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"S-Sirius… R-Remus…" Pettigrew croaked, looking wide eyed at his former friends. The man disgusted Draco to no end. He always had. "My friends… my old friends…"

"You little…" Sirius made a few steps towards Pettigrew, his eyes murderous, his arms outstretched as if to strangle him.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Draco yelled, and Sirius stopped mid-motion, stiffened and fell to his side. "I'm sorry, Sirius. But it is for your own good," Draco mumbled. He understood the rage, the disgust and the hurt, but it never ended well if one let such emotions take over.

Snape snorted, obviously amused.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died," Remus started, seemingly unfazed by the petrified Sirius by his feet. His voice was calm, quiet, even, but Draco knew that under that calm surface, hot rage was burning.

"Remus," gasped Pettigrew. He was sweaty, his face pale and his whole body shaking. "You don't believe him, do you…? He tried to kill me, Remus…"

"So we've heard," said Lupin, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so-"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked and pointed at Black with his middle finger. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too… You've got to help me, Remus…"

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin.

"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly around the room. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" asked Lupin, his brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"

"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

"Are you sure you have been hiding from him?" Draco asked. "And not, perhaps, from," he gulped, "Voldemort's supporters?"

Pettigrew flinched.

"Scared of your old master's name?" Draco taunted, although he had his own difficulties with the name. "You should be. If they find out you are still alive… Won't end good for you, I bet."

"Don't know… what you're talking about…," said Pettigrew shrilly. "You don't believe this – this madness, Remus-"

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Lupin evenly.

"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew.

"Scared because both sides want you dead?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"N-No. If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban – the spy, Sirius Black!"

Draco could feel Sirius struggling against his spell. Seeing no reason to keep him further incapacitated, he released him.

"How dare you," he jumped to his feet. "I, a spy for Voldemort?"

Pettigrew squealed and jumped back from Sirius.

"Ehm," Hermione's tentative voice interrupted, "may I say something?"

"Certainly, Hermione," answered Lupin.

"Well – Scabbers – I mean, this – this man – he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, why did he never try to hurt Harry before?"

"There!" said Pettigrew shrilly. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"

"I tell you why," said Black bitterly. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him…"

"Mr. Black-" Hermione interrupted again, "Sirius- how did you get out of Azkaban?"

Sirius started to explain. How he stayed sane in his dog form and how he learned about Pettigrew being alive and at Hogwarts. Things Draco had heard several times already. "It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it… It wasn't a happy feeling… it was an obsession… but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog… It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused… I was thin, very thin… thin enough to slip through the bars… I swam as a dog back to the mainland… I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since…"

"But what do Malfoy and Neville have to do with any of this?" Harry asked, an eyebrow raised but Draco could see that they were winning him over, too.

"That," said Snape, "is something I would like to know as well."

"They found me," Sirius explained, and a smile crept upon his features. "They found me when I had hit rock bottom. The world believed I was a traitor and killer. I was cold and alone and miserable. That's when they found me. And believed me. They brought me food, talked to me and calmed my irrational, obsessed mind. They became my friends."

"Mr. Malfoy," Snape drawled, realization in his eyes, "has Mr. Goyle ever really visited you over the winter holidays?"

Draco flashed him an apologetic smile.

"Polyjuice?" he asked.

"Was nice having tea with you, Sniv- ouch!" Draco had sent a stinger in Sirius' direction, "Snape. Anyways, they also helped me catch the rat. Our first attempts weren't so successful. But today… With Astoria and Daphne helping... We finally... I... Harry? You have to believe me," he croaked. "I never betrayed your parents. S-Severus... I know you think the worst of me, but you must know that James was like a brother to me. I would have given my life to save theirs."

Harry was nodding, apparently won over by Sirius' heartfelt speech. And slowly, almost imperceptible, Severus nodded in Sirius' direction as well.

