Where Harry comes face to face with an unexpected person.

HARRY XIX

Harry let out a deep breath once they were far from the school's portal. Dementors were guarding it as always, and it was a great relief to know that they were finally far from them. The carriage bumped forward, conducting him, along with Hermione, Ron, Fred, George and Neville to the train that would bring them back home for the Christmas holidays. Knowing that they were distancing the Dementors brought him even more relief knowing that this time, they wouldn't have to suffer their presence on the Hogwarts Express. Dumbledore told them during the breakfast that they would remain out of the train. Harry wasn't sure how Dumbledore managed to coerce the Ministry of Magic into stopping the Dementors from entering the train, but he wouldn't complain about it.

"Any plan for Christmas, Neville?" Ron asked their friend.

"It will be with my grandmother, like always. I hope she's not going to scold me because of my notes in Potions," Neville replied.

"Just tell her that your teacher is an idiot. She'll understand," Fred said. From the look on Neville's face, Harry doubted it would suffice. "George and I might have a surprise for everybody for Christmas Eve."

"What kind of surprise?" Hermione asked, sounding doubtful about the nature of this surprise.

"If we were to tell you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore."

"Just make sure that Mom doesn't want to rip off your head afterwards," Ron warned them.

"It wouldn't be a cool surprise, otherwise."

They all laughed to it. The carriage came to a stop, and they disembarked with their trunks. Fred and George insisted to help Harry carry his own, despite having their own respective trunks weighing a ton each. Harry wondered why they insisted to help him while they left their younger brother fare on his own. It was true that since yesterday evening, Fred and George had been kind of annoying. Harry had the impression they were following him everywhere, leaving the common room at the same time as Harry did, and same thing for when they left the Great Hall after breakfast. Not that he hated the twins, but this behavior was not normal for them.

Harry had the impression that the station was more packed than usual. Though aside from the professors who had accompanied them, he didn't see anyone who wasn't at his place here, only students and the train's staff.

Once inside the train, they had to separate themselves from Neville. Fred and George had found Ginny, and they invited Harry, Ron and Hermione into the compartment they had already found. Neville went to find Seamus and Dean, while Harry shared a compartment with the Weasleys and Hermione. Only Percy wasn't there.

"He's probably showing off to his girlfriend," George commented with a large smile.

"You said you wouldn't tease him," Ginny said.

"We cannot tease him if he's not here," Fred pointed out.

The train started to advance a few minutes later. Looking outside at the trees that swung under the heavy wind, Harry was glad that they were inside the warm compartment. Soon, the discussions turned towards Christmas. Hermione talked about the skiing her parents had organized for them, and Ron, Fred and George, and probably Ginny too, although she remained silent, found very strange that Muggles would go down mountains on wooden planks attached to their feet. Then there was also the unavoidable matter of the Quidditch World Cup. The qualifications were underway. Harry still couldn't believe that Quidditch matches were held even during winter.

"It doesn't look good for England," Fred said.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because they were defeated. Yesterday. By Canada! Canada, for heavens' sake!"

"What's wrong with Canada? I went to visit it with my parents when I was nine. It's a very fine place," Hermione said.

"Maybe, but their team is probably the worst to participate to the qualifications. The team is missing three of their best players, including their Seeker, who renounced to participate to the Cup."

"What happened? They are all injured?" Harry asked.

He wondered what kind of injuries could force players out of the pitch. He might have been injured several times himself, but he often managed to finish the game all the same, and Madam Pomfrey always got him back on his feet in no time. He couldn't imagine professional Quidditch players having healers of lesser stock than Hogwarts.

"Not at all," Ron answered. "They are all in perfect health. But they said they refuse to play for their team."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. They said something about wanting their own team."

"Canada is quite a strange place, in fact," Fred explained. "Whenever Dad must deal with people from their Ministry, he says it quickly turns into a nightmare. It's as if two employees sitting across each other have no idea whatsoever about what each other is doing. But anyway, it doesn't change the fact that we lost. Scotland and Wales are not doing any better so far. Only Ireland managed to defeat Luxembourg and Japan. They're among the favorites, along with Bulgaria, Chile and South Africa."

