The Two Who Lived [Harry Potter x Reader]

Y3 ~ A Place To Call Home

"Ron! Where are you?!" Harry's voice echoed through the darkened house, anxiety clear in his tone.

"Harry!" came the faint, desperate reply. "Up here!"

The three friends exchanged worried glances and bolted up the creaky, dust-covered stairs, their footsteps reverberating through the eerie silence.

"Ron?" Hermione called, peering into the first room on their left.

"Ron! You're okay!" Hermione exclaimed as she lunged into the room and knelt beside Ron, who was clutching his severely bleeding leg. His face was tear-streaked, but he still held Scabbers tightly.

"Ron, the dog. Where's the...?" Y/N asked, her voice trembling with worry.

"Y/N, Harry, it's a trap. He isn't a dog; he's an Animagus," Ron said, his voice quivering as he glanced over their shoulders.

Y/N looked down, following the paw prints on the dusty floor to a pair of filthy human feet. Her gaze slowly traveled upward to a man standing in the shadows, his filthy, matted hair hanging to his shoulders, his skin corpse-like. Both Harry and Hermione turned back slowly, seeing the same man with ragged clothes and dark, empty eyes grinning devilishly—Sirius Black. Sirius studied Y/N's face keenly.

"Hello there," Black said in his raspy voice. Harry pulled out his wand, but Black was quicker. "Expelliarmus!"

Harry's wand flew from his hand, and Black caught it mid-air, grinning broadly as he toyed with it. Y/N could feel Harry's anger rising, mirroring her own.

"If you want to kill Harry and Y/N, you have to kill us, too!" Hermione declared, stepping in front of Harry and Y/N. Ron attempted to stand, but he went pale and collapsed back to the floor.

"Lie down," Black said quietly. "You'll hurt yourself even more."

"Do you hear yourself? You hurt me!" Ron yelled. "If you want to kill them, you'll have to kill us first!"

"Only one will die tonight," Black said calmly.

"And it will be you!" Harry bellowed, pushing his friends aside as he tackled Sirius Black to the ground, his hands closing around Black's throat. He raised his wand, ready to strike.

"Are you gonna kill me, Harry?" Sirius taunted, laughing even as he struggled.

"Yes," Harry raised his wand again, but the door suddenly crashed open.

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Professor Lupin as he entered the room, disarming Harry.

"Professor Lupin!" Y/N yelled, relieved, but Lupin ignored her, his eyes locked on Black.

"Harry, get away from him," Lupin commanded, and Harry reluctantly stepped back to stand beside Y/N. Lupin, his wand pointed at Sirius, spoke with a mix of anger and sorrow. "Looking a bit ragged, aren't we, Sirius? Finally, the skin reflects the madness within."

"You'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you, Remus?" Sirius retorted. The two men regarded each other, tension crackling in the air, until Lupin stepped forward and embraced Black like a brother.

"No, this can't be happening. I-I believed in you. I trusted you...I covered for you. All this time you've been his friend!" Y/N exclaimed, her laughter tinged with hysteria. "How stupid of me. He's a werewolf, that's why he's been missing classes," she added, pointing accusingly at Professor Lupin. Y/N and Hermione had already figured out the truth about Lupin's condition and kept his secret to themselves. Harry and Ron stared, dumbfounded. Black howled with bitter amusement, while Lupin sighed.

"How long have you known?" Lupin asked Y/N.

"Since Professor Snape set the essay," Y/N replied sternly.