"No!" Pettigrew screamed and began to beg everyone in the room to spare him. "Please. Please, don't." He knelt, trembling uncontrollably. When he fell on deaf ears with everyone else, he turned towards Harry. "Harry… Harry…" Pettigrew shuffled towards him, hands outstretched, "You look just like your father… just like him…"

"Don't touch him," hissed Snape.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HIM?" roared Sirius. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," hissed Snape, shaking with anger. "Do you deny it?"

Pettigrew burst into tears.

"What could I have done? The Dark Lord… you have no idea… he has weapons you can't imagine… I was scared. I was never brave like Sirius, 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 had ever existed?" said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" he whined. "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!"

"You should have realized," said Lupin quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

Snape and Lupin, stepped towards the trembling man, wands out, ready to kill him, but Sirius, Neville and Draco all jumped in front of them, screaming, "NO!"

"Out of the way," growled Snape.

"You can't kill him. I need him alive to clear my name," argued Sirius.

Snape huffed but lowered his wand. Lupin stared at Sirius for a while and Draco wondered if he found a rational Sirius as weird as he did. With a flick of his wand, he tied Pettigrew up. He tied him to himself and to Weasley. Snape gave everyone else their wands back.

They all started back towards the castle. None of them were in a very talkative mood but Draco could hear Sirius and Harry discuss how Sirius could take him in as his godfather.

"Leave the Dursleys?" Harry asked. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys!"

Snape snorted. "Have you ever met Petunia? Of course he wants to leave them."

Harry stared at him with an open mouth. "Have you?"

Snape just shrugged his shoulders and let Black, who looked at him in an odd sort of way that Draco couldn't decipher, and Potter, continue discussing living arrangements.

Once they had reached the end of the tunnel, stepped outside and walked for a bit, Snape commented, "It is the full moon tonight…" he turned towards Lupin, "You have taken you last dose of Wolfsbane, right?"

Everyone stopped in their tracks and Lupin went rigid, staring at Snape with wide eyes.

"Run," Black whispered. "Run, now."

But with Lupin tied to Pettigrew and Weasley, they couldn't run. They could not let Pettigrew escape, nor could they let Lupin kill him or Weasley. Draco felt panic rise within him. He felt trapped and helpless.

Harry jumped towards Ron, but Sirius caught him and held him back. "Leave it to me – RUN!"

There was a terrible snarling noise. 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 as he dropped his wand.

Sirius turned into his dog form and charged towards the wolf.

Snape made a step forward and with a quick flick of his wand had freed Ron and Pettigrew from Lupin.

Ron fell to the ground, Pettigrew used the moment to dive for Lupin's dropped wand. Before anyone could react, he had sent stunners at Ron and Daphne, who were now lying motionless on the ground.

"Expelliarmus!" roared Snape. The spell hit Pettigrew square in the chest, which sent him stumbling backwards. Snape caught the wand midair.

Draco noticed Pettigrew turning into his rat form. "No!" He ran towards him and tackled him, bringing them both to the ground. He just wanted to keep the man in place, but Pettigrew threw his right knee into Draco's gut, which led Draco to punch him in the face. Soon they were fighting, like muggles, on the ground, the fighting werewolf and dog right next to them momentarily forgotten.

Draco barely noticed how Snape stepped between the animals and the fighting men, trying to shield the children from the werewolf.

Pettigrew drew his arm back to punch Draco in the face, but Harry had joined their fight, holding on to Pettigrew's arm.

Draco vaguely noted how the werewolf seemed to overpower Sirius, but Sirius was soon supported by Granger, the Greengrass sisters and Neville, who all sent hexes towards the werewolf. Snape joined the fight as well.

The horrible scene around him momentarily distracted Draco, and Pettigrew used this distraction to snatch Draco's wand, sending him and Potter flying in the air. Pettigrew tried to run but got hit by a stinger sent from Neville, who now bravely stood in his way.

Pettigrew was being surrounded and obviously felt trapped. As a last, desperate attempt to distract them and flee he yelled "Sectumsempra."

Draco froze. He knew that spell. Cold dread washed over him. The spell went right past him. Everything went dead quiet. It had hit someone, thought Draco helplessly.

Draco turned around in time to see Astoria, covered in blood, fall to the ground.

TBC

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