Snake Bites

Chapter 34: Peter Pettigrew

"The map was lying then!" says Harry, shouting at them.

"The map never lies!" says Black, shrieking at him. "Pettigrew's alive. And he's in this room, right now!" I stare at him. Huh? Just then, Snape barges in. The wand flies out of Sirius's hand.

"How I hoped to be the one to catch you. I told Dumbledore you were helping a little friend into the castle, and now, look." He says to them.

"Well done. Once again, you put your keen and penetrating mind to the task, and once again you come to the wrong conclusion!" says Sirius. In one swift movement, Snape's wand is on Sirius's neck.

"Severus, don't be a fool!" says Lupin. "Sirius, be quiet!"

"Shut up yourself, Remus!" says Sirius, talking to Lupin.

"Look at you, bickering like an old married couple. I could do it, you know, but why deny the dementors? I'm sure they'd love to give you a little kiss. Oh, do I detect a flicker of fear?" says Snape, asking them. Just then, Harry points Hermione's wand at Sirius, but changes at the last moment to Snape.

"Expelliarmus!" He shouts as Snape goes flying back into the bed, unconscious.

"Harry?!" I say, screaming at him.

"You attacked a teacher!" says Hermione, talking to him as I just stare at Snape. Oh gosh, I hope he's ok. I give Harry a death glare, but he ignores me. He points the wand between Lupin and Sirius.

"Tell me about Pettigrew!" says Harry, ordering them to tell him.

"He went to school with us. We thought he was our friend!" says Lupin.

"No, Pettigrew's dead," says Harry.

"Haven't we just told you that the map never lies? And that he's in this room. Right now." says Sirius. "He's there." Sirius points directly at Ron.

"Me? He's mental!" says Ron.

"Not you! Your rat!" says Sirius.

"Scabbers has been in my family for—" Ron gets cut off by Sirius.

"12 years! Curiously long life for a common garden rat! He's missing a toe, isn't he?" says Sirius.

"All they could find of Pettigrew was his—" Harry starts to say.

"Finger!" says Sirius, finishing his sentence. "The coward went and turned himself into a rat, so everyone would think he was dead!"

"Show us!" Harry and I say at the same time as Sirius grabs the rat.

"Give it to him, Ron!" I say to him as he lets go of the rat.

"Scabbers!" He says, screaming so loud as Sirius puts him down on top of an old piano. Then, he and Lupin start firing spells at it. The rat desperately tries to run away, but one of the spells hits it, and it transforms into Peter Pettigrew. I stare in shock.

"Remus? Sirius? My old friends..." Pettigrew starts to say to them, but then tries to run through them.

"Oh no, you don't! You sold James and Lily to Voldemort, didn't you?" says Lupin, asking him.

"Ah! The Dark Lord... you have no idea of the weapons he possesses... what would you have done?" says Pettigrew, pleading with him.

"I would've died! I would've died rather than betray my friends!" says Sirius, shouting at him. Pettigrew runs between them, but Harry and I step forward to block the door.

"Brave boy, sweet girl. Your father wouldn't have killed me, he would have shown mercy!" Pettigrew screams while getting pulled away from us by Sirius and Lupin.

"How dare you?! How dare you talk about James in front of them!" says Lupin, shouting at him.

"You should've known. That if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would, together!" says Sirius, shouting at him.

"No!" says Harry, screaming at him as I look at him.

"Harry?" I say, questioning him. He ignores me.

"I know what he is. But we'll take him to the castle." says Harry. I stare at my brother, so dumbfounded. Wouldn't it just be so much easier to kill him and get him out of the way? Oh, wow, I guess I really am a Slytherin!

"Oh, bless you, boy, bless you!" says Pettigrew, throwing himself at Harry's feet.

"Get off!" says Harry, shouting at him as Pettigrew recoils away from him. "I said we'll take you to the castle. Then, the dementors can have you."

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"Sorry for the bite. It must be a little." Sirius says as we walk back through the tunnel.

"A little? A little?!" says Ron, so angrily. I slightly smile. Drama king. I shuffle to catch up with my brother.

"You shouldn't have done that. That's more than he deserves." I say. Harry sighs.

"I just didn't think Dad would want his two best friends to become killers." He says as we climb out of the tunnel. I sigh and nod. Alright. Fair point, brother. Hermione helps Ron out and Lupin deals with the rat man thing. Sirius starts walking off into the distance, looking towards Hogwarts. My eyes follow him.

"Go." Hermione says, gesturing her head at Sirius as Harry and I look at each other.

"But Ron..." I say.

"You go, I'll stay," says Hermione. We nod and walk towards Sirius.

"Beautiful, isn't it? I remember the first time I walked through those doors..." Sirius trails off. "You know, before everything, your dad made me your godfather." He smiles at us. I smile back at him. "And well, I was wondering if, after this clears up, if you ever needed a place to go..." He trails off.

"What, come live with you?" Harry asks him, just as I say, "We'd love to!" Sirius beams at us.

"Harry! Mina!" We hear Hermione shout behind us. We whip around and look at what she's pointing to. The moon. The full moon. Oh, no. We run towards them while Sirius is trying to keep Remus sane. I help Ron to his feet, and Harry stands in front of me. I stare in shock and wonder at Lupin. His legs are lengthening. His nose is turning into a snout and his clothes are ripping, falling off his werewolf body. He throws Sirius away and starts whimpering.

"Wait, wait." I say, stepping forward.

"Mina!" Harry whispers-shouts at me as I ignore him. There's still a chance that he hasn't forgotten who he is.

"Professor? Professor Lupin?" I ask him, stepping forward again. He looks at me, and then, howls. Ok, he's forgotten who he is! I jump backwards and Harry grabs my arm, pulling me close. Then, Snape comes out of the tunnel.

"What are you, Potter—" He starts to say, but he sees my frightened expression. He whips around and sees the werewolf. Snape spreads his arms out, protecting us all. This is why I love Professor Snape! Lupin starts advancing towards us, but a big black dog bursts out of the bushes and tackles him to the ground. Sirius! They fight for a bit, and then, Lupin chases after him.

"Sirius!" Harry says as he lets go of me, running after them.

"Harry!" I scream, trying to do the same, but Snape holds me back.

"No, not you. Help Weasley back up to the castle with Miss Granger. I'll get them." He says to me. I frantically look from my brother to Snape.

"But, Harry—" I start saying to him as Snape just looks at me.

"I'll get your brother, I'll promise." He says to me. I stare at him for a second, then nod and turn to Ron and Hermione. Snape strides off and I help Ron back up to the castle with Mione.