Unedited
Chapter Thirty Two - "A rat pedophile, that must be a new one."
I'm on the floor, with Elinor and Maya on either side of me.
"What happened?" I ask.
"You tell us," says Hermione, who I can't see. "All we know is that you, Harry, Black and Lupin all collapsed."
"And Scabbers," says Ron, "he's just stopped moving. I don't think he's dead, though. At least, I'm pretty sure."
I suddenly remember everything, and sit up quickly.
I'm Harry's sister ....
I run a hand through my hair to find it longer than before. I look at it and gasp.
"It turned black just before you woke up," Maya says, "you're eyes have changed too. They're green now."
I get to my feet, just as Harry, Lupin and Black all jerk awake.
"Did you all see that?" I ask, and Harry nods.
"You're my sister?" Harry says.
"WHAT?" Hermione, Ron, Maya and Elinor yell.
I quickly explain everything that we'd seen as Lupin and Black get to their feet.
"But I don't understand," says Elinor, "why did you only just remember?"
"I removed all her memories," says Lupin quietly, and we look at him. "Dumbledore thought it would be safer, until it was time to tell you."
I stare at him for a moment before speaking. "You're my godfather."
"Yes," he says, looking guilty and ashamed. "I wanted to tell you but I cou-"
He's cut off by me wrapping my arms around him.
"It's okay," I smile, and let him go.
"Everyone that knew about you, will now remember," Lupin says, "we could remove the memories from everyone, so we hid them instead.
"That's some spell," I laugh.
"So your Harry's sister," Ron shakes his head as if trying to get his head around the idea.
"Yup, Emily Alice Potter."
"Alice, is after your mother's friend and your godmother, Alice Longbottom."
"Neville's mum," I say quietly, thinking back to the summer when I had met her in Saint Mungo's.
"But you're an elemental, Emily," says Hermione, clapping her hands together. "That must be so exciting. I've read all about them, it's a very rare gift. You're extremely lucky."
"You tell me that after I've learnt to control it," I laugh. "I'm guessing the spell suppressed my elemental magic."
"It did," says Lupin, smiling at me. "But you should be able to use it soon. With time and lessons, you'll be able to use it to the full ability whenever you want to."
It's silent for a moment, until Lupin clears his throat. "I believe we were going to force Peter to show himself. Ron, may I have Scabbers?"
"What are you going to do?" Ron asks again, holding Scabbers, who's just regained consciousness, tightly.
"Force him to show himself," says Lupin. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."
Ron hesitates, then at long last holds out Scabbers and Lupin takes him. Scabbers begins to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his hand.
"Ready, Sirius?" says Lupin.
Black has already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seem to be burning in his face.
"Together?" he says quietly.
"I think so," says 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 erupts from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers is frozen in mid-air, his small black form twisting madly - Ron yells - the rat falls and hits the floor. There is another blinding flash of light and then -
It's like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head is shooting upwards from the ground; limbs are sprouting next moment, a man is standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks is spitting and snarling on the bed, the hair on his back standing up.
That's not creepy at all.
He's a very short man, hardly taller than Harry or I. His thin, colourless hair is unkempt and there's a large bald patch on top. He has the shrunken appearance of a plump man held lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looks grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and dorm thing of the rat lingers around his pointed nose, his very small, watery eyes. He looks around at us all, his breathing fast and shallow. I see his eyes dart to the door and back again.
"Well, hello, Peter," says Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupt into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."
"S-Sirius ... R-Remus ..." Even Pettigrew's voice is squeaky. Again, his eyes dart towards the door. "My friends ... my old friends ..."
Black's wand arm rises, but Lupin seizes him around the wrist, gives him a warning look, then turns again to Pettigrew, his voice is 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," gasps Pettigrew, and I can 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," says Lupin, 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 shrieks suddenly, pointing at Black, and I see that he's using his middle finger because his index is 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 looks more skull-like than ever as he stares at Pettigrew with fathomless eyes.
"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," says Lupin.
"Sorted things out?" squeals 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?" says 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 shouts shrilly. "How else did her get out of there? I suppose He Who Must Not Be Named taught him a few tricks!"
Black starts to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that fills the whole room.
"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he says.
Pettigrew flinched as though Black has brandished a whip at him.
"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" says Black. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"
"Don't know - what you mean, Sirius -" mutters Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face is shining with sweat now.
"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years," says 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 ... 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 ..." says Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. He wipes his face on his sleeve and looks 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," says Lupin evenly.
"Innocent, but scared!" squeals 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 contorts.
"How dare you," he growls, 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. You always liked bug friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us ... me and Remus ... and James ..."
Pettigrew wipes his face again; he's 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 hisses, so venomously that Pettigrew takes 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."
Pettigrew is muttering distractedly; I catch words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy", but I can't help paying more attention to the ashen colour of Pettigrew's face, and the way his eyes continue to dart towards the windows and doors.
"Professor Lupin?" says Hermione timidly. "Can - can I say something?"
"Certainly, Hermione," says Lupin courteously.
"Well - Scabbers - I mean, this - this man - he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You Know Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"
"There!" says Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Hermione 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," says Black. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for twelve 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 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 I case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him ..."
Pettigrew opens his mouth and closes it several times. He seems to have lost the ability to talk.
"Er - Mr Black - Sirius?" says Elinor timidly.
Black jumps at being addressed like this and stares at Elinor as though being spoken to politely is something he's long forgotten.
