That's probably what people say when we do something like this."

"But those times were different," Hermione returned as she followed. "People were trying to kill — the school was in danger, all right? It was necessary. This guy was trying to show off."

"Let's be honest: the only students who could probably fight off Black, Dementors and beasts are Harry and Theo, and I doubt that Harry would go so far out to Hogsmeade," said Ron as he was the last one out.

Theodore scowled at Ron, and was about to curse him out when Hermione cut him off.

"Please, Theo would never go down to Hogsmeade when Black easily attacked him from up here. There are two lines between confidence, bravado and stupidity, and Theo hasn't passed a single one of them. Have you, Theo?"

"As a matter of fact, I haven't," said Theodore as he crossed his arms.

"Only a joke, Riddle. Only a joke. But I wouldn't put it behind me to think that you're some kind of magical prodigy, capable of decimating villages with a single stroke of a wand."

'How the hell is this guy so intuitive?'

The Great Hall was still filled with nerves and joy from the approaching summer and exam results. Theodore looked up to the staff table to see Dumbledore in his own seat, discussing something secretive with Snape, who looked particularly dark on that morning. He kept his eyes on the two, squinting as if it would make him hear any better until he sat on the bench quickly after making brief eye contact with Snape.

'Is he telling him about what I did? Dumbledore wouldn't expel me, would he?'

A sudden urge to shout to the entire Hall that it was he who terrorised Hogsmeade washed over, not so strong that he was able to keep inside; not so weak that he was tapping the table furiously.

Theodore was temporarily disrupted from his thoughts as Oliver came striding along, looking happier than he had ever been in the past three years. "Hey, Harry! McGonagall just told us that we're getting our pictures taken for winning the Cup this year. Get changed in your kit so that we can get it over with. You can even hold the Cup if you like, but obviously after me."

"Where's Fred and George," asked Harry as he set his forkful of eggs back on his plate, searching along the table to see the twins.

"I've already told them. Come on, everyone's waiting for you!"

Harry scoffed the rest of his food, then went to join Oliver quickly before he turned back to the other three. "Do you guys want to come see, or…?"

"Wai' up," said Ron with a mouthful of toast. He slapped his chest and joined Harry on his side before he too turned to Theodore and Hermione. "Not coming?"

"I'm all right. I've got to — it's all right, thanks," Hermione replied.

"What about you, Theo? Coming with?"

…

"Theodore!"

"Huh? Yeah, I — what?"

"Do you want to come with us to see the winning" — Ron gave a sly look over to Slytherin — "team get their picture taken for the year?"

"No thanks. I think I'm just going to stay in the common room."

Ron shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt to get a bit of sun, you and I. We're basically vampires with ginger and black hair. But to the best of the both of you."

Harry, Ron and Oliver exited the Great Hall as Theodore was left with Hermione, who hadn't paid him attention afterwards.

'Great, just when I want to tell them something, Ron and Harry disperse. What's even better is that I'm stuck with Hermione. She's going to fucking explode…'

Theodore chewed his knuckle and swirled his spoon in his very sweetened porridge, pondering on what to do next. When it came to Theodore doing something unlawful and reckless, Hermione was always volatile whenever she'd find out. But it was better to tell her first, to get the hardest part out of the way.

"Weren't you going to the common room, Theodore," Hermione asked with a spoon in her mouth.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, I'm going up there, but there's something I need to tell you. And whatever you do, don't like, blow a fuse or something."

"OK…?"

He looked all around to check for anyone paying them extra close attention, then motioned her to come closer. Hermione scooted towards him, and leaned in. Taking one deep breath, Theodore sighed then brought himself to the Muggle-born's ear and whispered what he needed to say.

"YOU DID WHA—?!"

Theodore clamped his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming, and took it off quickly when heads were turned. Although her reaction was easily expected, Theodore was not prepared for it in the slightest.

"I told you not to overreact!"

"I'm overreacting?! You went —!"

"Whisper," he hissed.

"You went to Hogsmeade after specifically telling me that your life was much too important to put it in danger! Then you go ahead and do something so idiotic," Hermione hissed back.

"It wasn't idiotic; there's a reason why I went down to Hogsmeade, but I won't tell you now."

"Theodore Riddle, you tell me right —!"

"Ah ah ah! Not now," he interjected calmly before returning to his porridge. Theodore could see Hermione on his left gritting her teeth in near maddening frustration. Not giving her a chance to say anything out loud by not looking at her, Theodore kept quiet for the entire breakfast ignoring her obvious glares of anger and disappointment. She wanted the reason, and he was going to give it to her, when the four would be together.

