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It took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink in.
"You're both mental."
"Peter Pettigrew's dead! - said Harry, pointing at Sirius. - He killed him twelve years ago!"
"I meant to. - he growled - but little Peter got the better of me... not this time, though!"
Black lunged at Scabbers.
"Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled, placing himself in between Sirius and the rat.
"WAIT! You can't do it just like that… they need to understand… we've got to explain…"
"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, trying to throw Lupin off.
"Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand, and Harry… you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!"
Black stopped struggling, his hollowed eyes still fixed on the rat.
"All right, then. Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for."
"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die. - he said. - A whole street full of them..."
"Muggle witnesses! Yaxley and Rockwood took their statements before Obliviating everyone! They were Death Eaters, both of them!" shouted Black
"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter. - said Lupin, nodding. - I believed it myself… until I saw the map tonight. Peter's alive. Ron's holding him."
"Hurry up, Remus." snarled Black.
"I… Why should I believe you!?" shouted Harry.
"Then it's time we offer you some proof. - said Lupin. - Ron…give me Peter, please. Now."
Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest.
"Say Pettigrew could turn into a rat… how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"
"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question. How did you find out where he was?"
Black put one of his hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper.
MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE
Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the
Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon
Draw: a full paid month-long vacation to a destination of choice.
A delighted Mr. Weasley told the Daily Prophet, "We will be spending the
gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our eldest son, Bill, works as
a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank."
The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the
start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley
children currently attend.
On the front page there was a photograph of Ron and his family and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.
"How did you get this?" asked Lupin.
"Fudge. When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder... I knew him at once... how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts…"
"My God. - said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. - His front paw..."
"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.
"He's got a toe missing," said Black.
"Of course… So simple... he cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transformed. - said Black. - When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street… and sped down into the sewer."
"And why did he fake his death?! Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!" shouted Harry
"No. - said Lupin. - Harry, don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down… but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father… Sirius tracked Peter down…"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE! - Harry yelled. - HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"
He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly.
"Harry... I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me… I'm to blame, I know it… The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he was gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies... I realized what Peter must've done... what I'd done…"
His voice broke. He turned away.
"Enough of this. - said Lupin. -There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."
Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak, twisting and turning in a desperate attempt to run away. A flash of blue-white light erupted from the wand. For a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly… A head was shooting upward, limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt with a large bald patch on top. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow.
"Well, hello, Peter." said Lupin. "Long time, no see.
"S… Sirius... R… Remus… - Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. His eyes darted toward the door. - My friends... my old friends..."
Black's arm rose, slamming his fist on Peter's face.
Lupin smiled, leaning forward against Pettigrew's bleeding face. "We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed…"
"Remus… you don't believe him, do you...? He tried to kill me, Remus..."
"So we've heard."
"He's come to try and kill me again! 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? 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?"
"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of! How else did he get out of there? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"
Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room.
"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said in disbelief.
Black's face contorted.
"How dare you. I, working for Voldemort?"
"How did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?" demanded Harry
"Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at him.
"I don't know how I did it. - he said slowly. -I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me... but it kept me sane... so when it all became... too much... I could transform in my cell... become a dog. I knew Dementors could tell that my feelings were less… less human... but they must have thought that I was losing my mind like everyone else, so it didn't trouble them. But then I saw Peter in that picture... I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive… It was as if someone had lit a fire In my head... It 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… I was thin, thin enough to slip through the bars… I swam 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."
He looked at Harry.
"Believe me. Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."
And at long last, Harry believed him. Throat too tight to speak, he nodded.
"No!"
Pettigrew had fallen to his knees, knowing Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.
"Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed… James would have understood, Harry... he would have shown me mercy..."
Something in Harry stirred. How dare this man appeal to his dead parents? He betrayed them, sold them out to Voldemort and now was invoking his father's name to save himself?
He raised his wand at Pettigrew's forehead. He didn't have to say anything, his own labored breath and piercing, crimson eyes conveyed the message. The Vitae burned inside him and all Harry knew was that Pettigrew was meant to suffer. What he had done was unforgivable, and he would pay.
As Lupin placed himself in between the two, Harry could feel his power being drained, the Vitae in his blood dropping to an all-time low leaving his forehead sweaty and his breath labored.