"What about France?" Hermione asked. She spent a good part of her summer holidays there.

Fred and George laughed, and it was obvious Ron refrained himself. "Not a chance. I mean, the team is not so bad. They're quite good, truth be told. But Bulgaria flattened them in their first game. They won their second one, but only by a mere twenty points, against Greece. And Greeks are far from the best players in the world. As for me, they can hope to qualify for the playoffs, but that's all. They won't go far."

They went back and forth about Quidditch, Christmas, and other light topics. Hermione discussed a little with Harry about Ancient Runes. They almost talked about Hagrid, but Hermione stopped Harry before he could say too much. They couldn't let Fred and George, and not even Ginny, know that they went to see their friend last night.

A little before one o'clock, the food trolley came, and everyone rushed on it. They still had a few hours before they would arrive at King's Cross. Even if the Hogwarts Express left Hogsmeade at nine o'clock, two hours sooner than when it left King's Cross at the beginning of the term, Harry guessed it was probably slowed down by the snow. For the last two years before they reached London, it was usually dark.

Around two o'clock, Harry and Hermione were reading while Ron, Ginny, Fred and George discussed what they should expect for their presents this year. It was at this moment that someone opened the door of their compartment. Someone who Harry was quite familiar with.

"Hi Hannah," he said to the girl with long blond hair.

"Hi Harry," she replied, but she turned her eyes to someone else almost instantly. "Hermione, Ernie asked me to find you. He needs your help."

"Ernie? Help for what?" Hermione asked, putting her book on her knees.

"His Arithmancy homework. He wants to finish it before we reach London."

By Hannah's tone, Harry could clearly hear that she found it ridiculous. He had to admit that he wouldn't have liked to spend his time on the train completing his homework. Fred, George, Ron, and even Ginny had expression showing they shared his view. Despite this, Hermione closed her book.

"No problem. Where is he?" she asked.

"Wait, Hermione. You're not going to spend the trip doing your homework?" Ron said, unbelieving.

"I will be helping someone, Ronald. I already completed this homework, anyway." Ron seemed even more surprised. Harry sometimes wondered how Hermione found time to do all her work. "Hannah, you lead the way?"

Harry watched a bewildered Hannah, who seemed confused as well that Hermione already did her homework, lead his best friend outside.

"Well, this is only the five of us now," Fred declared, picking one of the remaining Chocolate Frogs in their pile. Ginny jumped on the last Cauldron Cake.

"I don't understand girls, sometimes," Ron said.

Ginny made a very distinct noise with her throat, obviously to remind him that she was there. "I think the girls know why you don't understand them."

Harry muffled a laugh behind his hand. Although he understood everyone's surprise, they had to concede that it was in Hermione's character to do her homework first, then to rest. Harry's mother had put this into his mind as well while he was a kid, though he wasn't as hardworking as Hermione. Still, he completed his homework that Hagrid and Flitwick gave to them for the holidays before they left. He would have a little less to do during the holidays this way.

At this very moment, Harry realized he needed to leave the compartment as well.

"Where are you going, Harry?" Fred asked the instant he stood up.

"Toilets."

Harry opened the door Hermione just shut behind her. He only made a few steps before he heard Ron behind.

"That's it. Leave us alone," his friend said on an obviously sarcastic tone.

"What? You don't want to spend time alone with your little sister, Ronald?" George said.

"You can't handle her if your big brothers are not there?" Fred added.

"As if you could handle me together," Ginny noted.

The last observation from Ron's sister brought a smile to Harry's face. However, his smile disappeared as soon as he turned to look behind. The twins stopped so abruptly that Fred almost bumped into his brother, something that seldom happened, considering how synchronized the twins were.

"Are you following me?" he asked.

The twins looked at each other, then at him. "No!" they answered together.

"We're going to see Lee," Fred pointed.