"Ow!" Hermione slapped her neck with both hands as she yelped a little, saying that she was all right to others before she rubbed the area of pain in silence.

"Are you still wearing the Time-Turner," whispered Theodore as he tried to get a look at her neck.

Hermione scowled at him, but softened her expression when the boy's concern was evident. "Of course, not. Ever since that day, I've kept the Time-Turner in my pocket."

"But your neck is still hurting…"

"It's fine," she assured as she lifted up her collar. "Just a little stinging, that's all."

"Can I see?"

"It's fine, Theo, honestly."

Theodore watched McGonagall leaving the Hall through the door near the staff table, and turned back to Hermione. "Go to McGonagall. There's no point hiding from her now."

"I can't! I don't know what she'll do if she knew that I broke it! I don't even know how I did it in the first place," she muttered quietly.

"You're always badgering me on about doing the right thing, so you get what you give. You know that if you leave it to the last second, it'll be even worse. Come on, let's go," Theodore said as he stood up from his seat. Hermione sighed then nodded her head as she joined the Parselmouth's side to McGonagall's office.

They took a left turn and carried on through a first-floor corridor as Hermione was fiddling with the necklace in her pocket. She stopped when Theodore told her that she was going to break it even more until they reached the door.

"Aren't you coming in with me," asked the Muggle-born anxiously as Theodore stepped away from McGonagall's office door.

"I wasn't supposed to know about any of this, remember?"

"So you brought me here, just to let me go on my — you know what, thank you. I should've done this in the first place."

"You'll be fine," waved Theodore as Hermione knocked on the door, "McGonagall practically loves you."

"Oh, hush, Theo!"

Theodore left the first-floor corridor when Hermione vanished into the office, and was ready to go straight towards Gryffindor Tower for further thinking. He couldn't just sleep on the fact that he almost tried to kill Black the night before, or the possibility of Black being innocent with Pettigrew still being alive.

'But he's dead. Pettigrew's dead and there's no way that he can be alive. Black or Crookshanks killed him, so he's —'

"I think it's about time that we spoke to one another, Riddle."

Theodore froze on the stairway and turned slowly to meet his godfather at the bottom of the steps. Snape was looking particularly emotionless, like he had been kissed by a Dementor himself. "Professor, I have to —"

"Now, Riddle," said Snape in a darkly calm voice.

"Professor, I really can't go because —"

"Now, Riddle," Snape repeated in the same tone.

Theodore kept his feet planted on the top of the stairway, but trotted down slowly to follow the Potions Master down into the dungeons. That burning anger which seemed to bubble every time he was around Snape returned as he stared at the back of his head contemptuously. Before, he thought it was just due to him acting even more antagonistic towards him, but now it was more than that. And maybe Snape wanted to know why.

They entered Snape's office that wasn't too far from the Slytherin common room entrance, a place that Theodore was intrigued to enter one day. But that was besides the point. The office was a place that Theodore rarely entered, only visiting the room whenever he'd need extra ingredients. But a day like this was different from those. Theodore didn't know what to do.

Snape slowly sat down and stared at Theodore for him to do the same, which he did. The boy's emotionless face mirrored his godfather's, and his posture was neutral, like the plainest mannequin from a rundown shop. Just silence. Theodore could feel something impending, but all that he could hear was complete and utter silence.

...

"Why did you leave the castle for Hogsmeade, Riddle?" Snape asked quietly, still no emotion in his voice.

"Pardon?"

"Why did you leave the castle last night?"

There was no reason to lie. Snape had the Map, the proof was right in front of him. He came out from the dungeons to look for him, and only him because he saw him leaving. For all he knew, Snape was probably watching the Entrance Hall for the entire time without Theodore knowing it.

"I left — I left because I went looking for Black. I went looking for him because I know what he did with my mother, and to Harry's parents. I wasn't just going to let him taunt me from outside the castle —"

"So, your best approach to this is to retaliate for him taunting you, am I correct?"

…

"You are impulsive. You acted so recklessly that you took it upon yourself to make an idiotic decision that could have cost your life!" There he was. Repressed anger, all pouring out as he had the boy cornered and silenced until now.

"I'm alive, aren't I? The Dementors didn't get me, Black didn't —"

"This is how you treat your life now?" Snape cut in again. "With an air of invincibility hanging around your head as you strut around the area with such arrogance?"

