His shoulders suddenly became free of restraint, and he saw Viripin somehow managing to slide down underneath his body. Falling so quickly, falling so fast until weightlessness became null in a second.

Theodore found himself holding on tightly to feathers as golden as the sunlight across the school grounds. They rippled with the air gliding in between and underneath, almost glowing in front of Theodore's eyes. He heard the powerful beating of wings in the air… What was this?

"Viripin… what did you…?" No, he couldn't fall off. Not when he went through all that trouble. 'Control it,' he thought to himself. 'Don't fall, don't fall…'

Theodore held onto Viripin's form for dear life when she dived towards the ground. His stomach was on its edge; he could feel himself slipping. 'No… hang on, Theo… Hang on…' They were soon levelled in the air along with the disturbance of Theodore's stomach, soon slowing down. Theodore had his eyes closed the entire way and had no clue where he was. It was all so quick, but so long at the same time.

"Viripin… I don't feel… I'm not feeling…" he slurred quietly on the creature's back.

"We're almost there, just keep it together… All right, we're here! Don't fall off, OK? Don't fall —"

Theodore rolled off onto the fresh grass and spluttered in a crouched shape on the ground. He didn't know if he could take being subjected in the air so many times. "Never… want… to do that… ever again… Is that you, Viripin…?"

Piercing chrome eyes that were planted in the head of a creature with an orange beak was staring down at him. Golden feathers were glinting from the sun's reflection, enhancing the Parselmouth's view just enough.

…

"You're a Hippogriff. Nice."

"Thank you. Now, up you get! There you go, nice and slow. It's not everyday you throw yourself off a tower to join your friends, you loon."

Theodore was yanked in the air by Viripin. He was feeling a lot better being on the ground. Oddly enough, none of his bandages became loose or even exposed his wounded flesh. Lucky he guessed. "I think I'm good. Remind me to never do that again."

"Let's not lie to ourselves. You're going to do something even crazier next year, I can see it now." She shrunk down and changed back into normal, hissing to the boy, "Where to now, Theodore? We're here."

"Forwards," he stated, getting Pettigrew's wand ready. "You smell, I follow. That's how we're going to make it over there in this creepy… forest. Lupin should definitely be back to normal right about now…"

Viripin flicked her tongue along the ground and slithered into the accursed woodlands, leading the way as Theodore followed without hesitation.

"If you smell any of them, or anything rather off, then you tell me, OK?"

"I smell someone…"

Theodore stopped and crouched down to her level. "Already? Who is it?"

"It's… it's that professor. The one we saw sleeping on the train. R.J. Lupin."

"Professor Lupin is here? Maybe this is where he got tired. He's probably hurt as well. Take me to him."

"No need to. He's right over there," the snake confessed. She poised her head in the general direction of the broken tree laying on its side. Theodore picked her up and walked slowly over, taking one measured step at a time. Lupin wasn't feral or anything at the moment, but he still had to keep his focus on his surroundings. He wasn't the only werewolf in here.

"Professor… what did they do to you?" Theodore quickly disrobed himself, leaving him with only his torn white shirt and first layer of his uniform, and draped it over Lupin's tortured body. "Fudge and his fucking Aurors. They didn't show him any mercy."

"The others were here just recently," said Viripin. "They're not too far off from here. I can smell them from across that tree over there."

"I'll go on my own from here. I want you to stay here and watch over him. If it seems like he's in trouble, then… turn into a phoenix and help him the best you can. For all we know, Pettigrew —"

"ARRRRGGGHHHH!"

That scream sounded like Harry, but it was too garbled and high-pitched. And Hermione's voice wasn't even close to that. Theodore brought Viripin down to the ground next to Lupin and told her to stay with him. He clutched the bone-wand tightly between his fingers, and he ran through the branches and brambles, gritting his teeth against every pain that was punished onto him. Through the gaps in between his fingers, he steered his way through the thick trees and luckily jumped over the roots sticking from out the ground. God forbid he'd trip and land straight on his chest.

Enough was enough as he cast the Severing Charm continuously in front of him to clear the plant protrusions. That was much better. The screaming was sharp and quick, but it had to have come from here, he was sure of it. Theodore stumbled onto a wide area that was clear of trees and bushes. The ground was horribly uneven, almost resembling a desert that was replaced with dead leaves and soil instead. Similarly during the night, the tree up above created spots of sunlight onto the ground and imprinted the floor beneath with its glow. Theodore was so sure that he heard something from here…

"Theodore! Theodore, look up here!"

