THE PERORATION

Harry woke up slowly, feeling as though he were submerged in a vat of molasses. It took effort to even peel his eyes open, squinting as his vision remained blurry. Someone had taken off his glasses.

Sitting up with a strained gasp, he groped around for them and put them on as soon as his hand collided with them. The first thing he noticed was that Ron was staring at him, a small smile tugging at his mouth.

"Welcome back to the land of the awake!" He greeted, the only visible sign of his relief in the untensing of his shoulders. "You've been asleep for too long."

"Well, sorry for almost having been Kissed, I guess," he muttered in return, still groggy. "What the hell happened?"

"How much do you remember?"

Harry frowned, trying to parse through the absolute mess of memories. "I finally cast a corporeal Patronus! But then more Dementors came around and I think I passed out."

"Nothing else?" Ron pressed.

"No, I don't think so," said Harry before brightening. "Oh, I saw this bright light! Was that your Patronus or something?"

"I wish," sighed Ron. "Nah, that was McGonagall. It was her Patronus, a cat, which drove away the rest of the Dementors. She somehow already had Scabbers - I mean, Pettigrew - and then she levitated both of us to the Hospital Wing."

"I guess you suggesting bringing McGonagall into the Fuhrer situation was good. Wait, so what happened to Pettigrew?!" Harry exclaimed, digesting the news.

Ron shrugged helplessly. "I don't know; they won't tell me anything. Something about clearances."

Harry clicked his tongue, feeling bitterness well up inside him. His self-rumination abruptly paused as he remembered something else. "What about Lupin and Sirius? Are they okay?"

"Sirius, definitely. I'm not too sure about Lupin," Ron admitted, biting his lip. He quickly amended as he noticed the stricken look on Harry's face: "I meant mentally! Lupin didn't have any wounds besides scrapes and bruises. But he's feeling really guilty about attacking you."

At the reminder, Harry's gaze drifted to his bandaged arm, the stark white of the bandages disconcertingly noticeable against his tanned skin. The ache in his arm seemed to rise up in tandem and Harry suppressed a wince, not wanting to cause Ron anymore worry.

The sight of his own injury made him recall Ron's, as well.

"Shit!" He exclaimed, making Ron jump. "What about your leg? Is it healed already?"

He peered over the side of the hospital bed as if he could determine if Ron's leg was alright, even though he was the one who had come close to dying. Ron huffed a laugh, pushing Harry back against the headboard with a gentle hand.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself?" He teased before his gaze softened. "I'm alright. Madam Pomfrey made sure I was ready to go within a couple of hours."

Harry let out a breath of relief, feeling the right fuel of worry in his chest loosen a bit at Ron's words. He hadn't realised how concerned he'd been until it began dissipating.

"So what now?" Harry asked, after a lull.

"Now, my dear godson, we have to wait."

At the unexpected but not unwelcome voice, both Harry and Ron jumped, grins splitting their faces as they watched Sirius stride into the room. Remus Lupin entered in tow.

"Sirius!" Harry beamed, laughing as Sirius threw his arms around him and squeezed. "I can't breathe; I'm still recovering, let go!"

Sirius cackled, mussing up Harry's already unruly bed hair.

"How's my favourite godson?" He crooned. "Recovering well, I hope?"

"I'm doing just fine," Harry rolled his eyes before his tone dropped into a more serious one. "What's up with all the secrecy about the whole Pettigrew situation?"

His godfather's happy-go-lucky demeanour receded, leaving behind the evidence of certain strain on his young face. "There's an upcoming trial," he announced. "My presence will be required in the courtroom to testify against him. He's currently in custody; but not in Azkaban."

"That's all we'll be telling you," added the Professor, soft-spoken in his apologeticness. "We shouldn't even have told you about the trial in the first place but Sirius insisted."

"Well, I'm glad Sirius told us. We deserve to know!" Harry insisted, feeling the hot sensation of tears prick at his eyes as he remembered the shameless way Pettigrew had begged for mercy despite all of the horrible things he'd done. "I'm glad he's gonna be trialled."

But I wish I could've killed him, he sighed internally. But he had known Ron had a point; they needed Pettigrew alive so they could free Sirius.

"Harry," called Lupin, his voice suddenly strained. He looked up to find Lupin's gaze trained on his bandages, the spot where his claws had dug in.

Harry watched, horrified, as Lupin bowed his head as if in deference. "I'm so sorry," he breathed, his eyes screwed shut. "I'm ashamed of myself. I owe you an explanation."

"That's fine but please, lift your head!" Harry almost yelled in his panic. Catching Ron's gaze, he stuck out his tongue at his best friend as the ginger gave him a half-sympathetic, half-amused shrug.

Ron had thrown him to the wolves. Or one particular wolf in particular, if Harry wanted to be precise.

Lupin sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose in an exhausted manner. "Where do I even begin? Well, I suppose you guys now know I am a werewolf, right?"

Both Ron and Harry nodded, their attention fully focused on the professor.

