A/N: Hello and welcome back to another chapter in this story.

As allways, HowInMadeHowie helped me with the finer details in this chapter, or else there would be some more plot bunnys around. I really had not thought of something that he then pointed out, improving a whole scene. So, thank you HowinMadeHowie

Now, off with you and have fun reading this chapter. Until next time

While the train moved along the tracks, Harry noticed that the girls were looking at him more intensely than before. He decided to ignore it for now; no good would come of it when he acknowledged them without being sure what his feelings were. 'I wish there was a book to explain girls and how they think to boys, this would be so much easier to deal with if I understood them.' Harry thought. Callie couldn't help but giggle at her partner's angst.

Thanks to the lessons from Daphne and Susan, together with Hermione's studious nature, he knew that his standing in the magical world demanded from him to continue all the family names of the houses he inherited, and that meant marrying multiple women. Now Daphne and Hermione already knew that he is the heir apparent of House Black, they did not know that he was also the Heir to Slytherin thanks to the right of conquest as well a true heir to Gryffindor.

Thinking about that, he really wondered if he could live with so many wives at once. Maybe he should keep it a secret for a while longer that he is the heir apparent for Gryffindor and Slytherin. He felt that his world would soon change the moment when they cleared Sirius for good was coming closer.

Looking at his friends in the compartment, he felt really lucky to have met them all. As soon as he had those thoughts, he had a frown on his face. 'Callie, is it normal for a boy in puberty to become melancholy?'

Callie was amused by that question, showing her smile again in Harry's glasses. 'Yes Harry, it is normal for a boy your age to think about these things. It only shows that, even with all your training and mutation, you are still a young man growing up. Now chin up, or Hermione will notice your frown.'

When Harry looked up, he saw that Hermione and Daphne were both looking at him with a curious gaze. They then heard a knock on their door and Tracey looked up to see who was outside.

Luna heard them talking in the compartment as she walked past it with her bag, and decided on a spur of the moment to ask if she could sit with them. She smiled as Tracey waved her inside with a smile of her own. "Of course, you can come to Luna. Do tell, how was your winter break?"

Luna thanked Tracey as Luna entered the compartment. But as soon as she stepped a foot over the threshold, she saw a vision from a future she almost could not believe. Luna had a dreamy smile as she greeted the girls and Harry and took her seat opposite Susan. It was fortunate that Luna had years of experience with her visions not to give away she was "seeing" anything that others could not see. Unbeknown to Luna, Harry was able to notice when she had a vision.

Harry noticed the moment Luna entered the compartment he saw her expression became dreamy for a moment before focusing back in the here and now. Thanks to the time he had spent with her, he knew that she just had a vision and wondered if he was in it, as she had looked at him with her dreamy eyes before focusing back.

Lupin appeared just outside the school gates of Hogwarts, being ready to teach another term. While he walked through the gates, he saw Hagrid with Mr. Scamander, caring for the Hippogriffs that were still in their paddock. Deciding to talk with them first, he greeted them both with a smile, getting a bright smile from Hagrid and a curious look from Newt.

Leaning on the fence, Lupin looked over the Hippogriffs and nodded towards them. "Hey Hagrid, how is your work with Mr. Scamander? I do hope he is not too strict with you."

Hagrid just laughed, telling Lupin that everything was alright so far. "I learned many things thanks to Mr. Scamander on how to handle the students when he returned back to his home after this term. To be honest, I hoped that he would stay longer, but I understand that he wants to return to his wife." Hagrid chuckled.

Newt smiled, scratching the feathers of Buckbeak while feeding him. "That is not the only reason for me returning to my wife, Hagrid. I still need to study more about these creatures. Something I cannot do inside this school." He then turned towards Lupin and looked at him with his knowing gaze. "I really hope you feel better Professor Lupin. All those sick days you had; it really did a number on you. But now, you seem truly happy."

Lupin was a bit taken aback, but he guessed that Mr. Scamander knows a lot and must have talked with Dumbledore about the situation, but seeing the old man smile was all the confirmation he needed to be sure that he had done the right thing. Lupin said his goodbyes and headed towards the castle.

But before he went to his office, he walked through the castle in search of Snape, since Lupin wanted to talk with him. Lupin soon found Snape in the potions classroom. "Good afternoon Severus. I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas break."

