Chapter 19: The Mask Of Peter Pettigrew
Hermione screamed. Black leapt to his feet. Claire's eyes widened in surprise. Harry felt as though he'd received a huge electric shock.
"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," Snape said, throwing the cloak aside, careful to keep this wand pointing directly at Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you….."
Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glistening. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did….lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway out of sight."
"Severus—" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.
"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout—"
"Severus, you're making a mistake," Lupin said urgently. "You haven't heard everything—I can explain—Sirius is not here to kill Harry or Claire—"
"Two more for Azkaban tonight," Snape said, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this….He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin…a tame werewolf—"
"You fool," Lupin said softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"
BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.
"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."
Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.
Harry stood there, paralyzed, not knowing what to do or whom to believe. He glanced at Ron, Hermione, and Claire. Ron looked just as confused as he did, still fighting to keep hold on the struggling Scabbers. Claire seemed to be contemplating on something while Hermione took an uncertain step toward Snape and said, in a very breathless voice, "Professor Snape—it—it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w—would it?"
"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You, Potter, Smith, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."
Claire then stepped in. "But if there was a mistake—"
"KEEP QUIET SMITH; YOU STUPID GIRL! DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Snape shouted.
"DON'T YOU TALK TO MY NIECE THAT WAY!" Black shouted to Snape.
A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face, and Black instantly shut up.
"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you—"
"The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle" —he jerked his head at Ron—"I'll come quietly…."
"Up to the castle?" Snape said silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black…..pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay….."
What little color there was in Black's face left it.
"You—you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat—look at the rat—"
But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that Claire and Harry had never seen before. He seemed beyond reason.
"Come on, all of you," he said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Lupin flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too—"
Before they knew what they were doing, Claire and Harry had crossed the room in three strides and blocked the door.
"Get out of the way, Potter, Smith, you're both in enough trouble already," Snape snarled. "If I hadn't been here to save your skins—"
"Professor Lupin could've killed either one of us about a hundred times this year." Harry said. "We've been alone with him loads of times."
"Yea, Harry even took anti-dementor lessons with him alone," Claire said. "If Lupin was really helping Black, why didn't he just finish Harry off then?"
"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," Snape hissed. "Get out of the way, Potter, Smith."
"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Claire yelled. "YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN TO THEIR SIDE OF THE STORY!"
"JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OUT OF YOU AT SCHOOL DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULDN'T HEAR THEM OUT—" Harry was cut off by a raging Snape.
"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "It seems arrogance runs in both your families, Potter, Smith. I just saved your necks; you should be thanking me on bended knees! You would have been well served if he'd killed you both—now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY POTTER, SMITH!"
Claire and Harry made up their minds in a split second. Before Snape could take even one step toward them, they had raised their wands.
"Expellarimus!" they yelled—except that theirs wasn't the only voice that shouted. There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out.
Claire and Harry looked around. Both Ron and Hermione had tried to disarm Snape at exactly the same moment. Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.
"You shouldn't have done that," Black said, looking at Claire and Harry. "You should have left him to me…."
"A lot of good that would've of done," Claire said. "You don't even have a wand. Besides, I don't know about Harry but I've always wanted to do that to Snape. However, it wasn't as rewarding as I thought it'd be."
"Claire!" Hermione said in a horrified whisper. "We attack a teacher! We're going to be in so much trouble!"
Claire raised an eyebrow. "Hermione, we surpassed getting in trouble when we snuck out to Hagrid's hut."
Claire then noticed Lupin struggling against his bonds. Black bent down quickly and untied him. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them.
"Thank you, Claire, Harry," he said to them.
"We're not saying we believe you," Harry told Lupin.
"Then it's time we offered you some proof," Lupin said. "You, boy—give me Peter, please. Now."
Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest. Claire rolled her eyes.
"Just give him the rat, Ron," Claire said annoyed.
"Come off it," Ron said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean…." He looked up at Claire, Harry, and Hermione for support," Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat— there are millions of rats—how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"
"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," Lupin said, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"
Black put one of his claw like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others.
It was the photograph of Claire, Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.
"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.
"Fudge," Black said. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. At first I didn't pay attention to the rat because I saw Claire." He looked at Claire. "I knew you were my niece from the moment I saw this picture. You have the curse of the Black's unmanageable curly hair. Anyway, I then saw Peter…on this boy's shoulder….I knew him at once…how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy and Claire would be going back to Hogwarts…to where Harry was…."
Claire looked closer at the picture and noticed something. Her mind went back to her exam with Professor Trelawney….
"…..and now there's a rat. It looks like Ron's rat Scabbers and its missing a toe? Can't believe I never noticed that….."
Claire couldn't believe it! Lupin and Black were really telling the truth. Claire then remembered one of the articles she had read in the library….
Black's Attack
Sirius Black was sent to Azkaban after killing thirteen muggles and even his own friend Peter Pettigrew. The only thing found at the scene of the crime was one of Peter Pettigrew's fingers.
