»»————- song: ————-««
full moon (day 3)
★ by ludovico einaudi★
♢ ♢ ♢
It was an odd group that traipsed through the darkness: Snape and Lupin leading with the Petrified Peter Pettigrew, Ron limping along with Hermione at his elbow, and Harry and Sirius bringing up the back. Snape appeared to be in a murmured conversation with Lupin of which Harry could hear nothing about. Knowing Snape, he probably had a few spells up his sleeve to prevent other people from listening in, although Harry had never heard of such spells. Harry wondered what they were talking about.
Hopefully how much they'd like to dismember Pettigrew before handing him over to Dumbledore, Harry thought with savage satisfaction at the thought of retribution. The reality of the situation hadn't quite set in yet, and his surroundings felt slightly hazy, as though in a dream. The last two big traumatic events of his life, he had lost consciousness before any of the shock could register. He didn't look forward to having to actually facing the gravity of the situation with a clearer head.
And why did they all happen right at the end of the school year? It was as though the universe were conspiring against him every time final exams were on the horizon.
Harry felt a tap on his shoulder and abruptly turned around with a flinch to see what it was. Sirius Black raised his hand away from Harry, looking alarmed.
"Sorry," he croaked. "My fault... I forget you spent your whole life thinking that I... that I betrayed your parents. Don't blame you if you don't feel comfortable around me."
Harry awkwardly turned his head back around to face the front. "I didn't spend my whole life thinking that," he said, not sure what else to say. "Just a year. I didn't know anything about magic until I came to Hogwarts."
"Oh," Sirius said softly.
"And I don't," Harry rushed to say, looking back at Sirius again. "Feel uncomfortable, that is."
Sirius gave him a small but grateful smile. "Listen," he said, briefly glancing down at the ground, "I just thought to ask... once I get my name cleared and all... I have a place, you know. Not the most cheery, mind you, it'll need some fixing up, and we gotta get that damned house elf out of there, of course, but—"
Sirius sounded like he was rambling now, and Harry had no clue what he was trying to get at, but he waited patiently for Sirius to get to his point.
"What I'm asking is," he said, clearing his throat, "Once all this mess is cleared up, would you like to come and live with me? Seeing as I'm your godfather and all."
The warmth that suffused Harry at these words was unexpected and sudden. "What, live with you?" Harry asked, almost cracking his head on the ceiling.
"Of course, I didn't think you'd want to," Sirius said hurriedly. "You have a family, I obviously wouldn't take you away from them—"
It was an alien feeling, to be wanted. To feel wanted. It was an indescribable feeling, so overwhelming it almost hurt.
Harry almost said yes. He almost shouted his acceptance of the offer. But alongside his desperation, there was an equal amount of hesitation. Why should he hesitate? Here was someone who wanted him—and not just any someone, his godfather, for Merlin's sake—and he should be rightfully celebrating.
In all his thirteen years of life, Harry could count on one hand how many people made him feel truly wanted, and truly cared for. And although Sirius Black had very, very recently made that list, there was a problem. Severus Snape was also on that list.
Harry could see him in Sirius' house, fixing up the place, making it theirs, going home for Christmas, being a family. And just as equally, he saw himself drinking lemonade on the rickety wooden steps to the back sliding door of the rundown house on Spinner's End.
But not family, a voice in his head said. You'll never be Snape's family.
Snape had never invited him back. Had never really made it clear if he actually wanted Harry hanging around the place. And although the rational part of his brain said Snape probably had very good reasons for that, all of them probably being Voldemort, Harry couldn't help but feel like he was passing up an opportunity he would never get back.
So he opened his mouth to say yes. To accept.
Suddenly he faceplanted into Hermione's back, who almost tripped over Pettigrew's floating body. Sirius grunted as he bumped into Harry.
"What's the hold up?" Sirius shouted to the front.
Something odd was going on. Snape, far from his usually composed self, looked frantic. Finally, after a panicked-looking back and forth with Lupin, he turned to Harry with wide eyes.
"Potter, we need to run."
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"Muffliato," Snape muttered as they started down the long tunnel.
Lupin gave a half smile, despite himself. "Such a nifty spell," he said.
Snape ignored him. "I've been thinking," he said. "When Black was convicted. Why was the Ministry in such a hurry to throw him into Azkaban?"
The forced smile faded, and the shadows that were already lining Lupin's face only grew deeper. "I... I never thought about that."
"Neither have I, until this moment," Snape said. "But seeing now as Pettigrew is guilty, did no one think to use Legilimency? Veritaserum? Nothing?"