He darted his head up instantly and saw only just the sight of something moving up above. As his eyes adjusted slightly to the darkness of the setting, Theodore clenched his fist when he saw them hanging from the canopy of the trees. Harry was the first to be recognised, but it was very difficult to tell that it was him. It was like he was encased inside a wooden cocoon that only displayed his face and his face only. The second face that he saw belonged to Hermione, also trapped inside a wooden prison.

"How did you guys get up here? I'm going to get you down, just —"

"He's behind you, Theo, look out!" Harry shouted.

Theodore spun around and pointed the wand at the ratlike wizard who likewise, aimed a wand back. His wand, to be specific: he could tell so easily. "You release them now and drop my wand, Pettigrew! I'm not joking! You bring them down right now!"

"No!" Pettigrew squealed, sniffing in the air. "I w-won't do anything you say until my truth is heard!"

"Your truth has already been heard, and we don't care! You're going with the Dementors to Azkaban where you belong, you treacherous piece of filth!"

Pettigrew aimed Theodore's wand at his heart, trembling with so much fear, even though he had the upper hand over the children. "I'm not afraid to hurt you, Theodore! I-I can do things, things that are dangerous! S-so don't tempt me!"

"Is that so? By all means, do your worst. Let's see how dangerous you really are with my wand," Theodore taunted with his arms wide open. If his wand still remained loyal as the day he got it, then it wouldn't hurt him. "Go on, then! Attack the only child of your former Dark Lord! What if he finds out? Will you be brave enough to face him again when he's still weak and bodiless?"

"I-I… I can still hurt them! I can choke the life out of their lungs! Ev-even if you try to attack me, they'll die! I mean it!"

Theodore looked up at the two, then back to Pettigrew when he realised who was missing. "Where's Ron? What did you do to him, Pettigrew?!"

"No! I won't say anything more unless my truth is told! I — ARGGHH!" Pettigrew jumped backwards when a large shadow leapt through the darkened gaps between the trees and into the area. The black dog growled viciously at Pettigrew and was met with some hostility from the injured boy, who slightly pointed his wand to him.

Sirius quickly came into view and stood between the armed wizards and said, "It's all right, Theodore. I'm back to normal."

"Prove it," said Theodore quickly. His hand couldn't pull away from him.

"Trust me. I don't know what happened back there in Hogsmeade, but I can assure you that it won't happen again. I never meant to hurt you —"

"You said that before you went crazy and nearly killed me! Again! You were this close to shredding my heart, Sirius! This close!"

"I'm sorry," Sirius nearly croaked, somewhat falling slightly back in fear of the boy as Theodore's voice became more vicious. "I — I don't know what's wrong with me. But you know the truth, Theodore! You know that it was he who betrayed James and Lily!"

"Lies! All lies! My truth, Theodore! What about my truth?! You killed —"

"Shut it," shouted Theodore. "I already know your truth, Pettigrew. You sold Harry's parents to my father so that he could kill them in cold blood. I don't have to listen to anything you have to say to me!"

"But he lies, Theodore! Sirius lies! The news, the rumours! It was all true!"

"Theodore, take him down," said Sirius huffily. "If I try anything, he could give me the slip again. Don't want that to happen."

Theodore raised the wand and was about to cast the Full Body-Bind Curse on him when Pettigrew screamed out loud again. "Noooo! You must listen to what I have to say! Sirius doesn't know the whole story! He doesn't know how truly involved he was with Lily and James's deaths, how Valerie was involved as well! He doesn't know, but I do, Theodore! Let me tell you!"

Sirius turned back to the silent boy and glared at him desperately. "He's trying to get inside your head, Theodore! Don't give him the chance to escape again! Ignore him and Stun the bastard before he gets away!"

"Do — do you want to know the truth, Theodore," Pettigrew asked in a calmer voice. "Do you want to know how your f-father truly arrived at Godric's Hollow that night to kill Lily and James? Do you?"

"Theodore, stop listening," screamed Hermione from above, "and take him down! This could be the last chance to free Sirius!"

"Do you want to know my truth, Theodore?"

"What truth," spat the boy. "There's nothing left for you to worm yourself out of this one, Pettigrew. What truth?"

Pettigrew blinked almost humanlike and cocked his head to the side. His lips curled up into a grin to show his crooked, yellow teeth. "From the moment you met him, from the moment you spoke to him, Theodore, Sirius has been lying to you. To all of you. I never betrayed the Potters on that night. It was him. For this entire time, the man responsible for their deaths was rightfully locked up. Sirius Black sold Lily and James to the Dark Lord."

"You're lying. You're a filthy liar, and I have had enough. Petri—"

"Then look me in my eyes and say truthfully that I am a liar, Theodore," Pettigrew proposed with his voice being hardened to a slight degree. "Do it, Theodore. I-I know that you can always tell…"

"Theodore! Stun him!"

