☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾
| THE TRUTH UNRAVELS |
song: make you feel all my love by adele.
☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾
IT TOOK A FEW SECONDS FOR THE STATEMENT TO SINK IN.
"You're both mental," Ron said.
"Ridiculous!" said Hermione faintly.
"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" said Harry. "He killed him twelve years ago!"
He pointed at Black, whose face twitched convulsively.
Ara swallowed past the lump in her throat. In her opinion, it wasn't impossible to believe it was a possibility. They'd never found Peter Pettigrew's body and Scabber's had been alive for a suspiciously long time for a common rat. . .Ara's heart was almost beating out of her chest as the thought that maybe, just maybe Black was telling the truth.
If he was then. . .she'd been living with a criminal, a murderer for the past twelve years.
Her stomach lurched with revolution.
"It's not completely mad," Ara voiced, her tone giving nothing away. "It could actually be a possibility.."
Her friends looked at her in disbelief.
Black's face seemed to slightly relax when he heard her open-mindedness.
"I meant to kill him, trust me I did," he growled, "but little Peter got the better of me. . . not this time, though!"
Crookshanks was thrown to the floor as Black lunged at Scabbers; Ron yelled with pain as Black's weight fell on his broken leg.
"Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled, launching himself forward and dragging Black away from Ron again, "WAIT! You can't do it just like that — they need to understand — we've got to explain—"
"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, trying to throw Lupin off. One hand was still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, who was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tried to escape.
"They've — got — a — right — to — know — everything!" Lupin panted, still trying to restrain Black. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand, and Ara and Harry — you owe your daughter and Harry the truth, Sirius!"
Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, and bleeding hands.
"All right, then," Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for. . ."
"You're nutters, both of you," said Ron shakily, looking round at Ara, Harry and Hermione for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off."
He tried to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin raised his wand again, pointing it at Scabbers.
"You're going to hear me out, Ron," he said quietly. "Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."
"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket, but Scabbers was fighting too hard; Ron swayed and overbalanced, and Ara caught him and pushed him back down to the bed just as Harry turned to Lupin.
"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," he said. "A whole street full of them. . ."
"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" said Black savagely, still watching Scabbers struggling in Ron's hands.
"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. "I believed it myself — until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's map never lies. . . Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Ara, Harry."
Harry looked down at Ron, and as their eyes met, they agreed, silently: Black and Lupin were both out of their minds. Their story made no sense whatsoever. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? Azkaban must have unhinged Black after all — but why was Lupin playing along with him?
Ara had her eyes narrowed at her father, inspecting him and Lupin, searching for any kind of lie in their expressions that would give them away, but there was none. Still, she was incredibly wary, while she still kept an open mind, she would not trust them unless they showed solid proof.
Then Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to get Professor Lupin to talk sensibly.
"But Professor Lupin. . . Scabbers can't be Pettigrew. . . it just can't be true, you know it can't. . ."
"Why can't it be true?" Lupin said calmly, as though they were in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with Grindylows.
"Because. . . because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework— the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things. . . and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list."
"Hermione. . .I'm an unregistered Animagus, remember?" Ara said, making Black and Lupin turn sharply to stare at her. "I'm not on that list, maybe Pettigrew did something similar. . ."
Ara didn't want to appear mad by trying to support Black and Lupin's story, but she couldn't deny that there were many believable things. Her feelings were torn, she wanted to think they were telling the truth but she also hoped they were wrong. Because if they were right, she would have had her Mum's murderer right under her nose without noticing and she'd spent all her life hating the wrong man. But, if they were wrong, that meant her anger and loathing towards Black had been justified. She wouldn't have to feel so guilty then. . .
"Yes, Ara's got a point," Lupin said, releasing a laugh. "The Ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."
"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," said Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."
"All right. . . but you'll need to help me, Sirius," said Lupin, "I only know how it began. . ." Lupin broke off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All five of them stared at it. Then Lupin strode toward it and looked out into the landing.
"No one there. . ."
"This place is haunted!" said Ron.
"It's not," said Lupin, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted. . . The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me."