"Okay, then go."

Harry stood aside as he said the words. Fred and George both walked past him, and Harry followed them until they reached the toilet cabinet. There, the twins continued their road while Harry remained behind.

There was one cabinet for toilets for two wagons on the Hogwarts Express. Harry had trouble finding them the first time he actually needed to use the toilets on the train. It was because the doors were very well concealed, like some in Hogwarts. You almost had to actually know where the toilets were to be able to distinguish the doors from normal walls.

Harry placed his hand on the handle, glad to be rid of the twins. He cast a glance in their direction, but they were still heading in the other direction. He had wondered if they were following him since yesterday, but he was probably wrong. Fred and George were discussing between them as they disappeared along the corridor of the wagon. Harry turned the doorknob. It blocked. He tried to turn it again, to no avail. So he knocked against the door.

"Is there someone there?" he said loud enough.

"Yes," the muffled voice of a girl came from the other side. "I'm sorry. I'll be done soon."

Harry waited. Through the windows of the wagon, the landscape scrolled. The green scenery of their trip when they arrived at Hogwarts had been covered by a white sheet, and blurred by a curtain of falling snowflakes, that seemed to fall faster due to the speed of the train.

This vision, along with the purring of the train advancing, and the rumor of the conversations taking place in the nearby compartments, created a sort of magical atmosphere, announcing Christmas. Harry smiled at the thought of spending the holidays with his mother. Sirius would be there as well, and Remus too, though he would arrive later. He had work to do before Christmas apparently, because he fell ill this term. Harry wondered what he got.

This was the kind of trip on the Hogwarts Express that Harry loved. Lucky for him, those during the Christmas holidays always proved eventless and relaxing. No Dobby detaching wagons, and no Dementors. Thinking of the house-elf, Harry thought about the fact he didn't visit him yet. He knew that Dobby was working in the kitchens with other house-elves, but other than that, he didn't have any knowledge of how the free elf fared since they saw each other last year. Perhaps he didn't want the elf to try saving his life again. He was even surprised that Dobby didn't intervene or showed himself so far this year, considering everyone was afraid that Harry might be targeted by Peter Pettigrew.

Harry wondered where he was. It had been four months since he escaped Azkaban, and the man responsible for his father's death had not shown any sign of life ever since. Harry really hoped that he drowned while trying to reach the shores. Azkaban was unplottable. It had to be very far from the coasts. To Harry, this was only justice. Pettigrew destroyed so many lives. He might not have cast the curses or brandished the knives that killed so many people, but he could as well have done it. Harry was there at his trial. He heard about all the people, not only his father, who he got killed, of so many men, women and children who were slaughtered because of him. Harry could have been among them, and so his mother could have. There were people at Hogwarts who had lost family. If Pettigrew was out there, somewhere, Harry hoped that the traitor buried himself under a pile of snow in the hope that it would keep him hidden, and that he suffocated under it. Harry was still thinking about it when someone tapped on his shoulder.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he jumped.

"I'm sorry." He turned to look at the person who just spoke. "I didn't want to scare…"

The girl stopped talking as an expression of utter surprise came upon her face. In the meantime, Harry felt his stomach making a lurch which had probably nothing to do with the wobbly movement of the train. The girl in front of him had to be a head shorter than he was, with long black and shiny hair, and eyes just as dark. Harry also noticed freckles on her nose. After a moment, she smiled, which caused another reaction to Harry's stomach.

"Harry? Oh, we haven't met before. Well, you probably saw me from afar like I did. I'm Cho."

Harry came to his senses. Of course, it was Cho. Cho Chang, the Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, the only one he never played against, because he was either injured or their games cancelled. He saw her before, but she was right when saying that he only saw her from afar when playing Quidditch. Seeing her that close was… quite different.

"Yes, of course. I recognize you." He recognized her? Why he did he feel he sounded stupid saying such a thing? "Hmm…"

"You wanted to use the washroom?"