"If you would just listen —"

"You don't get to speak!" Snape snapped. "What you just did was gamble your life on the line by a thin rope, almost killing yourself as you thought selfishly about your mother's sacrifice. Is this how you repay her with your life?"

…

"I said, is this how you repay her with your life?"

Theodore scoffed, not caring if Snape found it offensive. "My life… Since when have you ever cared about my life?"

"If you think that you can turn anything on me —"

"Yes, I am turning it back on you! When have you ever cared about my life? What, when Black tried to kill me nearly three times this year? Did you even know about that?"

"Riddle —"

"When you asked if I was okay when I was purging the school of Muggle-borns and other students, because I'm sure you knew about that!"

"Riddle."

"How about the time when I had to face my father, my own father who I had no clue about when I was just twelve! When he was going to kill Harry, my only cousin! When Quirrell died because of me! Where were you to care?" Theodore harshly spat.

"Theodore —"

"Or how about this? When I was stuck in Stuggle's for all my life, living in a hellhole with nothing but one friend and a single note from my mother, your friend, where were you? You knew where I was; you read the will. But you never came, did you?"

…

"She wanted you to take care of me, but I never saw you. Ten years, and you never came. You don't care about my life," Theodore said with a hardened voice. "Why lie to yourself?"

"That isn't true," muttered Snape so quietly that Theodore could barely make out what he said.

"Then why didn't you come?

Snape swallowed uncomfortably before he said, "I couldn't…"

"Why," said Theodore as he leaned inwards a little, waiting for whatever excuse that he was going to spew out from his mouth. He waited and waited, but nothing came out. Snape was silent, emotionless once more.

Theodore felt the anger inside him becoming dangerously explosive, sick of being denied answers when he wanted them. He stared back at Snape, dead in the eye, wanting to show him every single thing that brought pain to Theodore. The second year, those days from Stuggle's that he couldn't even tell Harry, Ron or Hermione, all of it. Theodore wanted him to see what he could've prevented, but it was not he who was showing what they felt.

…

"Why don't you care," Theodore asked after a dangerous silence. No words. Only his eyes. It was subtle, almost difficult to tell what was going on through Snape's stoic mien, but he could see it, or at least some of it. He sensed… overwhelming remorse. Pain… ultimate sorrow, and… and…

He became shut off again as Snape remained in his seat, his sallow features unchanging. Snape merely blinked as he looked straight at the boy without a single noise, not even a sniff. Whatever Theodore could do, whatever he was doing all this time, he never once felt anything that… strong from anybody, Snape of all people! There was just so much, yet it all vanished in an instant. It was almost as if it were controlled, as if Snape wanted him to see…

Snape lifted himself from his chair, and glided towards the door without looking down on Theodore. Theodore felt the door open, and was waiting for it to shut, but looked down to the ground to see the light from the torches outside the room creeping inside.

"Shut the door when you leave," said Snape quietly before the door closed behind him.

Theodore shook it all off. These thoughts were always at the back of his mind, but he never expected them to leave through his mouth. Ever since he saw that will with Snape's name on it, the past was coming back to him coupled with the question of 'what if?'. And just now… they all just slipped out when he didn't want them to.

He rubbed his face with his palms and stood up to leave. Harry and Ron were bound to be finished with the team, and Hermione couldn't have taken that long with McGonagall either. He pushed the chair out of the way and turned to the door, but stopped immediately when he saw the familiar piece of parchment sticking out from underneath a jar of bile on a high shelf. Taking no chances, the Parselmouth stood on his tiptoes, and slid the parchment out, luckily catching the jar on top with a charm as it hovered back into place.

'Better not take this, but it wouldn't hurt to take a look — hello. Snape's already got you working. I wonder if he's just outside the office, waiting for me to —'

…

"Peter Pettigrew…?"

No. It couldn't be right. Theodore rubbed his eyes and looked at the Map again. Nothing changed. In Gryffindor Tower, skulking in the common room was a single dot with the name 'Peter Pettigrew' attached to it. It was moving, quite fast in fact, darting all over the common room and up into the boys' dormitory. But Theodore couldn't believe it. If Pettigrew was alive, and Black wasn't lying, then that meant—

"He's innocent," he said to himself. "He isn't mad… Black really was framed… and instead of listening to him, I nearly killed him… But, he still tried to kill me… I have to get Pettigrew before he gets away! I have to tell the others!"