"You should have realized. - said Sirius quietly. - if Voldemort didn't kill you, I would."
"NO! - Lupin yelled. - You can't kill him. We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him
over to the dementors. He can go to Azkaban... but if you kill him we won't be able to prove your innocence!"
Sirius hesitated. After a few seconds of contemplation, staring daggers at Pettigrew, he nodded.
"Incarcerous!"
Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand and next moment Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.
"If you transform, Peter. - growled Black, his finger pointing at Pettigrew too. - we will kill you. Everyone agrees?"
Harry looked down at the pitiful figure on the floor and nodded so that Pettigrew could see him.
"Right. - said Lupin, suddenly businesslike. - I believe I have a few students to rescue."
With a few waves of his wand, the Slytherin trio was brought back to the floor and Hermione revived from her state.
Harry and Theo lifted on Ron, careful not to put weight on his broken leg.
"Sorry Ron, I only know one healing spell, and it won't help with your leg. You have to bear it until we get to Professor Pomfrey." said Theo, apologetically.
"One of us should be chained to this. - said Black, nudging at Pettigrew. - Just to make sure."
"I'll do it." said Lupin, conjuring heavy manacles from thin air.
Getting Ron into the tunnel was difficult, even with both Harry and Theo working together. The tunnel wasn't built to accommodate two people at the same time, let alone three.
"You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Harry as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"
"You're free," said Harry.
"Yes… - said Black. - But I'm also… I don't know if anyone ever told you… I'm your godfather."
"My… what?"
"Well... your parents appointed me your guardian. - said Black stiffly. - If anything happened to them..."
Harry waited, unsure what to say. How many more revelations was he supposed to receive in one day? How the hell was he supposed to react to all of this?
"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle. - said Black. - But... well... think about it. Once my name's cleared... if you wanted a... a different home..."
"Sirius… can I call you Sirius?"
"Of course!"
"Well… I don't live with my aunt and uncle anymore. When I was five they sent me to a boarding school… The… man that runs it, Sir Zettler… he… I suppose he took me in. I have a shop in Diagon Alley. Or rather… Sir Zettler has a shop… I live there with Barnaby and Zafrina…"
"I see. - said Sirius. - Are… are you happy with them?"
"I love Zafrina and Barnaby, they're great. Sir Zettler…"
Harry pondered what to say. He's a vampire that makes the minister of magic dance in his palm? Might have tampered with my memories? How was he supposed to bring him into the mess that was his situation without putting his life on the line? Sure, he had survived the war and twelve years in the most horrific prison of wizarding britain, but…
"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to. - said Black quickly. - I understand, I just thought I'd…"
"No, it's… not that… I… look it's complicated. I don't know if I can…"
"You don't have to make a decision now. Once everything is sorted I… I'll write you. If you want to, my house will always be open for you. - He chuckled, nervously trying to calm his nerves. - I have almost a decade to make up for."
They did not speak again until they had reached the end of the tunnel.
Crookshanks darted up first. He had evidently pressed his paw to the knot on the trunk, because the group clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches.
The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. Harry's mind was still buzzing with ideas and plans on what to do, only to instantly discard them as infeasible. He couldn't leave Sir Zettler, that much was an immutable fact. He remembered the pain of Vitae withdrawal, and without a new source of Vitae any attempt to leave the vampire's control was nothing but a pleasant dream. He knew that. Even if he were to live with Sirius, nothing about his situation would change.
"One wrong move, Peter." said Lupin threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest. Silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. And then… a cloud shifted and their party was bathed in moonlight. Lupin stopped abruptly and his limbs began to shake. Black froze.
"Run. Run! Now!"
There was a terrible snarling noise as Lupin's head lengthened. His shoulders hunched, hair sprouted on his face and hands, fingers curling into clawed paws.
Harry's eyes widened, his heart started pounding.
It was a werewolf.
Professor Lupin was a fucking werewolf.
As the beast reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's side. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward as the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle. The dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from the group, locked jaw to jaw and claws ripping at each other.
Harry stood, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the battle to notice Pettigrew diving for Lupin's dropped wand as he kicked Crookshanks away with all his strength.