Theodore's body was perspiring so quickly. Pettigrew's words had grabbed hold of him from the second he mentioned his mother. There were so many things that was said about her. A great woman, a lost soul, the Dark Lord's temptress… He had to know if there was a truth in any of them because he couldn't go another year, month or even a day being lied to by everyone. He locked his eyes onto Pettigrew and just allowed them to do the rest. If he focused hard enough, then he could detect… extreme cowardice. A large sense of self-preservation and selfishness. These were already leaking from his entire being, but… underneath. He could see it… No… Underneath all of that, there was… truth. Genuine and pure truth in his thoughts.

Theodore turned to Sirius and stared at him blankly. Whatever he did to see into people like that had never lied to him before. If that was the case… "Have you been lying the whole time, Sirius?" he asked quietly.

Sirius took a step towards Theodore, but Theodore instantly drew the wand against him. Holding up his hand in defence, the man protested, "I-I didn't, Theodore, you know I didn't! How — how can you believe him when I told you everything? You were the first person to believe me, now you're turning your back on me? Pettigrew is getting into your head —!"

"I've learnt how to deal with people getting into my head, thanks. Or maybe I haven't. You've been leading me on this entire time, haven't you?"

"Theodore, please… Don't make this hard —"

"Answer the question!" Theodore exploded. "Were you lying to us or not?!"

"I wasn't! I swear on my life, I had nothing to do with James and Lily! I — I didn't…! Please, you must believe me!"

"All right, what kind of sick game do you both have going on here?! One of you is telling the truth, the other says he's the truthful one! Why shouldn't you both be thrown into Azkaban, huh?!"

"Because it was never me, Theodore! I was right there when the Dark Lord decided to go after James and Lily, and I was there from the very beginning. I know everything. Just let me explain."

Sirius was shaking his head on his knees, and Hermione and Harry were watching silently from above, seeing their friend being beyond persuasion of deviating from learning the truth. Theodore held onto the bone-wand a little longer until he motioned for Pettigrew to speak, and for Sirius to stay silent.

"You are wise, Theodore, just like your father —"

"Just say what you need to say before I hurt you both," Theodore snapped.

"Yes, OK! OK. It all started when the Dark Lord made it his mission to hunt the Potters down to kill baby Harry. He had to think of a plan; he knew that the opposition would surely put up their own defences against him to prevent him from ever reaching the Potters. His quest required many things, and Sirius over here was one of them. He was born from a family who were heavy supporters of the Dark Lord's cause, and he was directly affiliated with the Potters as well. The word had gotten around quickly that Sirius was made godfather for Harry, so that piqued the Dark Lord's interest.

"The Dark Lord had been hopeful in gaining Sirius's trust by enlisting him, resorting to methods that were unlike him. It was impractical for him to meet with Sirius in person, so he sent his most loyal follower to infiltrate the other side for the purpose of swaying Sirius to the Dark Lord."

"My mother…"

"Yes. Valerie. She was valued above all the others. Never once had she failed him in her servitude towards him. He knew that she possessed the skills needed to fool the opposition right under their noses. She was just that good. I — I was almost taken aback how quickly Sirius warmed up to her when she joined their ranks. I don't know what she did to him for her to win him over so suddenly, but I wouldn't have minded seeing her —"

Theodore had the wand pointed high above his head again. "If you finish that sentence, then this conversation will end, and so will you."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to — don't change your mind now, Theodore, please! The reason why she was able to infiltrate the other side so flawlessly was because her crimes against humankind was only revealed a month after her death! The identities of Death Eaters was kept highly secretive with the Dark Lord, some not even aware of their fellow neighbour's similar activities. To them, Valerie was a woman of determination that was intent on crumbling the Dark Lord's reign of terror, fooling even the great Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard that ever lived! She was a master of deception, just like her master. Traits that have certainly been crossed over to their only child.

"But while she was under the pretence that she was to destroy the opposition from the inside, the Dark Lord's true agenda was unknown to her. As vicious and ruthless as Valerie seemed to be, the Dark Lord knew her as a family woman who would never give up her own kin, let alone her only living relatives. He knew that she wouldn't willingly give them up to him, so that was his plan set forward. It was true that I was the one who told the Dark Lord about their plan as using a Secret Keeper, but I never said anything about their location," Pettigrew added quickly. Theodore was beginning to look a little unhinged from hearing his mother's name so many times.

"From my given information, the Dark Lord had made the assumption that it would be her to become her brother's Secret Keeper. From there, he would know how to extract it from her, not by coercion, but from her undying obsession with him. And the Dark Lord was not wrong. James and Lily chose her to become their Secret Keeper under the impression that she was on their side. But that's where it started to become rocky. Two weeks before her, James, and Lily's deaths, she fled from the Dark Lord, supposedly carrying the secret lovechild between her and her master."