Snape looked up from the potion he was brewing, but Lupin did not recognize the book the potions master had on his desk for it. It seemed handwritten and even had more details added over some time it seemed. "Lupin. For your question, my Christmas was like every Christmas since I began working here. So, more work than everything else. Are you here for your wolfsbane potion? There will not be a full moon for another two weeks." Snape had closed the book and put the cauldron under a stasis charm so he could work on it later again.

Lupin scratched the back off his head as he smiled nervously. He then explained what he had done over the break. "You see, Severus, I do not need the potion any longer. I underwent the ritual to become a Lycan, and as such am fully under control of the transformation." Lupin paused when he noticed Snape's shocked look, "I wanted to tell you personally, so you do not have to brew the potion anymore."

Lupin took a deep breath as this was the hard part of this meeting. "Also, I wanted to apologize to you for a long time for what happened during our school days. I should have done so much more to try and stop Sirius and James bullying you, but back then I was afraid to lose the few friends I had. I hope my apology is enough for you after all those years." Lupin even bowed down, so he could get his apology better across.

Snape was still standing behind his desk where the potion was in stasis when he let out a breath. "Apology accepted, Lupin. I know that it was a different time back then, and that you did not bully me like the others. I hope we can leave the past where it belongs. If you do not mind me asking, were are you with the Witchers and Potter during the break to perform the ritual? They would be the only ones I know who would have the knowledge of the details for this ritual to be successful."

Lupin had to take a step back before the smile came back to his lips. "Well, you do notice all the important things, Severus. Yes, I was in Kear Morhen to undergo the ritual, and I met Geralt of Rivia, Harry's mentor. But how did you deduce that?" Lupin frowned, wondering how much of Harry's secrets Snape knew.

Now it was Snape's turn to smirk knowingly. "Well, as it happens, I noticed how Potter has moved differently since the winter break a year ago. As for his mentor, even the Death Eaters were instructed to retreat every time the white wolf was rumored to be close by. It seems that the Witcher, even as he claimed to be neutral in the last war, killed enough Death Eaters to invoke the interest of the Dark Lord himself, only to be beaten with a sizable force behind him when he attacked their castle. As for the how I found out about Potter being a Witcher that killed the monster from the Chamber of Secrets was set loose inside the castle last year, and just after Potter had become a Witcher, we even had a visit from Letho of Guleta, another Witcher we were told to avoid And as the Basilisk was killed after Letho had left, it was obvious who killed the monster. A pity that the Basilisk was taken away in pieces. I could have used many parts of the carcass for my potions, but the prices are too high for me. As you were in the, and please forgive me that metaphor, wolfs den guess you also know that Potter is a Witcher, so this should not be a surprise for you. You surely smelled that Potter was not a mere wizard anymore."

Lupin shrugged his shoulders, giving Snape all the explanation he needed. "If it makes you feel any better, they have the Basilisk skull over the mantle in their main hall. To be honest, it is one of the few trophies they have. Maybe you can ask them if they have something for you to use, like the fangs. I am sure they still have a trace of the venom left in it."

Snape was looking thoughtful at Lupin when the Lycan had mentioned the basilisk skull. Snape knew that the Goblins had harvested every scrap of venom from the carcass, but maybe Lupin had a point and something was still left. He would ask John if he could arrange a short visit in Kear Morhen so he could look at the skull. He also could ask Potter, but there was still some resentment against his father, but it was waning considerably since the start of this school year. The teenager only showed respect to his peers, at least to the ones who deserved it. And in the potions master's mind this was a big step away from his father. 'It doesn't hurt that the boy actually has friends in Slytherin that he treats with more respect that most Gryffindors show to my house.'

As the evening came, the train arrived at the Hogsmeade station, and the students left all their compartments. Harry wanted to grab his trunk, where he had placed his Firebolt back into it, but then he remembered that the house-elves would bring it up to his dorm for him. Not wanting to do their job, he then left it where it was and then followed his friends out of the train. When he left the train, he looked up to the castle and wondered how much he had missed that old castle.

Walking over to the carriages and climbing into one with Hermione, Daphne and Luna, he asked Callie if she could tell him what Cortana and the rest had done while he was on his break. Callie told him that John wanted to talk with him about their plan to catch Pettigrew. "According to the footage we have from the cameras, it seems that Pettigrew has become complacent again after Crookshanks refrained from hunting him through Gryffindor common room, but that smart cat still kept an eye on the rat. John also suggested that we invite Ron and Percy Weasley to unmask him, as in John's opinion they both must know what is going on. Also, I told John that Professor Lupin would like to see the Map, so John prepared everything so we all can meet up tonight after dinner in the headmasters office. But we need to discuss what we tell Professor Lupin when he sees the name of his supposed dead friend."