"Expelliarmus!" yelled Sally pointing her wand at Pettigrew.
Lupin's wand flew high into the air, but it was too late. Pettigrew had transformed. They saw his bald tail whip through the manacle and heard a scurrying through the grass.
"Incendio!" shouted Daphne, chucking a fireball towards the rat's disappearing form, her flames missing by an inch before harmlessly dissipating on the cold ground.
There was a howl and a rumbling growl; Harry's eyes never leaving the werewolf.
"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Ron yelled.
Black was bleeding: blood dripping from gashes across his muzzle and back, but at Ron's words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.
Ron and Theo pulled a still stunned Harry.
"Get a grip! We have to leave!"
Harry blinked. Black and Lupin both gone... they were by themselves.
They started to run.
"We'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone." said Theo, pulling his friends away.
"Hagrid's hut! - shouted Sally - It's closer!"
Theo nodded. "Come on, let's…"
And then they saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass toward them. He spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were
encircling them...
"Think of something happy!" Harry yelled, raising his wand.
"Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!"
But he couldn't concentrate. There was a werewolf only a few dozen meters from where he was, his parent's murderer just got away… How was he supposed to concentrate on a happy memory now?
"Expecto patronum! Everyone help me! Expecto patronum!"
"I don't know the spell!" shouted Daphne, firing a jet of fire towards the closest Dementor as she stepped backwards. The creature hovered forward, ignoring the flames as if they weren't even there.
"Focus on a happy memory! Expecto patronum!" shouted Harry.
"Expecto…" Hermione whispered, "expecto… expecto…"
The dementors were closing in, barely ten feet from them. They formed a solid wall around them, and were getting closer...
"Expecto Patronum!"
A thin wisp of silver escaped his wand and hovered like mist before him.
At the same moment, Harry felt Ron collapse next to him. He felt alone... completely alone… his knees hit the cold grass. Fog was clouding his eyes. With a huge effort, he fought to remember…
He saw a Dementor halt, very close to him. It couldn't walk through the cloud of silver mist
Harry had conjured. A dead, slimy hand slid out from under the cloak. Then it removed its hood.
It had no face, only a thin layer of gray skin, stretched over where its eyes were supposed to be, the mouth nothing but a thin line revealing the gaping nothingness beneath. Harry couldn't move. He couldn't speak.
His Patronus flickered into nothingness.
He had to fight... And then, through the fog that was drowning him, he saw a silvery light growing brighter. The blinding light illuminated the grass around him.
The dementors were leaving. The air was warm again, but he was so tired… he looked up, one last glance at their savior. He recognized the familiar silhouette of Kaa, leading Hagrid and Snape towards them.
Notes
Hello everyone! Sorry for the taking a longer break than anticipated, had an issue with the trip back (missed connecting flight and had to spend the night in Frankfurt) , but now I'm back! Hope you enjoyed the holidays as much as i did and are ready for the new year!
Back to the chapter... with a minor differences from canon. Black was not framed just by Pettigrew, but a couple of corrupted Aurors. I think any investigation would have found discrepancies and I just thought adding a pair of accomplishes was more believable than making ALL of them incompetent/lazy
Harry did something to Pettigrew. What do you think he did? Share your theories
Unlike in canon, Harry cannot conjure a Patronus. Personally I feel that the Patronus is a bit overused in ffics, so I decided to remove the spell from his arsenal. Besides, it feels HEAVILY Wyld-alligned, anf Harry is DEFINITELY not Wyld-alligned. Will he get something similar? Most likely not, but we'll see in future chapters
Answering PM/Reviews
Thank you for pointing out the typo in chapter 36, I fixed it
Regarding Harry and Hermione's reaction... I disagree for Harry, I don't think he'll have a particularly strong reaction (at least for MY version of Harry), but Hermione... you're half right. She would absolutely be horrified, but considering the fact that House Elves are (as far as wizards can understand, which is only abut 60% accurate) not living creature, I think her reaction wuld be more along the lines of "oh fuck, we broke this super complex and valuable machine" than anything else. Regardless, I altered the scene a bit to be more in line with her personality. It's a small change, but it does a lot fr her characterization, so thank you for pointing it out