"Why? Why did she run away with me?"

Pettigrew shook his head rapidly as if fleas were biting at his skin. "I do not know! The Dark Lord was furious! His closest source to killing the Potters was lost, and he lost a valuable follower at the same time. He ordered his other Death Eaters to capture her before she'd be lost forever, and so would be the Potters. They came back empty-handed, but the Dark Lord soon learnt of another who held the location of the Potters in their soul."

"You," growled Sirius. He arched his back and was ready to pounce at Pettigrew.

"Actually, it was you," returned Pettigrew almost coolly.

Sirius stopped in mid-air and lost his canine features; he took a moment to remain in his dazed state from what had been revealed. "No… that's not right. I was never their Secret Keeper… you were."

Pettigrew giggled a little and said, "I wasn't James and Lily's Secret Keeper! Why would they choose me, somebody who was always treated as a sidekick over their closest friend, Sirius Black? Don't you remember, old friend?"

"I… I don't. I don't remember any of that…"

"That's right, of course, you don't remember! I mean, why would you?"

"Why wouldn't he remember that he was their Secret Keeper, Pettigrew? Tell me, now!"

"In the time when the Potters were in hiding and Valerie had defected from the Death Eaters, the Dark Lord took a different and rather crude approach to the situation. Upon learning that Sirius was the Potters' remaining Secret Keeper, the Dark Lord tasked me into leading him straight to the Dark Lord's clutches personally, kidnapping him for just hours at a time during the day. The Dark Lord would then attempt to break into his mind continuously, subjected him to torture beyond imagination. To see what the Dark Lord had inflicted onto you in such short amounts of time is commendable to the both of you.

"The hours increased each day, more torture, unhinging even more of the mind. The Dark Lord pushed himself as far as he could, holding onto the little patience that spared your life. He attempted to penetrate your mind with his powers, filling your head with himself through his unmatchable skills!"

"Skills?" said Theodore, not surprised that his father had immersed himself in magic he couldn't even hope to fathom. "Skills with the mind? What is it, what's it called?"

"The Dark Lord kept his secrets too, Theodore. The difference between the both of you is not so big after all, is it? He had the power to see clearly into the minds of others, to take what he needed and to rip them apart. Feebler minds stood no chance against him!"

"But it's all a lie," interrupted Sirius. "It's all one big lie, can't you see it, Theodore? If all of this happened, then how am I unable to recall any of this, not even a single conversation? You drove yourself into a corner, Peter. You failed; it's over."

Pettigrew giggled again, only a little lower. "Clinging so desperately at your self-taught innocence? I said it before, Sirius, of course you wouldn't remember. You didn't honestly think that he'd let you go back to the others with all of those memories, did you? Every time the Dark Lord failed to extract the information he needed from your mind, he'd wipe your memory clean of your frequent torture. You'd wander back without a single thought on what happened during those hours, smiling like you always did.

"That's… that's not true…"

"Have you ever wondered why he'd always go berserk, but never seemed to remember, Theodore? He wasn't aware of it, but it was all taking a toll on Sirius. The torture, the harsh modification of his memories. The Dark Lord's methods was too powerful to be kept at their lowest levels. His constant use of magic on Sirius's brain was slowly starting to tear his sanity into shreds, reducing him into the unstable savage that has been attacking you for so long! But he didn't know at all!"

"But it doesn't make sense how he switched when you said something about Harry's parents. I thought that it was Azkaban that messed him up."

"Much more than what the Dark Lord intended. Before, Sirius would put up more of a fight before he'd turn feral, but yesterday was so simple. Like angering a child. Your father believed his power to being absolute, but he did not keep to the same methods. Well, he had some on the side. The Dark Lord knew that if Sirius was the Secret Keeper, then he'd be the only one capable of visiting the Potters in hiding. So he tampered with his mind some more, embedding trigger words so that when heard, he'd lose what was left of his sanity. You killed James and…"

Sirius staggered back onto the ground and began to shake like before. "No… please don't…"

Theodore remembered when he screamed those same words on his first proper conversation with Sirius. He guessed correctly that he wasn't right in the head, but it wasn't his fault at all. Theodore set him off because he was lobotomised by his father. "That was it? All someone had to do was to say those words and he'd go crazy?"

"Not just those words. There was 'want to see the baby, Sirius?' —"

Sirius twitched on the ground screaming for Pettigrew to stop.

"'Sirius, is everything OK?'"

"ARGHH!"

"'Lily, I didn't mean it.'"