"I reckon I should start with how it all began, huh?" Lupin smiled ruefully. "When I was a child, I was attacked and bitten by a werewolf. Ever since, I've transformed into a monster every night."

Lupin sighed, continuing. "I never thought I would be able to be 'normal' again. Dumbledore let me achieve that fantasy for a while; he accepted me into Hogwarts and that's where I met them. James, Sirius… and Pettigrew. They were my first friends and when they found out, they went through the gruelling process of becoming an Animagus. Just so they could keep me company when I was a wolf. As animals, we would roam the Forest and we would spend entire nights having fun."

Lupin trailed off but neither Ron nor Harry needed to hear any more. Harry shot Lupin a gentle smile, "It's okay, Professor. It's not like I can become a werewolf from just a scratch… Can I?"

"No," Sirius shook his head, firm. "We confirmed from Dumbledore, that all-knowing fool. You might have some side-effects but you aren't going to become a werewolf."

Lupin hesitated, his mannerism still apologetic despite Harry's forgiveness. "That night… I could've prevented the attack if I had just had my Wolfsbane. You see, Sirius and I had been on our way to the Shack in an attempt to relive our own years at Hogwarts. I had planned to down the potion once we were in the building; in the very room that you two were in. But you know how that ended up."

"It's really alright!" Harry insisted. "Professor, please -"

"I'm not your Professor any longer," Lupin interrupted. "I've already handed in my resignation letter to Professor Dumbledore."

"WHAT?" Yelled both Harry and Ron, looking to Sirius for confirmation.

"I tried to convince him otherwise," said Sirius with a sheepish shrug. "He wouldn't hear me out."

"I've already harmed one student," explained Lupin, his gaze firm. "I do not want to see that number grow."

"But, Professor, you're the only decent Defence teacher we've ever had!" Ron exclaimed. "One had You-Know-Who in the back of his head and the other was an actual criminal."

Sirius and Lupin exchanged knowing glances. "Don't worry," Sirius chortled. "You won't have to worry about next year."

"Wait, you already know who the next Professor is?" Harry frowned.

"Sirius, I dearly hope you aren't spoiling the surprise for the students," came an amused voice.

Sirius spun around, a twinkling gleam in his grey eyes. "You know I wouldn't dream of it, Albus."

"Well, surely not," responded the Headmaster glibly, his gaze sweeping over the occupants of the room.

"I trust you're healing well, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, his tone genial.

"Yes, Professor," Harry replied. However, with a shot of glum, he suddenly realised what he'd been missing ever since he woke up. "My wand-!"

"I have it here," Sirius said, his tone matching the sudden bleak atmosphere that has overtaken the room.

He gently dumped the remains of it on Harry's bed; the wood had been splintered into two clean halves and he could see the orange of a phoenix feather's strand peering out.

Harry took in the sight before turning to Dumbledore, desperation apparent in his voice. "Professor, I don't suppose my wand could be fixed."

Dumbledore hummed, running a long finger along the edge of one of the halves. "I'm afraid not, my dear boy," he finally said, the words sending a sharp jolt of pain through Harry. This wand had been one of the first things that he'd ever received, after all.

The temptation to glare at Ron was strong but if Harry knew his best friend as well as he thought he did, then Ron would've already been beating himself up over it. There was no point in worsening his guilt.

"Harry," Dumbledore called, interrupting his self-pitying ruminations. "It is not only the snakes who are poisonous. In fact, some are rather pleasant. But in any case, watch your step."

The two teenagers and two adults watched in baffled silence as the Headmaster nodded in self-satisfaction and abruptly turned around and walked away. The interaction had been as incomprehensible as it had been brief.

It was Sirius who broke the silence: "I don't quite remember him being that senile."

Lupin sighed, whacking the back of Sirius' head and earning a muffled whine of complaint. "We might have to take that as our cue to return," he explained. "I'm glad to have seen you healing, Harry. Mr Weasley, may we meet again."

Lupin followed Dumbledore out but Sirius didn't follow.

"I have your Map and Cloak with me, Harry," said Sirius, handing the parchment to his godson. "But, do you mind if I keep the Cloak for a while? It'll be helpful in remaining incognito while I go into hiding. The case might be being reopened but that doesn't save me from reporters."

Sirius barked a half-hearted laugh, his hand running smoothly across the silky fabric.

"Of course, Sirius!" Harry was quick to agree.

Sirius beamed, leaning down to smack a kiss against Harry's forehead and he ruffled Ron's hair. Winking at the both of them, he shrugged the Cloak over his shoulders, disappearing from view. Harry had never quite realised how disconcerting that was.

He had been just in time. Second later, the doors to Hospital Wing swung open, revealing an enraged Hermione, followed by Ginny and a strange, ditzy blonde girl.

"You're popular today," mused Ron, sending Harry a teasing grin.

"Shut it, Ron."


Harry felt exhausted as he stretched his legs on the hospital bed. It had been a long day, interacting with what felt like half of Hogwarts. Hermione had practically jumped him, Ginny was happy he was awake and had brought a small blonde girl, who she introduced as Luna Lovegood. The new girl had mentioned something about 'Bargles'...? Harry wasn't very sure, but was intrigued nonetheless.