"You used to come here. . ." Ara trailed off, already guessing what he meant. "For your transformations during the full moon?"
Lupin nodded in confirmation as he pushed his greying hair out of his eyes, thought for a moment then said, "That's where all of this starts — with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitter. . . and if I hadn't been so foolhardy. . ."
He looked sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione said, "Shh!" She was watching Lupin very intently.
"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform. . . I'm able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again.
"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully-fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me.
"But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school. . ." Lupin sighed and looked directly at Ara and Harry. "I told you two months ago that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I came to Hogwarts. This house" — Lupin looked miserably around the room, — "the tunnel that leads to it — they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was in danger."
Harry couldn't really see where he was going with this, but they were all hearing raptly all the same. Ara just listened intently, grasping every bit of information. The only sound apart from Lupin's voice was Scabbers's frightened squeaking.
"My transformations in those days were — were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumour. . . Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it. . .
"But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black. . . Peter Pettigrew. . . and, of course, your father, Harry — James Potter.
"Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her. . . I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you two, Ara, Hermione, worked out the truth. . .
"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."
"My dad too?" said Harry, astounded.
"Yes, indeed," said Lupin. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong — one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."
"But how did that help you?" said Hermione, sounding puzzled.
"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals," said Lupin. "A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed. . . Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."
"Hurry up, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger on his face.
"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there. . . Well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, that they were able to keep a werewolf in check, and Ava eventually managed to learn how to brew wolfsbane potion, which was incredibly helpful. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did. . . And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."
"What sort of animal —?" Harry began, but Hermione cut him off. "That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"
"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless — carried away with our own cleverness.
"I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course. . . he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed. . ."
Lupin's face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me. . . and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it. . . so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."
"Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers; for the first time in minutes and looking up at Lupin. "What's Snivellus got to do with it?"
Ara's jaw slackened when she heard the nickname. Perhaps the Ministry was right; she was like her father.
"He's here, Sirius," said Lupin heavily. "He's teaching here as well." He looked up at Ara, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defence Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons. . . you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me —"
Black made a derisive noise.
"It served him right," he sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to. . .hoping he could get us expelled. . ."
"Severus was very interested in where I went every month," Lupin told Ara, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "We were in the same year, you know, and we — er — didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field. . .anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be — er — amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it — if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf — but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life. . . Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was. . ."
"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Ara slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke."
"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin.
Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Lupin.
Hermione screamed. Black leapt to his feet. Harry felt as though he'd received a huge electric shock. Ara stared at the man with hatred and annoyance, her fingers tightening around her wand.
"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, 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 glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a goblet full 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 and 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," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything — I can explain — Sirius is not here to kill Ara or Harry —"
"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, 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," said Lupin 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. Ron looked just as confused as he did, still fighting to keep hold on the struggling Scabbers. Ara looked as though she was about to pull out her wand and hex Snape into oblivion. Hermione, however, took an uncertain step toward Snape and said, in a very breathless voice, "Professor Snape — 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, Black, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."
"But if — if there was a mistake —"
"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"
A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face. Hermione fell silent.
"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?" said Snape 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. . . I —"
What little colour 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 Ara 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, Ara and Harry had crossed the room in three strides and blocked the door, standing side by side.
"Get out of the way, Black, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin —"
"Professor Lupin could have killed me and Ara about a hundred times this year," Harry said. "We've been alone with him loads of times, having defence lessons against the Dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish us off then?"
"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Snape. "Get out of the way, Potter."
"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Ara yelled, losing her temper as her arms shook. The Shack gave a small rumble as harsh winds smashed against it. "JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE FRIENDLESS AND THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN —"
"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like daughter, Black! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you like your mother! — Now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
Ara made up her mind the second he'd mentioned her Mum. Before Snape could take even one step toward her and Harry, she had raised her wand.
"Expelliarmus!" she yelled — except that she 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.
Ara looked around. Harry, 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," said Black, looking at Ara. "You should have left him to me. . ."
"Are you kidding?" asked Ara breathlessly. "I've wanted to do that since first year."