"STOP! PLEASE! PLEASE STOP!" screamed Sirius.

Pettigrew held his tongue for a second, then turned to Theodore again. "If he heard enough of these words together, then he'd be as dangerous as Remus under a full moon without any of that potion you gave to him. A crude plan to attack Lily, James and Harry, but it was a plan nonetheless. But over on the other side, Sirius's irrational behaviour became evidently a problem, causing most to distrust him. It was only by Dumbledore's word did they do their best to keep him levelled, for he refused to give anybody else the title as Secret Keeper, a title he felt should live and die with him. They all thought of his descent into insanity a result of the inbreeding in his family. The Black's were renowned for marrying their first cousins.

"Sirius was underneath protection from the Dark Lord when his disappearances became known to his allies, but Dumbledore still insisted on keeping him active within their organisation. Their fight against the Death Eaters was starting to favour their own side, even bringing back an ally they thought they had once lost. Your mother."

"But you said she fled from You-Know-Who with Theodore," Harry said from above. "Why would she ever come back when he was looking for her?"

"I was shocked to see her alive and well when she returned; so was everybody else. We asked her how did she manage to evade the Dark Lord's reach, and she said she had been hidden with her brother in their new home. An unlikely story that was eaten up quickly. Valerie was an integral warrior during the war, and to see her returning meant that Sirius wouldn't prove to be as much of a liability than before. All was well until Halloween night when Valerie had Sirius cornered, using her allure to keep him in place —"

"No…" whispered Sirius under his breath. His head was hung low, and his face couldn't be seen under his long hair. "I…"

"She held him behind after a meeting on that fateful night," Pettigrew continued as he ignored Sirius's whimpers, "and manipulated him like a naïve little boy who couldn't see past her exterior. On that night, Valerie asked him if he remembered where the Potters were hidden, and he told her everything —"

Sirius was sobbing under his matted hair, crying 'no' over and over again.

"— from the name of Godric's Hollow, to the very number of their cottage. His mind was so loose that he had lost his grasp on mistrust, spilling his secrets to the only person who was supposed to know."

"But she wouldn't betray them!" Harry shouted. "She wouldn't betray her own family when she ran from Voldemort!"

"But it wasn't really Valerie now, was it?"

…

Theodore widened his eyes as he pieced it together so quickly that it felt too painful to acknowledge. "It wasn't her at all… It was him all that time. Sirius told him…"

"Yes. The Dark Lord bested the 'infallible' Fidelius Charm. He was disguised as the traitor, knowing her exceptionally well from the way she talked, all the way down to her smile. From the second Sirius had revealed their location, the Dark Lord instantly left for Godric's Hollow and killed James and Lily."

Sirius was crying harder now, crouching down with his bony hands covering his hidden face. "I remember… What have I done…? James… Lily…"

It was true. Almost everything Fudge said was the truth. His mother really was his father's right-hand woman. Pettigrew was never the Secret Keeper, it was Sirius. And he told him straight in his face, right before he killed them. Theodore had been in denial, sometimes swayed over to believe the rumours while sometimes condemning it completely. But none that mattered now. Sirius did betray them… No.

Theodore flicked the wand back up at Pettigrew's head and stood in front of a broken Sirius, adamant of letting the ratty wizard getting to him any further. "I couldn't care less about you said, other than the fact that all I'm hearing is that you turned on your friends. Let Harry and Hermione go, or I'll hurt you. Fudge doesn't need to see you with all your limbs, just your face."

A solid gulp from Pettigrew was followed up by, "Yo-you won't do anything to me. You need me alive if you want to clear his name. He's not innocent, you know, I am. You probably don't even know how to use that wand."

"I think I do, Pettigrew. It still baffles me how something like this could choose someone like you."

"That's not my wand. Mine was lost when I was forced into hiding twelve years ago. I do not deserve to even use what power is held within that wand. Although — although, should I have expected any different? It's only f-fitting for a son to use his father's wand."

Theodore looked down at his hand and stared at the bone-wand with immediate disgust. He should've known better. No wand this sinister-looking could belong to someone like —

Her face radiated pure beauty as she looked down on her child with so much love and tenderness. His eyes rarely flicked open, but that was to be expected of a newborn. She cradled him softly, and she kissed him on his forehead multiple times to tell him that she was there and that she'd never leave him.

A thin finger as white as bone reached into the robes of the hooded figure and plucked out a wand matching its owner's tone of skin. It trailed the wand above the baby's head, swirling clockwise almost dreamily while the cold voice spoke silkily from nowhere.