He was almost taken aback by her question. He had completely forgotten why he was here, standing in the hallway. "Uh, yes," he could only reply.

"Okay. Well, I'll leave you to it. My friends must be waiting for me. Merry Christmas, Harry."

And she left. For a very long time, Harry remained there, unmoving, watching her walk away, her long dark hair falling on her back and shoulders. The train hit a bump, and this seemed to bring Harry back to reality. He rushed inside the washroom, whose door Cho left open, and closed it quickly behind him.

He drew a long breath, then released it loudly once inside. He didn't know why he felt out of breath. He didn't run. He only stood motionless in the corridor of the train. And he didn't say enough words to Cho to explain his lack of air. Shaking his head, Harry sat down on the toilet. Once he was done, he put back his pants into place, then pulled the chain.

"OUCH!"

The moment he did it, he felt a searing pain at his right ankle. He looked down, and instantly felt something else piercing it, and swore loudly while balancing his foot against the wall of the cabin. That made the sensation that something was digging its teeth deep into his skin even worse. He hit his foot against the wall again, and again.

"Harry, are you alright?" a duo of voices came from the outside.

Finally, Harry looked down at the source of the pain, to see a mass of grey fur stuck at his ankle. Disgusted, he gave another kick in the wall, and the fur fell away. At the same moment, the door of the cabin burst open while Harry let himself fall on the toilet's seat.

"Harry!" the Weasley twins said in chorus as they stood in the doorframe. Then a squeak followed.

The two brothers stood away as if something walked between both of them. Looking at the space between Ron's brothers, Harry saw the mass of grey fur running away, its tail between its legs. He recognized it at the same time as the twins.

"That's him!" the three of them said in chorus.

Flash of lights travelled the corridor as the twins shot spells with their wands. Harry would have joined them if he hadn't left his wand behind. He would recognize this rat anywhere. Ron had slept with it in his bed for two years. Peter Pettigrew was running along the Hogwarts Express, Fred and George on its tail.

Harry stood up to run after the brothers and the rat, but fell on his knees, the pain of the rat's bite bringing him down on the ground. He stood up again quite quickly though and headed towards the two human shapes and the tiny animal. This time, the pain in his ankle angered him to the point that he only thought about grabbing that little worm with a mouse's face and twist it until its eyes left their orbits. Then he would throw his lifeless body, still under a rat's shape, under the wheels of the train and let it crush his father's murderer.

Fred and George, though, had started their run with quite a lead on Harry, and being taller than he was, they outpaced him quite easily. On his way, many people opened their doors and looked outside to see what was going on. Some even stood in the corridor but stuck to the windows or the doors of their compartments when Harry ran into them.

When Harry caught Fred and George, they had stopped running.

"Where is he?" Harry asked, eager to find the man who killed his father.

"We don't know," Fred answered.

"We were chasing him, but we lost him, and he just disappeared," George added.

"He must be further then," Harry said, making to get past the twins, but they stopped him. "Let me go," he told them angrily.

"We're at the tail of the train, Harry. There's nothing further."

Harry looked at the porthole to see the landscape behind the train.

"We lost him?" Harry asked, desperate.

"Seems so," Fred said.

"He could still be on the train though, hiding somewhere," George pointed.

The twins looked at each other, then nodded. Before Harry could think of anything, they grabbed him by the arms and dragged him with them.

"Hey, guys, what are you doing?" he asked them.

"Bringing you back to our compartment," George replied.

"For your own safety," Fred added.

"Okay. Just release my arms. I can walk on my own."

They released him, and Harry followed them. On their way, many people looked at them with questioning, inquisitive, sometimes resentful eyes, probably a result of some people they threw aside in their run. Harry, however, didn't give them a single moment of attention. He kept looking everywhere, searching for any sign of Pettigrew. Neither Neville asking what happened, Colin Creevey taking a photo of him, or even Cho, who he met only a few minutes ago, could divert his attention. Now that Harry knew Pettigrew was nearby, he was eager to deal with that man if he showed up, though also worried now that the adrenaline of the chase cooled down.