Harry thanked his partner, telling her to speak with Cortana about that he was agreeing to that plan for this evening.

As the evening progressed, the students enjoyed the feast in the Great Hall, with some a bit happier than others to see their friends again.

At the Slytherin table, Malfoy was glaring at the Gryffindors, especially Harry. It was obvious to everyone watching Malfoy that something was on his mind. The last time he had spoken with his father, he was told that he should watch Potter more closely and report anything unusual to his father. Malfoy was curious why his father had such a great interest in this stupid half-blood, but he would do what he is told. So as long as they had the same classes together, he could watch him for sure.

At the staff table, Lupin was eating with great vigor, as if he had not eaten in a long time. That caused to catch the attention from the headmaster, who smiled at his DADA professor warmly after Lupin finally was released from the burden from his forced transformation once a month.

Now, Dumbledore could only hope that whatever Lupin found out later tonight, that he stayed rational and listened to them about Pettigrew. Dumbledore had already prepared a letter to Madam Bones, when they all agreed to a course of action, Dumbledore would send it to her so they had a backup, just in case.

To stay in an animal form after all this time only showed that Pettigrew was determined to stay hidden and out of sight, so they did not know what he would be capable of.

Later in Dumbledore's office, the headmaster looked at all the people inside it. John was standing next to the door as always, while Harry stood next to Triss on the right side of Dumbledores desk from his point of view. On his desk was the Marauder's Map, which Lupin was looking at right at this moment. The smile from the beginning at seeing the map soon vanished as he saw what they all had known.

Lupin stared at the map and tried to make sense of this discovery. Shaking his head in bewilderment he looked up to Dumbledore confused and frustrated. "How? How can he be alive? He must be, the map does not lie…..How? And more importantly, why? Why is he hiding?" Glancing back down he noticed Pettigrew's name was in close proximity to Gryffindor boys' dorm.

Dumbledore had steepled his hands before his face waiting for Lupin to finish his thought process. After Dumbledore saw that the now Lycan had calmed down a bit, Dumbledore began to explain his theory. "As you may know, on the next night after James and Lily were killed, I was also looking for Sirius to ask him how this was possible. My first thought was that he had betrayed us, but when I finally found him in his flat, he was looking defeated. When I looked him in his eyes, I did not see someone who had betrayed us, but someone who had lost everything and someone who was angry and wanting to avenge his friend. Asking him who was the real secret-keeper, as I knew at this point that it was not Sirius; he just told me that he would go and talk with him personally. The next thing I heard of him was that he had killed Peter Pettigrew, who, in turn, accused Sirius on the open street, that he betrayed the Potters. So you can imagine my surprise when Harry here brought this map to John and both of them decided to talk with me about Peter being on the map." Dumbledore glanced down at the map hoping to get Lupin's attention.

Lupin looked back up from the map, panic coming back into his voice. "You do not understand Headmaster, I never told you that James, Sirius and Peter had become Animagi to spend time with me during my time as a werewolf. So, Peter could run the second he finds out that we know where he is. He is a rat, for crying out loud." Lupin looked to the door wondering if he should head to Gryffindor tower and capture his wayward "friend".

Dumbledore waved his hand to calm Lupin down. "We know that Peter is an Animagus Remus. We already have a plan to catch him before he is any the wiser that we have the map. For this, we would need to have Sirius with us as soon as Madam Bones will bring him into custody so true justice will be served. Now, I presume that you can find Sirius out in the forest with your newfound form? Could you convince him to come here and talk with us before we bring in Peter? I am sure that will clear all the confusion we have right now. And if we succeed, we can finally help Sirius clearing his name for good as well let James and Lily rest with the knowledge that we avenged them by giving the real traitor the punishment he deserves. Would you do this for us?"

Lupin was still leaning over the map and looked back down, seeing the name of a friend on it. "To be honest, the thing I want to do the most right now is go to Gryffindor tower and grab that rat myself and before killing him ask him if he believes that he could hide forever and why he faked his own death by Sirius's hand. But I agree, that would not absolve Sirius of this crime, who also must have seen somehow that Peter was still alive. I will look for Sirius and ask him directly, Headmaster. Please wait for a day or two more until we apprehend Peter. I am sure that I have Sirius until then."

Dumbledore shook his head, explaining his plan for Pettigrew. "I must apologize Remus, but we will capture Peter tonight, he will be held by John until Madam Bones comes to take him in." Lupin looked angry, but saw the reason behind it and nodded.