"Scabbers is missing a toe," Claire staring at the newspaper clipping in shock.
"So?" Ron said, still not buying that Scabbers could be Pettigrew.
"All they ever found of Peter Pettigrew at the scene of the crime was a finger." Claire said.
"Of course," Lupin breathed, then turned to Black. "So simple…so brilliant….he cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transformed," Black said. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself—and sped down into the sewer with the other rats….."
"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in the family for ages, right—"
"Twelve years, in fact," Lupin said. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"
"We—we've been taking good care of him!" Ron said.
"Yea, if you don't count the multiple times you've lost track of him," Claire muttered.
"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" Lupin said. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again…."
"He's been scared of that mad cat!" Ron said, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.
"Actually, Ron," Claire began, "Scabbers started looking ill before he met Crookshanks right around the time of Black's escape."
"And this cat isn't mad," Black said hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me….Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me…."
"What do you mean?" Hermione breathed.
"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't…..so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me…..As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table….."
Harry remembered Neville saying he wrote down the passwords because Sir Cadogan had kept changing them and then remembered that one day he said he had misplaced them
"So that's how you got into Gryffindor Tower?" Harry said. "But wait, if you were after Pettigrew why did you attack Claire?"
"Yea, why did you attack me?" Claire said.
"Well, I saw Peter run out of the portrait and when I came through the portrait, I just aimed a spell thinking it would stun Peter and instead I stunned you," Black explained. "You see, Peter got word of me getting the passwords and ran for it. This cat—Crookshanks, did you call him?— told me Peter had left blood on the sheets…..I supposed he bit himself….Well, faking his own death had worked once…."
These words jolted Harry to his senses.
"And why did he fake his death?" he said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"No," Lupin said, "Harry—"
"And now you've come to finish him off!"
"Yes, I have," Black said, with an evil look at Scabbers.
"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.
"Harry," Lupin said hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time you've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down—but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father—Sirius tracked Peter down—"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"
He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly overbright.
"Harry…..I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me…..I'm to blame, I know it…The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, their bodies….I realized what Peter must've done….what I'd done…."
His voice broke. He turned away.
"Enough of this," Lupin said, and there was a steely note in his voice Harry had never heard before. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."
"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Lupin tensely.
"Force him to show himself," Lupin said. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."
Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.
"Ready, Sirius?" Lupin said.
Black had already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.
"Together?" he said quietly.
"I think so," Lupin said, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One—two—THREE!"
A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly—Ron yelled— the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then—
It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed; the hair on his back was standing up.
He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry, Claire, and Hermione. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Harry saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.
"Well, hello, Peter," Lupin said pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."
"S—Sirius….R-Remus…." Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friends….my old friends…."
Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning look, then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.
"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed—"
"Remus," Pettigrew gasped, and Harry could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "you don't believe him, do you….? He tried to kill me, Remus…"
"So we've heard," Lupin said, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so—"
"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked and suddenly, pointing at Black, and Harry saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too…..You've got to help me, Remus…."
Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes.
"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," Lupin said.
"Sorted things out?" Pettigrew squealed, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again, the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"
"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" Lupin said, his brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"
"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"
Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room.
"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said.
Pettigrew flinched as though Black had brandished a whip at him.
"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" Black said. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"
"Don't know what you mean, Sirius—" Pettigrew muttered his breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat now.
"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," Black said. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter….They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them…..I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information….and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways….If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter—"
"Don't know….what you're talking about…," Pettigrew said again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Lupin. "You don't believe this—this madness, Remus—"
"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," Lupin said evenly.
"Innocent, but scared!" Pettigrew squealed. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban—the spy, Sirius Black!"
Black's face contorted.
"How dare you," he frowned, sounding suddenly like the bear-sized dog he had been. "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter—I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. Carina used to always be wary of you and I guess we should've been too. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us….me, Carina, and Remus…and James…"
Pettigrew wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath. "Me, a spy….must be out of your mind….never….don't know how you can say such a—"
"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan….a bluff…Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you….It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."
Pettigrew was muttering distractedly, pacing back and forth and eyes darting toward the windows and the doors.
"Professor Lupin?" Hermione said timidly. "Can—can I say something?"
"Certainly, Hermione," Lupin said courteously.
"Well—Scabbers—I mean, this—this man—he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for the You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"
"There!" Pettigrew said shrilly, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"
"I'll tell you why," Black said. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit a murmur right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him….."
Pettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk.
"Er— Mr. Black—Sirius?" Hermione said.
Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though he had never seen anything quite like her.
"If you don't mind me asking, how—how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"
"Thank you!" Pettigrew gasped, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I—"
But Lupin silenced him with a look. Black was frowning slightly at Hermione, but not as though he were annoyed with her. He seemed to be pondering the answer.