Sirius grinned at her, and she didn't necessarily return it, but the previous hatred that had been present in her eyes dimmed significantly, and that was enough to give him hope that one day he would get to fulfil his role as her father once again.
"We attacked a teacher. . . We attacked a teacher. . ." Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble —"
Lupin was 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," he said.
"I'm still not saying I believe you," Harry told Lupin.
"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Lupin. "You, boy — give me Peter, please. Now."
Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest.
"Come off it," he 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 Ara, 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 is after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"
"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Sirius and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"
Sirius 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 Ara, Ron and the rest of the Weasleys 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," said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder. . . I knew him at once. . . how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts. . . to where Ara and Harry were. . ."
"My God," said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw. . ."
"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.
"He's got a toe missing," said Black.
"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple. . . so brilliant. . . he cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James and killed. . . Ava. 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. . ."
"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."
"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right —"
"Twelve years, in fact," said Lupin. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"
"We — we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.
"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "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!" said Ron, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.
"This cat isn't mad," said Black 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?" breathed Hermione.
"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. . ."
"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it." croaked Black. "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."
"And why did he fake his death?" Harry said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"No," said Lupin, "Harry—"
"And now you've come to finish him off!"
"Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers.
"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.
"You're being really unreasonable right now," Ara said slowly.
"Ara, how can you possibly—?"
"Harry," said Lupin hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we'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, he killed A-Ava — 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—!"
"SHUT UP!" shouted Ara. Harry turned to her, furious, though her stare was more deadly. "Shut. Up. Listen."
Harry opened his mouth to most likely yell at her, but she raised a challenging eyebrow at him, causing him to hesitantly close it, still scowling.
Lupin and Sirius looked at each other, both remembering that that's how Ava used to scold Sirius.
"Harry, Ara. . . I as good as killed them," Sirius croaked, his eyes misty as he blinked rapidly. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, and persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me. . . I'm to blame, I know it. . . The night they died. . .Lily managed to send a Patronus saying that Voldemort had found them. I was at home with Ava, and you, Ara. . .We instantly knew that Pettigrew had to have sold them out, there was no other way, he'd betrayed us all and we knew it. Ava. . .she begged me to stay, she didn't want me to go after him. I should've listened to her and stayed. . .there was nothing I could do for James and Lily and Ava knew that. When I arrived at Pettigrew's hiding place, he'd gone. Then I went to the Potters. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies. . . then I wanted nothing then to kill him, and in doing so, I broke my promise to your Mum, Ara. . . I didn't make it back to you both. . .and there's nothing I regret more. Maybe if I'd stayed, if I hadn't changed the Secret-Keeper. . .they'd still be here. I didn't even know Ava had been murdered until two days after, I was so convinced she'd come and manage to get me out—"
His voice broke. He turned away. Ara's gaze turned downward.
"Enough of this," said Lupin, and there was a steely note in his voice. "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," said Lupin. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."
Ron hesitated. Then, at long last, after seeing the pleading look on his sister's face, 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?" said Lupin.
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", said Lupin, 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 grey 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 or Ara. His thin, colourless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who had 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.
Ara saw his eyes dart to the door and back again and she felt the need to sit down and tuck her head between her knees and take deep breaths. She'd been living with that for twelve years. . . she'd sometimes fed her Mum's murderer. . .she felt sick as she placed her hand on Harry's shoulder for support, blinking rapidly.
"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin 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 shot, and then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.
"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Ava, Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed —"
"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, and Ara 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," said Lupin, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'll be so —"
"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly, pointing at Black, and Ara saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing. "He killed Ava, 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," said Lupin.
"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, 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?" said Lupin, 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?" said Black, cocking his head to the side, mocking him. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"
"Don't know what you mean, Sirius —" muttered Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat now.
"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," said Black. "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 while you went under his orders to grab Ara. . . 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. . ." said Pettigrew again, more shrill 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," said Lupin evenly.