They arrived in front of the compartment they left earlier to find Ron, Ginny and even Hermione, who must have returned from helping Ernie, waiting for them, quite agitated.

"Where have you been?" Ginny asked, obviously worried.

"You just ran in front of us like demons. What the hell was it?" Ron wondered.

"What did you have in mind, casting spells in the corridor?" Hermione shrieked. "You could have hurt somebody!"

"Too bad they failed," Harry said while letting himself drop against the seat next to Ginny heavily.

"On that, we agree with the imp with glasses," George declared.

"Because then, your rat would be severely injured Ron," Fred completed.

"My rat? What are you talking about?" Ron asked, bewildered.

"Peter Pettigrew is on the train."

Harry's word hung up heavily in the air.

"What?" Hermione said immediately.

"He attacked me in the washroom," Harry explained. He picked up the hem of his robes to show the bite mark on his ankle. "His teeth left a little souvenir."

Ginny left a small shriek.

"Where is he now?" Hermione asked.

"No idea. He disappeared," Harry replied.

"I'm heading to see the driver," Fred said. "George, you stay there with them."

On that, the first twin ran into the corridor while the second one stayed with them and close the door.

"Better if we stay together for the time being," George declared.

"Wait, you're sure? Pettigrew is here, on the train?" Ron asked, still bewildered.

"Ron, it was him. It was your rat. It was Scabbers. He bit me," Harry explained.

"While you had your pants down," George noticed with a smile, but Harry didn't care.

"He was there, Ron. It was him."

"How could he get on the train?" Hermione asked, obviously worried.

"No idea. But given he is a rat, I guess he can go in many places," George pointed out.

"But he could be anywhere then," Ginny said.

"He could be under our seats right now." Ron looked under these as soon as he said it.

Harry wasn't paranoid, but he couldn't stop himself from casting a glance towards the space under the seat where Ron and Hermione were currently sitting, though he didn't lean like Ron did. Hermione also seemed like she was looking under his seat.

"Okay, so, where could he be right now?" Harry asked, looking at everyone, searching for an answer.

"Well, he could be anywhere," George said.

"It's true," Hermione said. "I mean, given he can turn into a rat, not to mention he could do other things, such as make himself invisible… We should stay here. Fred should reach the driver soon?" George nodded at her question. "Then it's better if we stay here."

"Wait, Pettigrew is somewhere. We should try to find him before he finds us," Harry said.

"But you're mad! He's going to kill you!" Ron shouted.

"We just crossed paths, and all he did was bite me," Harry said, pointing to the bite mark on his ankle. "He ran away as soon as Fred and George burst in. That's what he does. That's what he always does. He runs away like the coward he is."

"But he also killed twelve people just so he could escape Sirius, Harry," Hermione said. "We can't go after him."

"So what's your suggestion? We stay here, and we wait for him to find us?" Harry didn't try to mask the anger in his voice.

Before Hermione could answer, Neville, Seamus and Dean showed up at their door and opened it.

"Hey, what happened, guys?" Dean asked.

"Harry was just attacked by Peter Pettigrew," Ron blurted out before anyone else could speak.

For a second, there was a complete silence, then the three boys in the doorway rained questions in complete chaos over them.

"Pettigrew is on the train?"

"Where is he?"

"Did he hurt you, Harry?"

"Hey, hey. Slow down, guys," George interrupted them. "Okay, Harry is fine."

"But… Pettigrew is on the train?" Neville asked loudly.

"PETTIGREW'S ON THE TRAIN?!"

Harry didn't know to who belonged the voice that came from the corridor, but many cries followed, along with multiple sounds of feet tapping against the floor. Then the brakes of the train activated, and it began to slow down. It was then that a loud voice echoed through the corridors, magically enhanced, like when McGonagall made urgent announcements last year when the Chamber of Secrets was opened. Only this time, this wasn't the voice of Professor McGonagall. It was Remus' voice.