Harry spoke up, as he had information that would accelerate the search. "Professor Lupin, if I may? I saw a big black dog in Hogsmeade, and if what you had told me about the animal form of Sirius is accurate, it must have been him. Maybe he is still in the village as he waits for his chance to get Pettigrew?"

Lupin turned away from the map and looked at Harry with a curious glance. "Well, that is a good lead Harry. I will see if I can find him there tonight. As a Lycan the time until I get there will be much shorter." He looked again to the headmaster and nodded, before he left the office.

Harry, John and Triss looked after him when he closed the door. Triss let out a breath she was holding, knowing full well what a freshly "born" Lycan could do when he lost their temper. "Remus took it much better than I had anticipated. Do you think when you told him about the map back in Kear Morhen, he already expected to see Pettigrew's name on it? Even if it was not the one he was thinking of?" Triss looked at Harry with a raised brow.

Harry looked over to Triss, head a bit tilted. But he did not have to answer, as Cortana activated the projector in the headmaster's desk and began to explain her theory. "According to the psychological profile we have on Mr. Lupin, this scenario is most likely Triss. But I also suspect that Lupin had an inkling in the back of his mind that Pettigrew was not truly dead, and that Sirius was innocent for what had happened. Of course, this theory is most sound if we also include the psychological profile we have on Sirius Black. He would never have sold his friends to save his life, even when his death would be imminent. But we still need to figure out how Peter Pettigrew fits in all of this."

Harry nodded, agreeing with John's AI partner. Callie had shown him the reports that she had access to about his godfather, and even for Harry it seemed strange that Sirius was accused of having betrayed his father at all.

Dumbledore addressed Harry after a short while of silence. "Harry, as you have the best access to Peter's present location right now, I task you to go and capture him tonight. The sooner we do this, the better for Sirius. Take this warded cage with you, it is warded so Peter cannot change back on his own accord as long he is in it. I would suggest that you use the Stunning charm to knock him out and then place him in the cage. After that, bring him to John so we can have him here while I contact Madam Bones with a cover story."

Harry nodded, putting his invisibility cloak on and grabbed the cage under the cloak. John opened the office door for Harry and let his charge walk down the stairs before following him and closing the door behind him.

Harry soon arrived in his dorm, making sure his cloak concealed his presence. After he made sure that the others were asleep in their beds, he looked for the rat when he found him under Ron's bed, sleeping. A silent 'Stupefy' from Harry and the rat lay unconscious on the floor, so Harry picked him up and put him into the cage, and then he put the cloak back on.

Walking through the almost empty common room, he watched some older students study while he sneaked back out the portrait hole. 'Well, good thing I have this cloak. Now, the only thing left is to bring this rat to John and then return back to the dorm. Lets see what you have to say for your defense, Wormtail.''

In Hogsmeade, a large black dog was laying behind the Three Broomsticks and waited for the rest of the food from the kitchen. He really was lucky to have found this spot, as Madam Rosmerta was more than glad to feed him what was left in the kitchen, and he would not have to steal to survive. While he waited, he was thinking about his plan to enter the castle which was outside the village and up the hill.

Since last Halloween, the Dementors had increased their patrols, and it was now pretty hard to even have the small window to go to the Shrieking Shack and use the secret tunnel. Thinking about it, he wondered if Remus had told the headmaster that he knew the secret passageways into the school. The last time he was not found out until he arrived in front of the Fat Lady's portrait.

Seeing her portrait was like a trip down memory lane, but he wanted to get inside so he could find Peter and avenge his friends. Sirius would never have thought that Peter really was the traitorous rat that he was, but confronting him all those years ago two days after James and Lily were killed opened his eyes. He was sure that Peter did not plan to show Sirius the dark mark, but when he left the house he lived in with a panic stricken face, his sleeve was just far enough up his arm so Sirius could see a small portion of the tattoo. But before Sirius could do anything in his surprised state, Peter had pulled out his wand and screamed that Sirius was the traitor, before casting a spell behind him that caused an explosion that killed innocent people.

In the confusion, Sirius had thought at first that Peter had also died in the explosion, as his wand and a finger was laying on the floor before him. And for that, he accepted that he was sent to Azkaban, even forgetting in his grief that he never had a trial. But when a man appeared in front of his cell, asking him questions about what had happened that day and what his opinion was, without judging him for anything, he was able to feel a bit more hopeful that he could leave that hellhole. And then he saw HIM in the Daily Prophet the minister had given him, the picture that showed Sirius that Peter was still alive and kicking. Reading through the article Sirius knew that Peter was in the perfect position to hurt Harry in case there were rumors that Voldemort would soon return in full strength. That angered Sirius so much that he finally found the strength to escape the prison.