"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew. "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 growled, sounding suddenly like the bear-sized dog he had been. "I, a spy for Voldemort? Ava would've ripped my head off herself and you know she knew me better than anyone else. Keeping a secret like that? It wouldn't have slipped past her. And 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. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us. . . me 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 backwards. "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. Then you killed Ava so you could get to Ara. One of my regrets is inviting you over to our house, unknowingly giving you the location, very convenient for you, no?"
Pettigrew was muttering distractedly; Harry and Ara caught words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy," but they couldn't help paying more attention to the ashen colour of Pettigrew's face and the way his eyes continued to dart toward the windows and door.
"Professor Lupin?" said Hermione timidly. "Can — can I say something?"
"Certainly, Hermione," said Lupin courteously.
"Well — Scabbers — I mean, this — this man — he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years and he lived with Ara for twelve—" Ara and Black both shivered in disgust. "—If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Ara and Harry before now?"
"There!" said Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Hermione with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt the hair of Ara and Harry's head! Why should I?"
Ara almost laughed.
"I'll tell you why," said Black, glaring. "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 murder 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 — Black—Sirius — Dad?" said Ara, hesitantly and quietly.
Sirius' heart jumped at the sound of her saying 'Dad' and stared at Ara as though he had never seen anything quite like her.
"I have a question, just to be sure, how did you get out of Azkaban without using Dark Magic?" Ara was almost sure that he'd used his Animagus form to get out, she just needed confirmation. Her mind wanted to know every detail and small information it could get its hands on, she needed to know all.
"Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I —"
"Shut your mouth before I do it for you, Rat," sneered Ara, turning her heated eyes towards his cowering frame, making him instantly close his mouth.
"I don't know how I did it," Sirius said slowly, there was something in his expression that resembled pride. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent, that I had a daughter out there, living her life. That was a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me. . . 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 realised he was at Hogwarts with you and 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 hypnotised.
". . . ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies. . . and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Ara and Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honours. . .
"So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive. . ."
Harry remembered what Mr. Weasley had told Mrs. Weasley. "The guards say you've been talking in your sleep. . . always the same words. . . 'He's at Hogwarts.'"
"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. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them 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 Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry. . . and Ara, you've got my talent for Quidditch as well."
He looked at Ara and Harry, who did not look away.
"Believe me," croaked Black. "Believe me, Ara, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily and I would've never hurt my Ava, not in a million years, Ara. I would have died before I hurt them."
And at long last, Harry believed him. Throat too tight to speak, he nodded.
Black looked at Ara, whose expression was lacking emotion, but on the inside, there was an immense sense of relief, for her Mum's actual murderer was going to get what he deserved after twelve long years, and an innocent man would finally get the freedom he so desperately deserved. So without hesitation, Ara gave a confident nod, her shoulders dropping.
"No!"
Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Ara and Harry's nods had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, grovelling, his hands clasped in front of Black 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," said Black, causing Ara to snort.
"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," said Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.
"Forgive me, Remus," said Black.
"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Lupin, who was now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"
"Of course," said Black, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"
"Yes, I think so," said Lupin grimly.
"You wouldn't. . . you won't. . ." gasped Pettigrew. 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 toward 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, it's not much to boast about, Peter," said Black harshly.
Ron, still pale 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 knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry.
But before Pettigrew could get too close, Ara grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him behind her, pointing her wand directly at Pettigrew's face.
"Don't even think about it."
"Ara—" Pettigrew choked. "Your—your mother was kind—"
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ARA?" roared Black. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HER? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT AVA IN FRONT OF HER? YOU KEEP MY WIFE'S NAME OUT OF YOUR FILTHY MOUTH!"
"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, trying to look over Ara's shoulder. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed. . . James would have understood, Harry. . . he would have shown me mercy. . ."
Both Black and Lupin strode forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him backwards onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.
"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort, and you murdered Ava in cold blood," said Black, who was shaking too. "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!" bellowed Black. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE AVA, LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"
"He — he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "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?" said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"
"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "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 realised," said Lupin quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter."
Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall.
"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."
"Harry!" asked Ara, absolutely baffled.
Black and Lupin both looked staggered.