"Attention, please. All students are to remain in the compartment they actually occupy. Those who are outside must enter the closest compartment they see. Remain inside your compartments until further notice, keep your door closed and don't let anyone get in."

This added to the chaos as Remus' voice repeated the message two more times. Hermione rushed Dean, Seamus and Neville inside. Being eight people in total inside, they were quite cramped, and Dean had to volunteer to stay on foot while Neville and Seamus struggled to find a place.

A moment later, when the train was immobilized, Remus showed up and opened to the door of their compartment. Fred was with him.

"Is everyone alright?" their teacher asked them right away.

They all replied by the affirmative, then Remus turned to Harry.

"Harry, are you fine? Did he hurt you?"

"No, Remus. He only bit me at the ankle. What are you…" but Remus didn't let him finish his question.

"Show me."

Harry showed him the bite mark. He realized it was quite deep, and some blood had come out of it. Remus knelt to look at it more closely.

"It doesn't seem too grave." He pointed his wand, and Harry immediately felt the bothering pain disappearing as the mark faded away. "He did nothing else? You aren't injured in any other way?"

"No, Remus. He only… He grabbed me with his teeth while I was leaving the washroom. I hit him against the wall, then he ran away when Fred and George showed up."

"Did he say anything?"

"No, he remained under his rat form."

Remus frowned at this. "Are you sure this was Peter?"

"It was him, Professor," the twins replied immediately.

"We saw Percy and Ron carrying him around for twelve years. We could recognize him anywhere and anytime," Fred said.

"It was him. It was Scabbers," Harry assured.

"Okay," Remus said. He turned towards Fred and George. "And you last saw him at the tail of the train?"

"Well…" George began.

"We lost track of him after a certain time. We kept running through the corridor to find him, but when we reached the tail, he was nowhere to be found," Fred completed.

"When did you lose sight of him?" Remus asked.

"We don't know. Maybe three or four wagons before the end. Every part on this train looks alike."

Remus sighed. At the same moment, an authoritarian, booming, hard and feminine voice resonated through the train.

"Attention, everyone. All students must remain inside their compartments until employees of the Ministry of Magic come to escort you outside. Don't bring anything that isn't necessary with you. You will wait outside the train until the search is completed. More information will be provided soon."

Remus sighed again, but in relief this time. "Ah, the Ministry and Hogwarts's staff are there. You're going to follow me. Bring your wands with you."

They all followed Remus' orders, and they followed him outside their compartment, into the corridor, and to outside the train, where they were welcomed by a quiet snow and cold temperature. Harry saw immediately that dozens of people were surrounding the train, all wearing heavy wizard capes. Remus led them in their direction, their shoes digging into the heavy snow around the track. As they distanced the train, they heard a powerful voice cut through the snow, ordering people inside. The men and women of the Ministry of Magic and Hogearts headed towards the train. Harry recognized Professor Sinistra among them. Then Remus shouted.

"Kingsley!"

A tall and muscled black wizard turned his head, and headed towards Remus, Harry and the other students with him.

"Remus?" he asked. Remus nodded to confirm. "Any idea where he might be?"

"He was last seen a few wagons before the tail of the train. Fred and George are probably the last ones who saw him," Remus said, turning his head to look at the twins. Kingsley's eyes followed Remus', until it stopped on Harry, more specifically on Harry's forehead.

"Hi, Harry. My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt. I'm the Auror responsible for the research of Peter Pettigrew. You saw him on the train?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed. He knew the name of this Auror. He was the Auror who supervised Tonks, his mother's friend.

"We saw him too," the twins said.

Kingsley looked at them. "You should stop getting involved with Pettigrew."

"It's not our fault," Ron said.

"Harry, please follow me. I need to talk with you," Shacklebolt then said.

Harry followed the Auror under the watchful eyes of Remus and the others.

"Is Tonks here?" Harry asked.

"She's helping to search the train. We need every wand who's available." The tall man stopped and turned to look at Harry. "Now, I need you to tell me everything you saw, everything that happened, to the smallest detail you can remember. Tell me what happened."

