The Little Flower (Remus Lupin) ✓

forty - five

Rosalie's sudden movement had caused her to fall out of bed and hit the floor with a thud; she ignored the pain as she scrambled to her feet and ran to the door. She had not meant to cause so much commotion but was in such a hurry; it did not seem like she had a choice. Her feet stomped down the stairs - ensuring to catch everyone's attention in the Gryffindor Common Room, her speed made her crash into the sofa when she finally reached the bottom. She ignored the snickers for all the students as she darted for the door.

"I AM GOING TO TALK TO PROFESSOR LUPIN!" Rosalie yelled as she exited the portrait door. She was already panting as she turned the first corner, but she could not stop, in fact, she needed to go faster. The halls were empty - she assumed everyone was celebrating that exams had finally ended in their dorms. So when the next large staircase appeared Rosalie leapt from the top. Her body stayed the same as the floor got closer and closer. Noire could take the fall, Rosalie could not. "Please change, please change, please change," she mumbled to herself, the floor was only a few inches away when she forced her eyes closed and waited for impact.

Noire landed on her feet smoothly. It was a close call, but the transformation was successful, but she did not let it distract her, she bolted off now in dog form. Her control on Noire was still lacking, and at each corner she found herself banging into a wall. Still, she was far quicker than running as Rosalie.

"REMUS!" She yelled, slamming the door open and returning to her human form. His head shot up.

"What are you doing here? The exams are over, go celebrate!" He told her.

"You need to listen to me, " she ran over to him breathless. He had no time to answer as she pulled the Marauders Map out and stuck it on his desk.

"Where did you g-"

"That doesn't matter, just listen!" She opened the map and pushed it towards him. "Peter Pettigrew is alive, look it says it right here!" She pointed to his name with her finger.

"That's impossible," he muttered shocked.

"What if everything we know is a lie?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if Sirius Black is innocent and Peter-"

"Rosalie," Remus' voice grew soft. "I thought we talked about this, he-"

"Just listen to me, please!" She cut him off. "I need you to just - hear me out." Reluctantly he nodded.

"You said Peters animagus was a rat, correct?" Remus nodded. "Well, Ron has a rat called Scabbers, who has been alive for twelve years. That's a long time for a rat and it the same amount of time since that night." Rosalie saw Remus go into thought but he shook his head after a second.

"It's just a coincidence."

"It was said that all that was left of Peter was his finger, right?" Remus did not reply - but she knew the answer. "Scabbers - Ron's rat is missing a toe. Is that also a coincidence?" Remus' eyebrows furrowed together. "What if Peter was the one who betrayed Lily and James but then also framed Sirius. You told me that all three of their animagus were unregistered. Peter had the perfect hiding spot - no one would ever know."

"That does not explain why Sirius is here trying to get into Hogwarts. He wants to finish what he started by killing you and Harry." Remus' voice rose, but she did not flinch.

"What if the whole time he has been trying to get to Peter. Sirius has had multiple chances to kill me - he even saved my life once. He was in Harry and Ron's room with a knife, and he did not touch them. Sirius Black is innocent."

Remus could not believe what he had just heard. Every point she made was valid.

"Please Remus, Sirius was loyal to you and James, Peter was a tag-along who probably did not even feel part of the group at times." Rosalie could see him arguing with himself. "You knew Sirius could get around the school undetected as Padfoot, but you never told anyone. You know deep down Sirius did not do this." She placed her hand on top of his making him look at her. "Trust me."