"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents, the reason Ara has no Mum, the reason I was taken away from my daughter," 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." he then looked at Ara and quickly added, "If you're also okay with it, of course."
"It's probably better this way. . .he can testify, they can give him Veritaserum, and he'll start blabbing," Ara nodded, she looked at Sirius. "It'll be easier to prove your innocence that way."
"Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, 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'd rather you suffer a long time than just get it over with now."
No one moved or 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 people who have the right to decide, Ara, Harry," said Black. "But think. . . think about 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," said Lupin. "Stand aside, Harry."
Harry hesitated.
"I'm going to tie him up," said Lupin. "That's all, I swear."
Harry stepped out of the way and over to Ara's side. Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand this time, and the next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.
"But if you transform, Peter," growled Black, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too, "we will kill you. You agree, Ara? Harry?"
Ara and Harry looked down at the pitiful figure on the floor and nodded so that Pettigrew could see them.
"Right," said Lupin, 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?" said Hermione in a small voice, looking down at Snape's prone figure.
"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," said Lupin, 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 safe 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 Invisibility Cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket.
"And two of us should be chained to this," said Black, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."
"I'll do it," said Lupin.
"And me," said Ron 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.
☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾
IT WAS A RATHER STRANGE GROUP. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like entrants in a six-legged race. Next came Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by his own wand, which was being pointed at him by Sirius. Ara, Harry and Hermione brought up the rear.
Getting back into the tunnel was difficult. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. Harry could see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead. Ara went right after Black, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. Ara had the impression Black was making no effort to prevent this.
"You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Ara as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"
"You're a free man," said Ara, she then motioned to Harry to come and join them, he gave her a small smile before walking beside her.
"Yes. . ." said Black, then he turned to Harry. "I'm also — I don't know if anyone ever told you, Harry — I'm your godfather."
"Yeah, I knew that," said Harry.
"Well. . . your parents appointed me your guardian," said Black stiffly. "If anything happened to them. . .I'd take care of you."
They were all silent for a moment, though it wasn't necessarily awkward, the air around them just felt weird.
"What was Mum like?" asked Ara suddenly, Lupin already shared his view on her, she wanted to know Sirius'.
"She was. . . there really aren't enough words to describe her. . .she. . .well, she was fierce, protective, very stubborn when she wanted to be." a gruff chuckle escaped him, his eyes softening. "She became my life, she knew me and my hardships and she stayed by my side. . . she was everything I could've asked for and more. Ava wasn't just anyone, she was an enigma of sorts, every time you thought you knew her you'd find a new side to explore. She was very compassionate, always helping first years find their way to their classes when they got lost, she did also have quite the temper, which from what I've gathered, you have, too," Black grinned softly at Ara, his eyes ranking her face. "You have her smile as well. She could light up an entire room in seconds."
"She sounds wonderful," Ara mumbled with a watery smile, feeling Harry take hold of her hand, showing his support.
"She was." Sirius' voice slightly cracked. He cleared his throat. "I know—I know you two have your lives with the Weasleys, Ara, and your Aunt and Uncle, Harry. And you might want to stay with them but. . . .well. . . think about it. Once my name's cleared. . . if you two wanted a. . . a different home. . .to—maybe live with me. . ."
"What — live with you?" Harry said, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling, Ara held in her laughter as he rubbed his head. "Leave the Dursleys?"
"Of course, I thought you two wouldn't want to," said Sirius quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd—"
"Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Sirius'. "Of course, I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"
"As long as the place is walking distance from the Burrow," Ara said hesitantly, fidgeting with her bracelet. "The Weasleys. . .they're family, I wouldn't want to leave them but. . . I'd also like to get to know you. I'm sure they'd understand. Daily visits are also a requirement, though."
Sirius turned right around to look at them; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Sirius didn't seem to care.
"Really?" he said. "You both mean it?"
"Of course we mean it!" exclaimed Ara, offering a small smile.
Sirius' gaunt face broke into a few of the first true smiles Ara and Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger was shining through the starved mask. And just then, something seemed to have caught his eye.
"You're wearing the bracelet," he breathlessly said, staring at Ara's wrist.