"The foundation of my new power starts with you, Theodore. My being, my absolute being has created you. You will be and hold my mark upon the world, Theodore. That is what you are… My mark upon the world…"

How did he remember that…? It wasn't even that clear, but… that was his father talking to him. And his mother… he had never seen her up so close and… Theodore wanted to crush the wand in his hand, to pulverise it into an oblivion. It was like a knife that had been stained with the blood of so many innocents. The wand that killed his uncle and aunt, the wand that was going to kill Harry…

"Argh! Shut up! Flipendo!" cried the boy, aiming straight at Pettigrew's chest. Pettigrew almost tripped backwards when he swished Theodore's wand in front of him, creating a barrier that nulled the spell. Theodore threw three more jinxes at him, then shot a green spark to Pettigrew's feet, sending him hurtling behind the green smoke when it exploded.

Turning back quickly to the others, he slashed in the air precisely and said "Diffindo!" to the stems linking Harry and Hermione to the canopy. The cocoons cracked and released the two from their hold, counting themselves lucky with their wands in their hands as they used the Levitation Charm to slow down their fall. They landed safely on the ground and instantly pointed their wands at the smoke.

"Show yourself, you coward!" Harry snarled. There was no distortion in the cloud to suggest anybody being behind there. "Pettigrew! He's fucking running, we have to catch him quick!" He threw himself to the ground in front of Sirius and lifted his chin to see him reduced to tears of pain and regret. "Sirius! We need you to sniff him out before he gets away! Come on!"

"How can you even speak to me when I'm the reason you don't have a mother and father?" he said weakly.

"There's no time for that! Sirius, this is now, OK?! If you don't transform and sniff him out, he'll be gone forever, and I'll be stuck living with the Dursleys for the next four years instead of being with you! Find him, please! Please!"

Sirius nodded with a blank expression and told them to stand back. His body ruffled with fur as if a thick blanket was thrown over him, and his clothes was gone within an instant. Sirius whimpered for a second, but did not forget Harry's request for he sniffed along the Forest floors and peeked his head through the green smoke. He immediately barked at the three teens and dashed off through the smoke, prompting them to chase after him.

The trio hopped and slid around the trees while keeping an eye on Sirius in front. Surely, the castle must've known about their second escape from school, both under the span of twelve hours. Snape would probably be looking for him right about now…

"Guys? What happened to Ron?" asked Theodore breathlessly behind Hermione and Harry. His chest was giving way, and his lungs felt smaller and weaker.

"We told him to run when Pettigrew ambushed us from behind," Hermione replied. "He just escaped the vines that he made with your wand and vanished. I hope he didn't make a wrong turn; there are dangerous things in here. Theo, you can't keep this up!"

Theodore was clutching his chest, but still persisted that he could go on. "I can do this… I'm fine…" He felt both sides of his body being supported by Harry and Hermione who lifted him slightly from underneath his shoulders to remove some of the weight on his feet.

"You guys were right. Can't keep… this up…"

Sirius took a sharp left turn as the three followed, and barked at the dip in the soil that was covered with sunlight and leaves. Something was burrowing under the roots, and it looked too fearful for it to be a disturbed forest-dweller.

They pointed their wands at the dirt and cried together, "Kubdilsha Mabdilko!" watching the ground explode like a mine had been placed beneath there with Pettigrew scrambling to his feet gingerly. The mud did not blind him from the trio, and his hand was still holding Theodore's wand. Hermione stepped in front of the two boys and lifted her wand the same time Pettigrew lifted Theodore's. She started to mutter the Full Body-Bind Curse, but Theodore almost froze when he heard Pettigrew speak his own incantation to himself.

"Avada…"

"NO!" Theodore tried to push her out of the way, thinking for a split second that his wand wouldn't kill its master from another's hand if he got there first. But he wasn't fast enough. His pain in his chest crippled him from moving any further. She was going to die…

"…Keda —"

The Killing Curse did not fly from Theodore's wandtip for Pettigrew could not finish his words. Theodore almost lost sight of him, in fact. Everything happened so fast that he couldn't tell if it was real or not. All of a sudden, Pettigrew's body was flung across the air and crashed into a tree so violently that it almost snapped in half. Theodore cringed when he heard the cracking of the man's bones, and he peered his head over to where his body slumped to the ground mundanely like an abused rag-doll.

A mossy, blue car that had its paint peeling off to reveal the deep-orange rust underneath rumbled in front of the teens and dog; its left flashlight was not blinking in rhythm. Theodore quickly recognised the car as a Ford Anglia, but was dumbfounded as to why of all reasons did it decided to pulverise Pettigrew of all people until the answer came to him with a red mop of hair.

Ron dizzily got out of the car and grinned at the looks on his friends' faces before he stumbled over to the ground. He soon found his balance and shook his head to stop himself from falling over again. "So… did I get him?"