Lupin's breathing became shallow. "The media," he murmured. "The people wanted a conviction, and as soon as possible. They wanted a scapegoat, and there was a crowd of witnesses. Open and shut. It wouldn't surprise me if the Ministry rushed the process. Corruption isn't new to them."
It wouldn't surprise Snape either, but that wasn't the only thing that bothered him.
"What about Dumbledore?" he asked quietly.
"What about Dumbledore?"
"He favored you. All of you." Snape tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Surely he would have cared enough to investigate the matter for himself? Surely he wouldn't leave one of his favorite students to rot away in Azkaban without finding out with absolute certainty that they were innocent?"
Lupin glanced at him. "Why would you care?"
It wasn't Black he cared about. And Lupin probably knew it. Because if Albus Dumbledore saw Sirius Black as disposable, if he felt that there was no reason to protect his loyal soldier any longer... What did that say about Snape's fate?
"Don't you?"
Lupin gritted his teeth. "It... It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is we do this the right way, this time."
Easy for you to say, Snape thought. Although Lupin was also disposable, in a sense. Everyone believed the Defense post was cursed. Snape was probably one of the few people who knew for a fact that it was, and why. Merlin forbid news got out that Lupin had lycanthropy... that would be the end of that, wouldn't it?
Snape stopped dead in his tracks.
"Severus?"
Slowly, Snape looked at Lupin in horror. "The Wolfsbane Potion," was all he had to say before all the blood drained from Lupin's face.
Snape was not a forgetful person. He never missed details. But in his fear for Harry's safety, he had forgotten that tonight was the full moon. He had forgotten that the potion still sat in the cauldron it had been made in, bubbling away even now...
"What do we..." Lupin said weakly.
"What time is it?" Snape asked frantically. "Is it nightfall yet?"
"I don't have a watch on me!"
Snape yanked the sleeve of his robes back, remembering he had put one on that afternoon for no particular reason, and thanked Merlin for it. "Three minutes," he breathed. "That's not nearly enough time to get to the castle..."
Lupin seemed to suddenly pull himself together. "You take the group back to the castle," he said firmly. "I'll go back the way I came. Put up some shields so I don't get out when I transform..."
Snape looked into Lupin's eyes. They were set, determined. After a moment, Snape gave him a sharp nod. It was the only option they had.
He had to send Dumbledore a message. But with his wand already trained on Pettigrew, and the fact that he wasn't exactly in a stable state of mind at the moment, the Patronus was difficult to bring forth. It was hard enough sending a Patronus message nonverbally—Lupin transforming in Shrieking Shack, Sirius Black innocent, Snape thought desperately. Finally, the doe shot out of nowhere and galloped at full speed through the tunnel and out of sight. Lupin spelled the manacles off him as Snape turned to the back.
"Potter, we need to run," Snape half-shouted, not bothering to explain (Granger looked like she already understood the situation and was frantically whispering to Weasley and Harry. At least she was good for something). Lupin was already sprinting away, or as best as he could while crouching, anyway. Black looked like he was about to follow.
"Don't be a fool, Black," Snape bellowed.
"But I can help!" Black screamed back, already turning around. "I'm not letting him transform alone!"
There was nothing Snape could do except let him go. He was probably right, anyway. Snape turned his attention to the remaining three.
"Alright, Weasley, you're going to have to run on that broken leg." At the last second Snape thought to cast an anesthetic spell. Running would definitely make the leg worse, but not any worse than a werewolf jaw-sized chunk out of his side. Numbing it would let him move faster. Madam Pomfrey could deal with the aftermath... if they weren't all werewolves by then, in which case she'd have a bigger problem than a broken leg on her hands.
As they ran, already Snape was beginning to see the entrance. He prayed Lupin had made it to the Shrieking Shack by now and had time enough to spare to cast some kind of shield around him. Hopefully Black had enough sense to do it for him before transforming into the mutt that he was.
And then the group burst out into the dim twilight under the frozen branches of the Whomping Willow. The silver light from the moon was already beginning to spill through the shadows of the Dark Forest.
They didn't stop. As they clambered over the roots of the tree, they could already hear the faint but piercing sound of a strangled scream, a scream that was reminded of a long-forgotten agony. Through it all was the barking of a dog.
Snape gritted his teeth and ran faster.
a/n: currently the most exciting events in my life consist of chemistry labs, dentist appts and writing fanfiction... no wonder my mental health took a dive this summer :D
anyway hehehe you see what i did there with the song choice for this chapter? i was so tempted to use moonlight sonata but eh that's a tad bit overplayed isn't it