"I've been wearing it since you sent it," Ara said, she wasn't even surprised to find out he'd been the one to give it to her. "It's beautiful, thank you."
"You have your Mum to thank, she had great taste," Sirius grinned before giving a sad sigh, "I went back to our house to fetch it. . .I almost didn't recognise the place, so lifeless compared to when I last saw it. I wanted to get you something else, you used to have this little black dog plush glued to your fingers—"
"I still have it!" Ara said excitedly.
"She carries it around everywhere," Harry added, chuckling when Ara gave him a playful nudge.
"I suppose I had it when they gave me away to Molly, it's just always been with me," Ara explained.
"Well, at least a part of me was always physically with you," Sirius said, his eyes damp.
They did not speak again until they had reached the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw to the knot on the trunk, because Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches.
Sirius saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for Ara, Harry and Hermione to pass. At last, all of them were out.
The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering.
"One wrong move, Peter," said Lupin threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest.
Silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. Snape was still drifting weirdly ahead of Black, his chin bumping on his chest. And then —
A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight.
Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron, who had stopped abruptly. Sirius froze. He flung out one arm to make Ara, Harry and Hermione stop.
Ara could see Lupin's silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.
"Oh, my —" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"
"Run," Sirius whispered. "Run. Now."
But Ara couldn't run. Ron was chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. She leapt forward but Sirius caught her around the shoulders and threw her back behind him.
"Leave it to me — RUN!"
There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's hair was on end again; he was backing away —
As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Ara and Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backwards, away from Ron and Pettigrew. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other.
Ara and Harry stood, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the battle to notice anything else. It was Hermione's scream that alerted them —
Pettigrew had dived for Lupin's dropped wand. Ron, unsteady on his bandaged leg, fell. There was a bang, a burst of light — and Ron lay motionless on the ground. Another bang —Crookshanks flew into the air and back to the earth in a heap.
"Expelliarmus." Harry yelled, pointing his own wand at Pettigrew; Lupin's wand flew high into the air and out of sight. "Stay where you are!" Harry shouted, running forward.
Too late. Pettigrew had transformed. They saw his bald tail whip through the manacle on Ron's outstretched arm and heard a scurrying through the grass.
There was a howl and a rumbling growl; Ara turned to see the werewolf taking flight; it was galloping into the forest —
"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled.
Sirius was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and back, but at Harry's words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.
Ara couldn't take it any longer, she made a rash decision and transformed into her Animagus form, running as fast as she could as she went to help Sirius.
"Ara!" yelled Hermione, but she paid no mind.
When Ara got to the two of them, Lupin was about to bite Sirius around the neck, but she bit his back leg, making him turn to her, furious. He swung his claws at her and she managed to dodge the first few times, but it seemed that besides being incredibly strong, werewolves were also really fast, so unfortunately, Lupin managed to graze the left side of Ara's torso, making it bleed. She let out a loud whimper as Lupin turned to Sirius once more, who was now snarling angrily.
Meanwhile, Harry was trying to help Hermione with Ron when from beyond the range of their vision, they heard a yelping, a whining: a wolf in pain. . .
"Ara," Harry muttered, staring into the darkness.
He had a moment's indecision, but there was nothing they could do for Ron at the moment, and by the sound of it, Ara was in trouble—
Harry set off at a run, Hermione right behind him. The yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. They pelted toward it, and Harry, running flat out, felt the cold without realising what it must mean —
The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lakeshore, they saw why — Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands on either side of Ara's face, who was lying on her back, holding a hand to her side, she seemed to be barely conscious.
"Nooo," Black muttered. "Nooo. . . please. . ."
Harry immediately dashed towards them and he took Ara from Black's hands, grabbing her face in his hands. He tried to shake her awake, but she didn't even stir.
"C'mon Ara. . ." Harry muttered. "Wake up!"
"Harry, she has a gash on her side!" Hermione stressed. "She needs to go to the hospital wing."
But just then Harry saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. He spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them. . .
