Serendipity [Book 2]

The Return of Scabbers [pt. 2]

Severus sat fuming in his office. After his fight with Ariella, he had expected her to apologize. Yet even after dinner, he still had not seen the blonde woman. Anger boiled in his gut.

Did she expect him to apologize? Because, he would not. He was not the one to blame.

 If anyone should apologize, it should be her. He thought to himself furiously. He looked down at the essays he was supposed to be grading and growled before shoving all of them onto the floor beside his desk. He had half of a mind to burn them but quickly thought better of it. After all, he was a teacher. Suddenly he climbed to his feet and stormed out of his office intent on confronting the blonde woman who easily infuriated him. He was almost to the staircases that led up to the third floor when he glanced out of onto the grounds. He froze when he noticed a running lioness disappear underneath the now frozen Whomping Willow with her werewolf friend quickly following suit. He glanced at the sky and felt panic rise in his gut. Tonight was a full moon. What the hell were the two of them doing? Against his better judgment and with the memory of the last time he had followed the werewolf down into that tunnel fresh in his mind, Severus ran to catch up to them.

**

Sirius nodded at Ariella’s remark. It was true. Something had felt off that night and he had left to make sure all was well. Not only had he lost his best friends, fiancée and godson, he had lost his freedom.

“He betrayed us. He watched the Dark Lord murder Lily and James! And he thought he could escape!” Sirius growled as Ariella stared at her ex-fiancee/best friend. The man she had loved and known hadn’t changed. He was loyal till the end. Suddenly she felt guilty. She had fully believed he had betrayed everyone and everything he had loved and known.

“Sirius, I’m so sorry,” Ariella whispered suddenly as the oddly quiet and frightened students in the room with them stared at her with wide eyes. They didn’t know what to do with the scene that had unfolded in front of them. Everything they had thought they knew wasn’t true. Lupin, a better and more prepared teacher than Ariella ever was, saw their struggle and helped them by explaining everything. From how he became a werewolf to the Marauders becoming Animagi, from creating the map to how Peter betrayed everyone. Lupin even told the story of how Sirius had almost gotten Severus killed by telling him about the Shrieking Shack during a full moon.

All Ariella could do was stare at Sirius. She listened to Remus with half an ear. Sirius was everything and nothing like she remembered him to be. Twelve years in Azkaban had changed him, but his essence was still very much the same. She couldn’t explain it. Maybe it was because of how close they had been before everything had gone so horribly and tragically wrong.

“Elle, I thought you were dead,” Sirius whispered suddenly as he reached out for her to make sure she was in fact not a figment of his imagination. Just as his fingers grazed her cheek, Ariella felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she turned just as Severus tore off the Invisibility Cloak and stood in the doorway. He was furious. She could tell by the darkening of his eyes and the glare he pinned on Sirius. However before she could stop him or even attempt to explain the situation, Severus disarmed Remus and tied him up.

“Severus, wait!” Ariella screamed before he turned his wand on her. He looked thunderous. Her eyes widened as she remembered the last time he had pointed his wand at her. Fear rushed through her veins and she couldn’t breathe. The pain had been so excruciating. Tears unconsciously rolled down her cheeks but he didn’t soften or cave.

“Please, Severus,” she breathed as she put her hands up. Severus shook his head before he opened his mouth. Ariella’s eyes widened as he muttered the disarming spell. Her wand flew from her pocket. Every nerve in her body was burning in fear as she collapsed to her knees. Peter, in the chaos Severus had caused, shifted back into his rat form and hid underneath the bed. Severus turned his attention to the students as Sirius dropped next to Ariella. He grabbed her shoulders and watched the tears fall down her face. Suddenly, Ron, Hermione, and Harry used their wands to disarm the Potions Master and the force sent Severus flying into the wall behind him. He slumped to the floor unceremoniously. Remus quickly untied himself as he gathered his and Ariella’s wand. It wasn’t until her wand was back in her hand and she was being hoisted back to her feet that the fear subsided and Ariella shook herself of the daze that had taken over. She looked over at Snape’s motionless form and fought the urge to kick him for his stupidity. She mentally made a note to kick him when he woke up.

