A MOTHER'S LOVE | A HARRY JAMES POTTER FANFICTION

Chapter sixteen | Uncle Peter

"I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut." Remus paced back and forth. "Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

"What?" Harry said. "No, we weren't!"

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin, still pacing, and ignoring Harry's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?" Harry grew impatient, but Seraphina latched onto every word her godfather spoke.

"And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black... I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled the two of you into the whomping willow —"

"One of us!" Ron interrupted angrily.

"No, Ron," Remus said softly. "Two of you." He then faced Ron and gestured to him. "Do you think I could have a look at the rat?"

"What?" Ron asked quizzically. "What's Scabbers got to do with this?"

"Everything," Remus replied. "Could I see him please?"

Reluctantly, Ron pulled out his pet rat who squirmed and squeaked fearfully. He held Scabbers by the tail to prevent him from running off. Peach and Crookshanks hissed and clawed at the rat as Sirius and Remus moved closer to examine Scabbers. Seraphina watched the two older men in confusion.

"What?" Ron said fearfully, hugging Scabbers to his chest. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," Sirius said hoarsely.

"He's a wizard," Remus continued before Ron could speak.

"An animagus, by the name of Peter Pettigrew," Sirius said. He then turned to Seraphina, "Your supposed godfather."

Seraphina didn't know how to feel when she heard that. Was she supposed to laugh? Was her stomach supposed to drop? Was she supposed to cry? It's as though she felt everything at once. She watched Remus' eyes for any hint of lies, but it was all genuineness in his brown eyes.

"Impossible," Seraphina whispered quietly as tears brimmed her eyes. She looked away from Remus' brown eyes that held nothing but the truth. Her mind quickly went back to the time where she and Harry swam to Bowtruckle Island and that's where she told him the truth about his parents' death.

"N-No," Harry said, alarm seeping through his voice with each word. "I saw Pettigrew on the map!"

"You – what?" Seraphina spluttered, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Impossible! The map must've been wrong. Peter Pettigrew is dead."

"No, no I saw him!" Harry explained how he was wandering the castle during Christmas late at night and followed Peter's name in the map.

"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" Harry yelled. "He killed him twelve years ago!" He pointed at Sirius.

"I meant to," Sirius growled as his face twitched. "But little Peter got the better of me... not this time though!" He then lunged towards the squealing rat. He landed on Ron's broken leg, making the redhead scream in pain.

Remus quickly dragged Sirius away from Ron. "NO! Sirius – you can't do it just like that — they need to understand — we've got to explain —"

"We can explain afterwards!" Sirius snarled, trying to claw Scabbers who squealed and scratched at Ron's face.

"They've — got — a — right — to — know — everything!" Lupin panted, still restraining Sirius. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand! And Harry – Sera — you owe them the truth, Sirius!"