Harry and Ron had collectively decided not to tell anyone about Sirius, Pettigrew and Lupin to anyone, not even Hermione. They had simply told everyone that it was a Dementor accident. Hermione didn't seem very pleased with the answer though.

"Who are you trying to fool? As if Dementors can make a gash that big!" she had insisted. Hermione had only left after Ron dragged her out, stating that he didn't want them to incur Madam Pomfrey's wrath.

After the excitement of the day subsided, Harry's thoughts began to wander towards his broken wand. He had always wondered what would happen if a wand broke. He, like many others, had assumed a wizard could only have one wand. But surely that couldn't be true, right? Wands were basically slender and delicate twigs of wood. If not broken maliciously during duels, surely they would break in accidents, right?

Wait, I'm stupid, thought Harry, as he remembered how Ron had gotten a new wand after breaking it the year before. But then again, the wand that broke hadn't been his own; it had been a hand-me-down from one of his older brothers… Maybe that's why he wasn't so good at magic in previous academic years. But the wand must've belonged to someone for Ron to get it after, right? Probably one of his brothers. So, they must have a new wand then!

Harry smiled, satisfied with the conclusion he had reached. He could indeed get a new wand with no problems! He decided to keep the pieces to his first wand as a memento, instead of discarding them.

"Aww, look at that smile. Thinking about me, sweetheart?" a voice rang out beside his bed.

Startled, Harry frantically reached for his glasses but a hand grabbed his arm.

"You don't need them, darling. Relax." said the girl.

"That was unsettling. Try knocking, next time." snarked Harry as he finally recognised the vague shape of Daphne settling down beside him.

"That was unsettling? How about we discuss the fact that you've been in a coma for the past 3 days? Or the fact that you have a massive gash on your arm? Or the fact that you went to hunt Peter Pettigrew all by yourself?" snorted Daphne, as her scowl deepened.

"Woah, okay, slow down. Who told you about the Peter Pettigrew bit?" asked Harry, clearly surprised. Nobody knew we were hunting for the rat!

"Weasley did, after I threatened to hex his bits off."

Yep, that explains it.

"Well, Daphne, I can explai-"

"Yeah, you better explain! I told you multiple times to not put yourself in danger! Harry, do not put yourself in danger. Harry, do not get yourself killed. Harry, do not get hurt. WHY DO YOU REFUSE TO LISTEN?" she screamed the last line, startling Harry.

"Shhh, don't be loud, people might hear us!" said Harry, trying to defuse the situation.

"I've already put a muffling ward over us. And don't try to change the subject! Why won't you LISTEN to me? Why do you always have to keep going into situations that put you in harm's way?" she spat.

"I-I'm sorry, but this was important and-" he was interrupted again by a pillow thrown in his face.

"Putting yourself in jeopardy is important, Harry? How can you be so selfish? Have you ever taken a moment to consider how your actions might affect the people around you? Huh? HAVE YOU?!" Daphne yelled at Harry again. It was an incredibly scary moment and Harry did not enjoy it. Note to self: Angry Daphne is Scary Daphne.

"Daph, I- It- I wasn't-" he tried to stutter an answer out, but couldn't.

The glisten of tears shimmered in Daphne's eyes, signifying her sheer frustration with Harry. He felt miserable at having made her so mad. She ducked her head under a pillow as soon as the first teardrop escaped her eyes.

Harry felt crestfallen at having to witness her crying; it was the last thing in the world he wanted to do.
"No! Stay away!" said Daphne, as he tried to approach her.

Harry could be a good human being and respect her choices. Or he could be a good friend and provide her with comfort, even after her denial.

He chose to be the latter.

"I told you to get away…" she whispered, as she weakly tried to fight off Harry's hands.

"No. I'll stay here with you, for however long you need me." said Harry, as he engulfed the blonde softly in his arms.

Daphne hugged Harry back and began to cry softly in his chest. She was mumbling something incoherently, which Harry barely managed to pick up.

"Who do I have but you and Tori?"

That's all he managed to pick up, and that's all he needed to know. Harry hugged her tighter and planted a kiss on her forehead. That seemed to calm her down, as she was no longer sniffling after a few minutes.

"I'm- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry. Or yell at you. Please-"

"Please don't apologise, I should've told you what I was planning. I'm sorry, Daphne," said Harry, as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it in reassurance.

Daphne gave him a watery smile before she proceeded to wipe her tear-stricken face with a handkerchief.

"Now, tell me, what's the deal with Pettigrew and Sirius Black?"

"Well, you remember the huge black dog I kept in the Forbidden Forest? Turns out, he is my Godfather…"


Author's Note-

harry: you MORON! you snapped my wand

ron: it was an accident, okay? im sorry!

harry: would hexing you with a spell-o-taped wand be an accident too?!
xoxo
Hey guys, Cel and I were thinking of opening up a discord server for this fic (and any future ones). Thoughts?