"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me….but it kept me sane and knowing who I am…helped me keep my powers…so when it all became….too much…I could transform in my cell…become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know…" He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions….They could tell that my feelings were less—less human, less complex when I was a dog….but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand….But then I saw Peter in that picture…..I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry…perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again…."
Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though hynoptized.
"….ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies….and deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors…..So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive… It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it….It wasn't a happy feeling….it was an obsession…but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. Then, one night this women opened my cell door and she said to me, "It's time to let the dog out of its cage" and then she disappeared. At first I thought I was starting to lose my mind, but then I realized the door was still open and I ignored what I saw and slipped past the dementors as a dog….It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused….I was thin, very thin….thin enough to slip through the bars….I swam as a dog back to the mainland…I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry….."
He looked at Harry, who did not look away.
"Believe me," Black croaked. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."
And at long last, Harry believed him. Throat too tight to speak, he nodded.
"No!"
Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.
"Sirius—it's me…..it's Peter….your friend….you wouldn't…"
Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.
"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," Black said.
"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this….wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"
"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," Lupin said. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.
"Forgive me, Remus," Black said.
"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," Lupin said, who was now pulling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"
"Of course," Black said, and the ghost of a grin flitted across him gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"
"Yes, I think so," Lupin said grimly.
"You wouldn't…you won't…," Pettigrew gasped. And he scrambled around to Ron.
"Ron…haven't I been a good friend…a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you….you're on my side, aren't you?"
But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.
"I let you sleep in my bed!" he said.
"Kind boy….kind master…."Pettigrew crawled around Ron, "you won't let them do it….I was your rat….I was a good pet…."
"If you made a better rat than a human, that's not something you should be proud of," Claire said harshly. Pettigrew ignored her. Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.
"Sweet girl….clever girl….you—you won't let them…..Help me….."
Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified. Pettigrew then turned to Claire and Harry, kneeling and trembling uncontrollably at their feet. He turned his head to Claire.
"You look just like your mother…..Claire, Carina wouldn't have let this happen…." Pettigrew then turned his head to Harry. "Harry….Harry…you look just like your father…just like him…Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed….James would've understood, Harry….he would have shown me mercy….Carina would've shown me mercy…."
Both Black and and Lupin strode forward, seizing Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO THEM?" Black roared at Pettigrew. "HOW DARE YOU FACE THEM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HARRY AND CARINA IN FRONT OF CLAIRE?"
Pettigrew trembled in fear.
"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," Black said, who was shaking too, but with anger. "Do you deny it?"
Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.
"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord….you have no idea…he has weapons you can't imagine….I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen….He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me—"
"DON'T LIE!" Black bellowed. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"
"He—he was taking over everywhere!" Pettigrew gasped. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"
"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" Black said, with a terribly fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"
"You don't understand!" Pettigrew whined. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" Black roared. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"
Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.
"You should have realized," Lupin said quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."
Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall. Claire was still in shock of everything they'd just discovered. Then—
"NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front of Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."
Black and Lupin both looked staggered.
"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Black snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."
"I know," Harry panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors….He can go to Azkaban….but don't kill him."
"Harry!" Pettigrew gasped, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You—thank you—it's more than I deserve—thank you—"
"Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because—I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers—just for you."
It was silent for a few moments. No one moved or a made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black and Lupin were looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands.
"You're the only person who has the right to decided, Harry," Black said. "But think….think what he did…."
"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does…."
Pettigrew was still wheezing behind him.
"Very well," Lupin said. "Stand aside, Harry."
Harry hesistated.
"I'm going to tie him up," Lupin said. "That's all, I swear."
Harry stepped out of the way. Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand this time, and next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.
"But if you transform, Peter," Black growled, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too, "we will kill you. You agree, Harry?"
Harry looked down at the pitiful figure on the floor and nodded so that Pettigrew could see him.
"Right," Lupin said, suddenly businesslike. "Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing."
He hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand, and muttered, "Ferula." Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint. Lupin helped him to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince.
"That's better," he said. "Thanks."
"What about Professor Snape?" Hermione said in a small voice, looking down at Snape's prone figure.
"We could just leave him here," Claire suggested earning a glare from Hermione. "I was just kidding, geez."
"There's nothing seriously wrong with Snape," Lupin said, bending over Snape and checking his pulse. "You were just a little—overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er—perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this…."
He muttered, "Mobilicorpus." As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrists, neck, and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling. Lupin picked up the Invisibilty Cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket.
"And two of us should be chained to this," Black said, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."
"I'll do it," Lupin said.
"And me," Ron said savagely, limping forward.
Black conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, left arm chained to Lupin's right, right arm to Ron's left. Ron's face was set. He seemed to have taken Scabbers's true identity as a personal insult. Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way out of the room, his bottlebrush tail held jauntily high.
"Hermione," Claire said as they followed Crookshanks out of the room. "Your cat is full of himself."