Theodore quickly lifted the jar and slipped the Map underneath before he dashed out of the room (closing it carefully behind him). He wasn't lying he kept on thinking to himself. He was telling the truth and Pettigrew is—

"Theo! Hold on!" Hermione called out from the top of the marble staircase. She hurriedly rushed down the stairs and came under his chin as she looked up to him with reddened eyes. She definitely was upset, but it didn't look like she was crying.

"Are you OK? Is it your neck again? What did McGonagall say?"

"My neck's fine, but McGonagall said —"

"Hold it for later, Hermione," said Theodore as he started to go up the staircase. "Follow me quickly before it's too late! Come on, quickly!"

"What is it? Where are we — Harry, Ron!"

The two boys appeared from the other end of the corridor, Harry dressed in his Quidditch kit while Ron was brandishing a large golden medal in his hand. But they looked far from victorious, or even mildly happy. They looked completely dejected.

"What's wrong with you guys," Theodore asked quickly, wanting to make it before Pettigrew could escape. If he was lucky, then Viripin would've caught him before he'd even get there.

Harry shakily lifted up his hand to reveal a single white note. "It's — it's about Hagrid."

"What about Hagrid…?" Hermione asked with a slight croak in her voice.

…

"Hagrid got fired. He lost his job, both as a professor and — and gamekeeper," Ron spoke up slowly, staring blankly at his feet. "The Ministry overruled Dumbledore and are kicking Hagrid off the grounds before the year ends."

Hermione covered her mouth with her hands as she gasped, tears slowly falling down her cheeks as Theodore became livid. "They can't do that! Tell me they didn't kick him out!"

Harry descended a few steps as he handed the note to Theodore. "It won't happen until the year officially ends. Hagrid has until the twenty-sixth to clear his things, then…"

"It's not fair," mumbled Hermione as she wiped her tears that didn't seem to stop falling. "Lucius Malfoy must've been behind all of this —"

"And that wizard who was sucking up to Fudge," spat Theodore as he handed the note back to Harry. "Him and Fudge, working with Malfoy. I hate them so much."

"Is there even a point for the appeal now?"

"Of course there is, Ron! You worked — we worked so hard on it! We can't just give up!"

"Then who's going to take care of Buckbeak? We can't! We can barely take care of Fang!"

…

"Hagrid just can't go. Harry said it before, we have to do something in case we — guys, follow me," Theodore commanded as he went up the stairs.

"Where are you —?"

"Just follow me, OK? Don't ask any questions!" Theodore shouted before he ran up to the second floor. The others followed Theodore in confusion as he bounded up the steps, smacking himself repeatedly for stalling for so long. 'If he fucking escaped…'

The quartet reached the Fat Lady and ran into the common room, up to the boys' dorm and into the third-year room. A tornado, maybe even a hurricane could've occurred, and they wouldn't know the difference. Shoes, shirts, robes and other clothes were thrown all around the room, ranging from Theodore's pants hanging from Neville's posts, and Ron's Christmas jumper nearly torn to shreds (he didn't look like he cared at all).

Theodore dove under Harry's bed, searching everywhere for any signs of a rat hiding in the shadows away from him. He clawed underneath, hoping to grab anything, but to no luck.

"Theo, why d'you bring us here," asked Ron as Theodore dragged himself away from Harry's bed and to Ron's next.

"Pettigrew…" Theodore answered from under the bed.

"Pardon?"

"Pettigrew, Ron. I'm looking for Pettigrew."

…

"But he's dead."

Theodore crawled out from under Ron's bed, and kicked away a bundle of Seamus's vests as he walked over to his own. "Pettigrew isn't dead, I saw him on the Marauder's Map. In fact, I was always seeing him on the Map as he was really Scabbers all along."

Ron looked at the others who shared the same look. "Are you OK, Theo? You're not —"

"Look. Pettigrew is alive because just six minutes ago, I saw him walking around in the Tower. I was in Snape's office and I saw him on the Map, in fact, I think I even met Pettigrew when I was in Hogsmeade yesterday night —"

"Knew it."

"— and he knew my name. How, you may ask? Because he's an Animagus and he was Scabbers for this entire time. That's right. Scabbers is just a man posing as a rat, but you know what else? Black's innocent. He wasn't the one who betrayed your parents because it was Pettigrew all along. He framed Black, faked his death and managed to get away with it by hiding with Ron's family, and Black is out there fleeing from the Dementors when they got the wrong man," Theodore gasped after saying all of that in nearly one breath.

…

"What the hell, Theo? Like seriously, what the actual hell?" Harry said with a blank face.

