'No!' Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. The ropes binding him had become loose. He shuffled forward on his knees, grovelling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying. 'Sirius – it's me … it's Peter … your friend … you wouldn't …'
'There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them,' said Black.
'Remus!' Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. 'You don't believe this … Wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?'
'Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter,' said Lupin. 'I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?' he said casually over Pettigrew's head.
'Forgive me, Remus,' said Black.
'Not at all, Padfoot, old friend,' said Lupin, who was now rolling up his sleeves. 'And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?'
'Of course,' said Black, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. 'Shall we kill him together?'
'Yes, I think so,' said Lupin grimly.
'You wouldn't … you won't …' gasped Pettigrew. And he scrambled around to Ron. 'Ron … haven't I been a good friend … a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you …you're on my side, aren't you?'
But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.
'I let you sleep in my bed!' he said.
'Kind boy … kind master …' Pettigrew crawled towards Ron, 'you won't let them do it … I was your rat … I was a good pet …'
'If you made a better rat than human, it's not much to boast about, Peter,' said Black harshly.
Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach.
Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forwards and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.
'Sweet girl … clever girl … you – you won't let them … help me …'
Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified.
Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly towards Harry.
'Harry … Harry … you look just like your father … just like him …'
'HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?' roared Black. 'HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?'
'Harry' whispered Pettigrew, shuffling towards him, hands outstretched, 'Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed … James would have understood, Harry … he would have shown me mercy …'
Both Black and Lupin strode forwards, seized Pettigrew's shoulders and threw him backwards onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them, then, very slowly, he turned and moved slowly towards me, looking at me as his last hope. Before he could say anything though, I kicked him in the nose, and he fell back to his previous position, his face now covered in blood.
'You sold Lily and James to Voldemort,' said Black, who was shaking too. 'Do you deny it?'
Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch: he looked like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.
'Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord … you have no idea … he has weapons you can't imagine … I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen … He Who Must Not Be Named forced me –'
'DON'T LIE!' bellowed Black. 'YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!'
'He – he was taking over everywhere!' gasped Pettigrew. 'Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?'
'What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?' said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. 'Only innocent lives, Peter!'
'You don't understand!' whined Pettigrew. 'He would have killed me, Sirius!'
'THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!' roared Black. 'DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!'
Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.
'You should have realised,' said Lupin quietly. 'If Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter.'
Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall.
'NO!' Harry yelled. He ran forwards, placing himself in front of Pettigrew, facing the wands. 'You can't kill him,' he said breathlessly. 'You can't.'
Black and Lupin both looked staggered, and so was I! If this man had lead my parents to their deaths, I'd have killed him without a second thought! He had actually done so to my boyfriend's parents, and I still wanted him dead! Why Harry didn't was beyond me!
'Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents,' Black snarled. 'This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die, too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family.'
'I know,' Harry panted. 'We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors. He can go to Azkaban … just don't kill him.'
'Harry!' gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. 'You – thank you – it's more than I deserve – thank you –'
'Get off me,' Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. 'I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because I don't reckon my dad would've wanted his best friends to become killers – just for you.'
I couldn't be sure about that. I'd have to discuss it with Harry later.
No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black and Lupin were looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands.
'You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry,' said Black. 'But think … think what he did …'
'He can go to Azkaban,' Harry repeated. 'If anyone deserves that place, he does …'
Pettigrew was still wheezing behind him.
'Very well,' said Lupin. 'Stand aside, Harry.'
Harry hesitated.
'I'm going to tie him up,' said Lupin. 'That's all, I swear.'
Harry stepped out of the way.
The cords that shot from Lupin's wand were thicker, binding Pettigrew more tightly, and he was also now gagged.
'But if you transform, Peter,' growled Black, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew, too, 'we will kill you. You agree, Harry?'
Harry looked down at the pitiful figure on the floor, and nodded so that Pettigrew could see him.
'Right,' said Lupin, suddenly business-like. 'Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing.' He hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand and muttered, 'Ferula.' Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint.
Lupin helped him to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince.
'That's better,' he said. 'Thanks.'
'What about Professor Snape?' said Hermione in a small voice, looking down at Snape's prone figure.
'There's nothing seriously wrong with him,' said Lupin, bending over Snape and checking his pulse. 'You were just a little – over-enthusiastic. Still out cold. Er – perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this …' He muttered, 'Mobilicorpus.'
As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrists, neck and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling.
Lupin picked up the Invisibility Cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket.
'And two of us should be chained to this,' said Black, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. 'Just to make sure.'
'I'll do it,' said Lupin.
'And me,' said Ron savagely, limping forwards.
Black conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, left arm chained to Lupin's right, right arm to Ron's left. Ron's face was set. He seemed to have taken Scabbers's true identity as a personal insult. Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way out of the room, his bottle-brush tail held jauntily high.
I followed right behind him. This was a very bizarre group to be part of. A cat leading the way, myself just behind, then an awkwardly walking group of Lupin, Ron and Pettigrew, the unconscious Snape, Sirius Black, who I will now refer to by his first name, then finally, Harry and Hermione. As we made our way back along the tunnel towards the castle grounds, I reflected on what an insane night this had been. My brother's pet was really a traitor and a mass murderer in disguise. Sirius was innocent. Hermione's cat had known this and had been trying to help him all year. My mind boggled. I had hoped that last year would be a one off and that the rest of my time at Hogwarts would be normal. I knew now that this was destined not to be the case, especially not around Harry.
I could hear Harry and Sirius having a conversation, but not clearly enough to make out everything they were saying. I heard things like "godfather" and "legal guardian", but not much else. If they were discussing a new home for Harry, that would be amazing, anything to get him out of the Dursley's shithole! Again, once all this was over, I would take Harry aside for a 1-1 conversation, we definitely needed that!
As we progressed through the grounds, and the castle loomed larger in front of us, a cloud shifted overhead, and the full moon was visible. I froze, remembering what Snape had said about Lupin not taking his potion! Shit! He wasn't safe!
There was a terrible snarling noise, and I turned around. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's fur was on end again, he was backing away.
I heard a bark and saw Sirius back in his dog form, leaping at the werewolf, and they were now in a full on fight. I pulled out my wand, ready to help, but before I could, I saw a flash of red light, felt a strong force hit my face, and knew no more.