“You alright, Elle?” Remus asked as he easily tied Severus up to keep him from being a hindrance again. Sirius was staring at her, expecting her answer.

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” Ariella replied before she turned to Harry and the others, assessing their state of minds.

“Never attack a teacher again, do you three understand?” She ordered as they nodded dumbly.

“Peter, come out now. Or I will make you,” She growled suddenly when she realized the rat had managed to hide himself during the Snape debacle. Sirius and Remus cursed when they realized the same thing.  After a few tense minutes, Ariella snarled before she pointed her wand into the air above her head. She didn’t even mutter a single word before a frightening squealing filled the air. Harry and the others watched in horrified awe as the struggling rat was forcefully being pulled from underneath the bed. His already patchy fur was being ripped out in tufts as he was dragged into the middle of the room. And then in the same, strange slow motion show, Peter was forced back into his human form without Ariella even opening her mouth. By the end, Peter was petrified of the blonde in front of him. He knew what kind of strength and power it took for a wizard or a witch to perform magic without having to utter a single incantation. He had only seen the Dark Lord and Albus Dumbledore do it in his life so far. Even Remus and Sirius looked surprised to see the power their friend possessed. Harry and Ron looked confused, but Hermione was in awe. She had read about non-verbal magic, but knew it took a lot of concentration and practice. Most spells lost their strength when used non-verbally. Some worked better but the spells Ariella used weren’t ones Hermione had ever read about.

Peter stared at the people around him in wild fear. He was trying to assess ways to escape and when he found none, he resorted to his tried and true sniveling and begging. If he hadn’t been terrified of what Ariella would do to him, he would’ve started with her. However he quickly turned to Ron Weasley and began begging for mercy from his “master.”

“Wasn’t I a good pet?” he questioned with a sniffle as Ron grew disgusted and drew back away from him. Peter easily turned to Hermione.

“Kind, smart girl, please you must,”

“Get away from me!” Hermione screeched  as she pushed Peter away from her. Peter turned to Harry.

“Harry, sweet Harry, James wouldn’t want you to hurt me, would he? Your father and mother was kind to me and I know…” Before Peter could finish his sentence, Ariella had her hand around the back of his collar and she dragged him away from the trio. Peter clawed at his neck where the fabric was beginning to cut into his throat, making it very hard for him to breathe. Ariella didn’t care as she flung him into the center of the room between herself, Remus and Sirius.

“You do not have the right to speak of James and Lily as if they are your friends, Peter. You betrayed them. You betrayed us. They, we, trusted you!” Ariella growled as she narrowed her eyes onto the cowering man. Sirius snatched up Snape’s wand and pointed it at Peter.

“I am going to do what I’ve been accused of and imprisoned for, you sniveling coward and there will be no running away this time!” Sirius snarled as Peter’s eyes widened.

“No, wait! PLEASE,”

“Stop!” the adults turned to Harry as he stepped forward and stood in front of Peter.

“Harry, get out of the way,” Sirius shouted as Ariella kicked Peter to keep him from attempting escape again.  Remus kept his wand trained on the shivering man.

“If you kill him, you get sent back to Azkaban! If he’s alive, he can be turned over to the Dementors and you can be freed!” Harry explained in a logic that should’ve exceeded his age and emotions. He was thinking far more clearly than Ariella and Sirius and even Remus. All they could see was rage, and pain when they looked at Peter and the code they had lived by refused to let him go free.

“Harry,” Sirius mumbled before he lowered the wand in his hand. Ariella and Remus looked at one another before nodding. Without saying a word, Ariella pointed her wand at Peter and he fell to the ground immobilized by the ropes that had once held Remus captive.

“You’re going to feel the Dementor’s Kiss, Peter and it will be too kind for what you’ve done to all of us. You destroyed lives, Peter, for a man who was barely a man. We were your friends. We were always your friends and you betrayed us.” Ariella hissed as she kicked him again just to make herself feel better.