Now lying behind his favorite pub during his school days, he soon heard the door open and Madam Rosmerta coming out with a bowl of meat. He surely would have appreciated it to be cooked, but as a dog he could at least stomach the raw meat.

While watching the dog eat the meat she had brought him, Madam Rosmerta smiled as she petted the head of the dog. It was now over four months since she had found him lurking in the village, somehow feeling that she should know him. She was looking for its owner, but all the things she had tried resulted only in disappointment. No one claimed the dog to be theirs, so she was now really thinking about adopting him for real, when she heard someone coming closer from the small alley between her pub and her neighbor.

Sirius heard it too, looking up from his bowl and saw a hooded figure standing there. His first instinct was to run away, but his curiosity was holding him in place.

The man then lifted his hood, showing that it was Remus and Sirius could swear that he saw a snout was vanishing from Remus's face. Remus smiled at the two in the alley, addressing Madam Rosmerta. "Good evening, Madam Rosmerta. Sorry for coming so late, but I was looking for this dog, as I found out that an old friend of mine was looking for him. Sadly, he is indisposed right now to get the good boy for himself, so he has asked me to get him." Remus gave Sirius a look that said. 'Don't you dare run off, play along.'

Sirius was perking up, nothing in Remus' voice had shown any malice towards him, so maybe Remus really was only here to talk.

Hearing Madam Rosmerta sighting and telling Remus that she really had hoped to adopt the dog for herself, Sirius felt a bit bad playing her like that. It was a very small change, maybe he can come back later and explain everything to her.

After Madam Rosmerta walked back inside the pub, Sirius followed Remus out the village until they were out of sight, where Remus turned around and looked at him expectedly. Sirius, noticing the look in Remus' face, turned back to his human form. Thanks to his meals as a dog, he was not looking as weary as when he had left the prison, but his hair was still matted and he still wore his prison clothes. Sirius stood like he was ready to fight, not knowing what Remus really wanted with him. Opening his mouth, his voice only showed that he had not used it for a long time. "Remus, my friend. Care to explain why you are here? And why do you smell so different? Do not forget, as a dog I have almost the same sense of smell as you do."

Remus' reaction was something that Sirius did not expect, as his friend just smiled warmly and opened his arms, showing that he did not hold his wand in his hands. "Sirius, it has been a long time since we saw each other. I must apologize to you, until recently I thought that you were the one who betrayed Lily and James; like everyone else in the Order I thought that you were the secret-keeper for them. And then having Voldemort killing them, almost everyone of us came to the same conclusion. But I found out something that you also did, or else you would not have broken out of Azkaban. Harry showed me the map, Sirius. OUR MAP!" Lupin paused to let those works sink into his old friend. He saw Sirius's eyes widen as he start to realize what that meant.

Lupin nodded emphatically, seeing Sirius understand. "And I saw HIS NAME! Now please answer me, why did you never tell us that you and Peter switched at the last minute to be the secret-keeper?"

The last question had an angry tone in it, but Sirius understood why Remus asked him that. And after all those years, Sirius had no problem telling his friend the truth. "You see Remus, we all knew that someone was feeding information to the Death Eaters in the last war. And some of us, and I must admit that I was one of them, thought that because you were a werewolf you would follow a pack in secret. And we all know what the werewolves under Greyback were doing. Just glad that he was killed. Do you happen to know who did the deed?"

Remus was looking a bit angry for the lack of faith in him, but he understood Sirius just too well. He also thought, because Sirius was a Black, that he would help his family in secret. But that was now a thing of the past, as both men knew who really was the traitor. "Yes, I do know who killed Greyback. It was Geralt of Rivia."

Sirius whistled, remembering all the stories about Witcher that were told by his late uncle. It seemed that his uncle once owed a life debt to Geralt, but all the Witcher wanted was something to eat and a good night's rest. But something struck him odd. "How do you know a Witcher Moony?"

Remus grinned, changing in front of his friend to his Lycan form. Sirius was even more surprised when he heard the now Lycan speak. "Oh, thanks to him I have changed to this Padfoot. Also, he was one of the few that raised Harry in our stead."

Sirius screamed in surprise. "WHAT? HARRY LIVES WITH THEM?"