"Ron!" The trio all ran up to the tall redhead and squeezed him tightly in their embrace. Ron looked extremely embarrassed, but patted each of their heads like they were his younger siblings.

"How the — when did you —?" Harry stammered. "You fucking ran him over with a car, Ron!"

"Didn't expect you to go that dark, but I'm not complaining at all! I'm glad you're OK, but tell us something. How the fuck did you get this car back?" Theodore asked when he pulled away from him. He was still in utter disbelief.

Ron puffed up his chest a little and began to explain himself. "When Harry and Hermione told me to run when Pettigrew got them, I thought about getting you, Theo. Honestly, we all knew that you weren't going to stay inside the hospital wing."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," replied the other three together.

"So, I was running back to the castle, or I thought I was. I've never been here before, so I was absolutely clueless with my direction, and I'm never coming back in here after what happened."

"What happened?"

Ron shivered a little, then swallowed. "There was this — massive nest of spiders. Not normal, little spiders that you see in the corner of the room. No, I'm talking about these fucking huge spiders that were as big as my head! And th-those were just the newborns! You should've seen these two big ones that were like twice Hagrid's height!"

"Whoa…"

"And you know what's crazy? Hagrid was the one that brought them here, they told me! Aragog and Mosag! They would've eaten me if it wasn't for Dad's old car! Thank Merlin that Dobby stopped us from going through the barrier that day."

"Dobby?" Theodore said confused.

Ron ignored him and carried on speaking. "The Ford came just in the nick of time when I was about to be devoured by millions of flesh-eating spiders. When I got in, it boomed straight off and got me the hell out of there. The car let me take control when we were in the clear, and I was going to find you guys. It took me twenty minutes until I heard Sirius barking. I saw you guys turning Pettigrew back into normal and was going to try block him off if he tried to escape again, but the breaks stop working for some reason." Ron shrugged nonchalantly and crossed his arms. "I guess as long as he doesn't die, then it'll all be fine."

…

Three, two, one…

"Oh, my god, I killed him!" Ron shrieked. "He's dead! I actually killed someone! Oh God!"

"Do not worry, Ron. You haven't killed him. He's still alive," affirmed Sirius's dead voice from the splintered tree. "Well, for now." He took Theodore's wand from the ground and pointed it at the heap that was Pettigrew, not twitching a single eye or muscle.

Harry didn't care that he was armed; he marched over to his godfather and was determined to stop him from crossing the line. "Sirius, don't! We've already been through this, this isn't how it's supposed to end!"

"You don't know that, Harry! Everything is — is coming to me, and I can remember it all! I can feel the pain from having my mind being ripped apart… I can see Valerie asking me about James and Lily when it wasn't really her… and it's all his fault!"

"Sirius, no," Harry pleaded. "Don't! Don't become the killer that everyone thinks you are! You have a choice to spare him and be free while he stays in Azkaban! Please, Sirius!"

…

"He used me… to kill your family," uttered Sirius grimly. "It's because of me and him that you lost your family, Harry. It's both of our faults."

"I still have a family, Sirius. You and Theo. I didn't think I had anybody until I knew both of you properly. You are my family, and I'm not going to let them take you away to Azkaban again. Think — think about my dad. What would he say if he saw you like this, ready to kill his friend in revenge? What would he say, Sirius?"

Sirius grimaced a little, and a tear leaked out from his hollow sockets. His bottom jaw quivered along with his hand as he thought back to his friend, seeing him entirely through the boy that was standing in front of him. Harry lowered himself slowly and reached for Theodore's wand; he met no resistance from Sirius who allowed it to slip easily from his fingers.

"If — if you're not well, then there will be people to help you. We'll make sure that you'll get the help that you need, and we'll be right beside you the entire time, Sirius. I promise. It's not your fault, it was his. Yeah?"

The man brushed his filthy rag of a sleeve under his eyes to wipe away his tears. "Yes. You're right. I won't do this. I'll spare him for you."

"And for you too. Don't forget that, OK?"

Sirius gave him a little smile and opened his arms out for a hug, a hug that Harry didn't refuse at all. Godfather and godson embraced each other on their knees while Hermione, Ron and Theodore watched them from a distance, unable to keep their smiles hidden.

"That's so sweet," cooed Hermione.

"The Boy Who Lived and His Godfather from Azkaban. That'll make the headlines — No! Not again!" Ron was holding the broken half of his second wand that was held by unicorn hair, resembling the old one that belonged to his older brother. "Mum's going to kill me this time! I can't go back home now!"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Hermione assured him, although it was a well known fact among the four that she was a terrible liar.