"Hermione, think of something happy!" Harry yelled, raising his wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision, shaking his head to rid it of the faint screaming that had started inside it —
I'm going to live with my godfather and Ara. I'm leaving the Dursleys.
He forced himself to think of Ara and Sirius, and only Ara and Sirius, and began to chant: "Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!"
Black gave a shudder, collapsing onto the ground where he lay motionless on the, pale as death.
He'll be alright. I'm going to go and live with him. Ara will be alright.
"Expecto patronum! Hermione, help me! Expecto patronum!"
"Expecto —" Hermione whispered, "expecto — expecto —"
But she couldn't do it. The Dementors were closing in, barely ten feet from them. They formed a solid wall around Sirius, Harry, Ara, and Hermione, and were getting closer. . .
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry yelled, trying to blot the screaming from his ears, still keeping an arm around Ara. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
A thin wisp of silver escaped his wand and hovered like mist before him. At the same moment, Harry felt Hermione collapse next to him. He was alone. . . completely alone. . .
"Expecto — expecto patronum —"
Harry felt his knees hit the cold grass. Fog was clouding his eyes. With a huge effort, he fought to remember — Sirius was innocent — innocent — We'll be okay — I'm going to live with him and Ara —
"Expecto patronum!" he gasped.
By the feeble light of his formless Patronus, he saw a Dementor halt, very close to him. It couldn't walk through the cloud of silver mist Harry had conjured. A dead, slimy hand slid out from under the cloak. It made a gesture as though to sweep the Patronus aside.
"No — no —" Harry gasped. "He's innocent. . . expecto— expecto patronum —"
He could feel them watching him, hear their rattling breath like an evil wind around him. The nearest Dementor seemed to be considering him. Then it raised both its rotting hands — and lowered its hood.
Where there should have been eyes, there was only thin, grey scaly skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was a mouth. . . a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death rattle.
A paralysing terror filled Harry so that he couldn't move or speak. His Patronus flickered and died.
White fog was blinding him. He had to fight. . . expecto patronum. . . he couldn't see. . . and in the distance, he heard the familiar screaming. . . expecto patronum. . . he groped in the mist for Sirius, and found his arm. . . they weren't going to take him. . .
But a pair of strong, clammy hands suddenly attached themselves around Harry's neck. They were forcing his face upward. . . He could feel its breath. . . It was going to get rid of him first. . .He could feel its putrid breath. . . His mother was screaming in his ears. . . She was going to be the last thing he ever heard —
And then, through the fog that was drowning him, he thought he saw two silvery lights growing brighter and brighter. . . He felt himself fall forward onto the grass. . .Facedown, too weak to move, sick and shaking, Harry opened his eyes. The Dementor must have released him. The blinding light was illuminating the grass around him. . . The screaming had stopped, the cold was ebbing away. . .
Something was driving the Dementors back. . . It was circling around him, Ara and Sirius and Hermione. . . They were leaving. . .
The air was warm again. . .
With every ounce of strength he could muster, Harry raised his head a few inches and saw two animals, walking away across the lake. . . Eyes blurred with sweat, Harry tried to make out what it was. . . They were as bright as a unicorn. . . Fighting to stay conscious, Harry watched them come to a halt as they reached the opposite shore. For a moment, Harry saw, by its brightness, two people welcoming them back. . . raising their hands to pat them. . . people who looked strangely familiar. . . but it couldn't be. . .
Harry didn't understand. He couldn't think anymore. He felt the last of his strength leave him, and his head hit the ground as he fainted, collapsing right next to Ara.
☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:✧*⋆.*:･ﾟ✧.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆ ☾
HEYYYYYY
How are youuu???
Sirius talking about Ava make my heart hurt :( I'm planning on starting their book after I finish publishing fourth year!
Also, I find it so sad that Ara found out she'd literally been living with her mum's killer for basically her entire life :/
What do you think Ava and Sirius' relationship was like?
qotd: what's a book you're currently reading? I'm reading In Your Wildest Dreams, it's a hockey romance!
Remember to COMMENT and VOTE
ILY! See you in the next chapter darlings <33