"It's OK, I knew you wouldn't believe me in the first place." Theodore turned and sank to his knees as he crawled underneath his bed to shake a sleeping Viripin.

"Let me sleep," she snapped violently. "After everything you put me through yesterday, I don't want to — hey!"

Theodore lifted the Adder slightly and plucked Pettigrew's wand from her basket before asking her a question. "Viripin, did you hear, see or smell anybody coming inside the dorm? Anybody different and odd?"

"I didn't — I didn't see or hear anything. I was so tired that I could barely move, and now you're interrupting my sleep…"

"But did you smell anyone? Come on, Viripin, I need to know! Anything…?" Theodore asked desperately.

It took her a while to think, but she answered in the end. "Scabbers… I smelt Scabbers, but it was stronger, like that man from Hogsmeade…"

Theodore thanked her and told her to go back to sleep. He slid out from underneath the bed and brushed the dust off his shirt, grasping the bone-wand as the others looked at him silently. "Catch all of that, Harry?"

"Y-yeah, but… so you were in Hogsmeade yesterday? And you saw Pettigrew? Are you sure?" Harry asked unsurely, but he didn't even believe in his doubts from the sound of his voice.

"Right now, I'm one hundred percent certain that I saw Pettigrew. The guy that I saw in Hog's Head was ratlike, like seriously ratlike. The guy was sniffing all over the place searching for danger, and had his finger missing on his —"

"Right hand," said Ron suddenly. It was like he reached an epiphany that didn't serve him well at all. "Just like Scabbers…" The look of horror that Theodore knew was to come became etched on his face. "What the fuck?! Are you telling me that — that for the past three years, I was sleeping with a grown man in my bed?!"

"I'm sorry, Ron —"

"He saw me when I was almost nake—! I feel so dirty!" Ron cringed as he grimaced, scratching himself like he had a disease.

"But he dropped this," Theodore continued after giving looks of pity to the unfortunate boy, raising the bone-wand for all to see. "His wand. He was probably looking for this, but couldn't find it."

"Or maybe he just didn't want to check," suggested Hermione, "because Viripin was sleeping on it. If he woke her up, then he'd be better off hiding wherever he was. But what I don't get is why did you go to Hogsmeade when you said you wouldn't?" Hermione hissed with her arms crossed.

Theodore told them about Black giving him a sign telling him to go to Hogsmeade — Hermione muttered "And he calls me a lunatic" — and how he got Viripin to get the Cloak for him. He told them how he left the castle and how he managed to get past one Dementor, but was saved in the nick of time by the owner of Hog's Head (Aberforth didn't seem like the kind of person to have everyone knowing that he was Dumbledore's brother), how he saw Pettigrew in the inn before he vanished, and how he had Black cornered before he escaped from the Dementors yet again.

"It was still stupid of you to go," scolded the Muggle-born.

"But it got me something. Black's innocent, or at least isn't fully guilty, and this could mean that the Ministry's got the wrong man."

"I'm all for justice, but why do you care so much, Theo," asked Ron curiously as he collected his clothing from Dean's bed. "The man nearly killed you three times already."

"It's because Pettigrew was a Death Eater and got away with it," Theodore replied darkly. "Anybody who supported Voldemort deserves to —"

Die, Theo? Were you going to say die? Valerie was a Death Eater. Did she deserve to die?

Theodore looked down at the wand, feeling something latent within trying to conduct Theodore's power through itself. It didn't feel as good with his own wand, but it still felt 'right', familiar almost. Theodore had seen this wand from somewhere, he knew it… but from where?

"My foundation and mark upon the world… That is what you are… Theodore…"

That cold, high voice… His voice…

"Theo?" Hermione came next to him, holding his hand with the wand, away from Harry and Ron's line of sight. "Your eyes…"

Theodore rubbed them quickly to reveal the hazel again. "I'm good. I'm fine…"

"My foundation, Theodore… My mark..."

Wow. I don't know what's wrong with me. This chapter, yet again, was going to be much much longer, but I want to keep you on your toes because the next one is going to be pretty hectic. And, we got just a tad bit of insight of what the future could hold for Theo and Snape's relationship with another. Damn, Theo was pissed! But I hope you liked this chapter, keep your eyes open for the next one and I will see you later.

Guest: I think that with all the running around and escapades that Theo has and will do in the story will be enough for him. As for Louise, she's going to make an appearance, but that is for later.

P.S: 200 FOLLOWS!