Theodore walked over to Sirius and Harry, and politely asked for his wand back. It had barely been eight hours, and he missed it so much. The right kind of warmth flowed through his arm when Harry handed it over to him, but it was purged from his body when he shuddered at the sight of Pettigrew's mangled body. His legs were broken, his left arm was dislocated to bend the other way, and his face looked completely squashed. Theodore would've thought that Sirius was lying to them when he said that he was alive, but the wheezing sound that came from his nose validated his statement.

"This is very, very bad!"

"Why don't we just mend it right now?"

"Theo, wands can't properly mend other wands," said Hermione in a matter-of-factly tone. "It would seem all right from the outside, but it will just break again when it's being used. It's impossible."

Theodore had the odd feeling of euphoria running through himself as he couldn't stop grinning at her. "It wouldn't hurt to try. Also, if you don't want me to do something, never say 'it's impossible' to me again."

"Noted," she muttered.

Theodore took Ron's broken wand and pointed his own where it split near the middle. He uttered the spell and saw the pieces sticking together like glue before it became impossible to see the damage. "Here's hoping. If it doesn't work, then I'm sorry, Ron."

Ron sighed. He tapped it against his knuckles before attempting to do any magic with it. Pointing it at his temple, he said, "Doesn't look like it'll break that easily. All right, here we go. Doltorqeor!" Ron's face broke into a massive grin as the Cheering Charm worked perfectly on him, though he would've been just as elated. "You fixed my wand! Theo, you brilliant you — AHH! This is amazing!"

Hermione's jaw was dropped, and so was Theodore's. He didn't even half expect it to work, yet he did the impossible. "How was that even possible…?"

The Muggle-born picked up her jaw and smiled at the amazed boy. "Well, when it's you, Theo, anything's possible."

The Ford Anglia revved up and threw the boot open to grab everyone's attention. Ron ecstatically pocketed his wand before lending it to Sirius so that he could levitate Pettigrew over to the car. Pettigrew was stuffed in the back, and it took them all to make sure that it wouldn't fly open for him to escape, but that looked impossible for them to even think about. After that, they all entered the Ford with Ron in the driver's seat, Sirius in the passenger's and the other three in the back.

"Just follow my directions, Ron," said Sirius a little more cheerfully than before. "I've been coming in this place for so long. Of course, the Map didn't go that far."

"The Map?"

"Yes, the Marauder's Map. Didn't I mention that we made it?"

"You made the Marauder's Map?" Harry asked in awe. "You guys were the Marauders?"

"Well, we weren't exactly called Marauders, but yeah. We were the Marauders. I was informally known as Mr Padfoot, and the other one was called Wormtail."

Harry sat back and rubbed his chin, musing for a while over the names in the Map. "So, you're Padfoot, Pettigrew's Wormtail, Professor Lupin was Moony — that was obvious — there's no surprise that Snape was called Hookwing, which meant that my day was Prongs! What was he, an antler?"

Sirius laughed raucously. "Ahh, I remember calling him a puny antler when we first transformed! James was not happy. No, he was a stag."

"A stag…" Harry stared out of the window at the passing trees, forgetting that they were inside possibly the most dangerous part of the school. "Theo?" he whispered to his cousin.

"Yeah, Harry?"

"Thanks for not listening to me. If you had never left, then we wouldn't have caught him."

"Eh, I think I need to stop ignoring you from now on. I don't think I can take running so fast like that again. And you should be thanking Ron of all people. Flipping took Pettigrew out with a car, how wicked is that?" Theodore whispered back with a small smile. "Thank you for saving me. You know, back in Hogsmeade. I owe you a lot for that."

"You already did, Theo. You freed Sirius."

"Correction: we freed Sirius."

Harry lightly elbowed him on the shoulder and sat back. He was too happy, much too happy. And Theodore thought he deserved all of it. Theodore turned over to Hermione lightly humming to herself while she tapped her fingers against her lap. His heart began to beat furiously in his chest when he remembered her kiss. That soft kiss on his cheek which had him wanting more… More…

Theodore scooted a little closer to the girl, feeling immense relief and stupidity towards himself that he finally understood what he had been feeling towards her for the past two years. And to think that he had been avoiding it for so long. His chest was on fire, but he didn't mind it all that much. He just thought about her, and only her…

I spent so much time trying to find a loophole around the Fidelius Charm but I just said fuck it and changed it up in the way that gives the least confusion (to me anyway). I like how I'm referring to them as teens now, not children. Gives a nice sense of maturity and realisation of their growth. And it's not us who's doing the realising (nudge nudge Theodore (how dense can you get?)) Get ready for part three because it's not over. See you in an hour. Later!