Harry told him how Pettigrew grabbed his ankle with his rat's teeth in the washroom, and the events that followed, until Fred and George lost sight of him.

"Are you sure it was Peter Pettigrew?" Kingsley asked once he was finished.

"Yes, that was him. You can ask Fred and George. They saw him too."

"I'll ask them, be sure. But I need to know whether you are certain it was him."

"Yes," Harry said, a point of impatience in his voice. "Look, my friend and I are sharing the same dormitory, and he's been sleeping with that rat for two years. I know what he looks like."

"Okay. And he didn't harm you?"

"Aside from biting my foot, no. Remus took care of it. It's healed."

The wizard nodded, writing down something on a notebook he was holding. "Did he tell you anything?"

"No, he remained a rat the whole time."

"He never took his human form?"

"Never."

"Do you have any idea where he might have gone?"

"No."

Kingsley looked down and closed his notebook after writing a few words. "Thank you. I guess we can be happy that all you had was a rat bite. I'll bring you back to your teacher. Stay close to him while we search the train. We contacted Lily. Your mother will be here soon."

Harry followed back Kingsley to the small group consisting of the Weasleys, Ron, Neville, Dean, Seamus and Hermione, supervised by Remus. Percy had joined them and was reminding them to follow the instructions given by the people of the Ministry.

"They're going to find him," the Head Boy concluded.

"You think? They needed twelve years to find him the first time, and he needed, what, a week to escape?" Ron

"Things are different today. He won't escape a second time."

"Fred," Kingsley said. "I need to talk with you."

The first twin followed the Auror.

"Just stay away from the train," Remus said. The wagons were now surrounded by students and people of the Ministry, the second ones keeping the first away from the train. "I don't believe you're in danger with all these people around, but I would rather not take any risk."

"You don't believe we're in danger?" Ron asked, sounding quite unbelieving. "We had a criminal on the train."

"Yes, but he only attacked Harry, and only when he was alone. The moment someone else showed up, he ran away. Good work by the way, George. Harry, you owe them some thanks."

"Yes, you're right, Remus. Thank you, George," Harry said to the only twin who was present. George smiled at him.

"Well, I guess you can say that's what a big brother would do," he replied with a smirk.

"You would never defend me against Pettigrew," Ron pointed out, though his tone suggested he was joking more than anything.

"Ron, you insult the family spirit of the Weasley brotherhood."

"What about the sisterhood in all that?" Ginny shot.

"She's even more important than the brotherhood," Fred replied as he was coming back with Kingsley. He had heard what they said. Kingsley then left with George.

While his friends were discussing, Harry looked at the train. Through the windows, he saw many people pacing through the wagons and compartments. He wondered if they would find Pettigrew. The man responsible for his father's death had been there, literally attached to his feet, only a few minutes ago. They had to find him. He couldn't have gone far.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione's voice brought him back on earth.

"Yes, I'm fine, Hermione," he answered.

"We're lucky he didn't get a chance to kill you."

"Yes." Harry had to admit it, he was lucky that a man who murdered twelve people with a single spell didn't get the chance to kill him, despite all the time he had. After all…

Harry remembered that, after he met Cho, he remained still for quite some time. That might have been the moment when Pettigrew made his way into the washroom, right before Harry entered it as well. Or maybe he had been inside all along, even when Cho was in. He found himself feeling quite uncomfortable, but also inexplicably raging at the thought of his father's assassin in the toilets while Cho was…

He chased that thought of his mind. Something wasn't working. Harry remained still in front of those toilets for some time, and he was in the toilets for quite some time afterwards too. Pettigrew had more than enough time to kill him. Why didn't he…?

"Harry! Harry!"

It was his mother's voice who brought him out of his thoughts this time, as he saw her heading in his direction with decisive steps, an expression between relief and fear on her face.

As you can see, this is not because Sirius is no longer someone who escaped Azkaban that this year will be eventless.

Please review.

Next chapter: Lily