"If you don't mind me asking, how - how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"
"Thank you!" gasps Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I -"
But Lupin silences him with a look. Black is frowning slightly at Elinor, but not as though he's annoyed with her. He seems to be pondering his answer.
"I don't know how I did it," he says 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 swallows. "They feel their way towards people by sending 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 Harry ... perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again ..."
Pettigrew is shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though hypnotised.
"... ready to strike the moment he could be sure of allies ... to 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 honours ...
"So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive ..."
I remember what Mr Weasley had told Mrs Weasley. "The guards say he's been talking in his 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 though 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 come to watch the Quidditch, of course ... you fly as well as your father, Harry ..."
He looks at Harry, who doesn't look away.
What about me?
Sssh brain, they're having a moment.
"Believe me," croaks Black. "Believe me. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them.
And at long last, Harry nods.
"No!"
Pettigrew has fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffles forward on his knees, grovelling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.
"Sirius - it's me ... it's Peter ... your friend ... you wouldn't ..."
Black kicks out and Pettigrew recoils.
"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," says Black.
"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaks, 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," says Lupin. "I assume that's why you'd didn't tell me, Sirius?" he says casually over Pettigrew's head.
"Forgive me, Remus," says Black.
"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," says Lupin, who's now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"
"Of course," says Black, and the ghost of a grin flits across his gaunt face. He, too, begins rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"
"Yes, I think so," says Lupin grimly.
"You wouldn't ... you won't ..." gasps Pettigrew. And he scrambles 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 is staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.
"I let you sleep in my bed!" he says.
"Kind boy ... kind master ..." Pettigrew crawls towards Ron, "you won't let them do it ... I was your rat ... I was a good pet ..."
"If you made a better rat than human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," says Black harshly. Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenches his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turns on his knees, staggers forward and seizes the gem of Hermione's robes.
"Sweet girl ... clever girl ... you - you won't let them ... help me ..."
Hermione pulls her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backs away against the wall, looking horrified.
Pettigrew turns towards Elinor and Maya, but she speaks before he can.
"Don't even try it," Maya hisses.
Pettigrew kneels, trembling uncontrollably, and turns his head slowly towards Harry and I.
"Harry ... Emily ... you both look just your father ... just like him ..."
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY OR EMILY?" roars Black. "HOW DARE YOU FACE THEM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF THEM?"
"Harry," whispers Pettigrew, shuffling towards us, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed ... James would have understood, Emily ... he would have shown me mercy ..."
"I've got changed in front of you!" I shudder. "I think I'm going to be sick. I'm never going to be able to change in front of my pets again. A rat pedophile, that must be a new one."
Both Black and Lupin stride forwards, seize Pettigrew's shoulders and throw him backwards into the floor. He sits there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.
"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," says Black, who's shaking too. "Do you deny it?"
Pettigrew bursts into tears. It's horrible to watch; he looks like an oversized, blading baby, cowering in the floor.
"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord ... you have no idea ... he had 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 force me -"
"DON'T LIE!" bellows Black. "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!" gasps 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?" says Black, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"
"You don't understand!" whines Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roars Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"
Black and Lupin stand shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.
"You should have realised," says Lupin quietly. "If Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter."
Hermione covers her face with her hands and turns to the wall.
"NO!" Harry yells. He runs forward, placing himself in front of Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can kill him," he says breathlessly. "You can't."
Black and Lupin both look staggered.
"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Black snarls. "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 hurry to stand next to Harry, grabbing his hand as I stand by his side.
"We know that," I say quietly. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors. He can go to Azkaban - just don't kill him."
"Harry! Emily!" gasps Pettigrew, and he flings his arms around Harry's knees. "You - thank you - it's more than I deserve - thank you -"
"Get off," Harry spits, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "We're not doing this for you. I'm doing it because I don't reckon my dad would've wanted his best friends to become killers just for you."
No one moves or makes a sound except Pettigrew, whoas breath is coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black and Lupin are looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lower their wands.
"You're the only people who have the right to decide," says Black. "But think ... think what he did ..."
"He can go to Azkaban," I repeat. "If anyone deserves that place, he's does ..."
Pettigrew is still wheezing behind us.
"Very well," says Lupin. "Stand aside please."
I go to move, but Harry hesitates.
"I'm going to tie him up," says Lupin. "That's all, I swear."
I pull Harry out the way, still holding his hand. Thin cords shoot from Lupin's wand this time, and next moment, Pettigrew is wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.
"But if you transform, Peter," growls Black, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew, too, "we kill you. You agree, Harry, Emily?"
We both nod.
"Right," says Lupin, suddenly business-like. "Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I rink it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing."
He hurries over to Ron, bends down, taps Ron's leg with his wand and mutters, "Ferula." Bandages spin up Ron's leg, strapping it righty to a splint. Lupin helps him to his feet; Ron puts his weight gingerly on the leg and doesn't wince.
"That's better," he says. "Thanks."
"What about Professor Snape?" says Hermione in a small voice, looking down at Snape's prone figure.
"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," says Lupin, bending over Snape and checking his pulse. "You were just a little - over-enthusiastic. Still out cold. Er - perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back on the castle. We can take him like this ..."
He mutters, "Mobilicorpus." As though invisible strings are tied to Snape's wrists, neck and knees, he's pulled into a standing position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He hangs a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling. Lupin picks up the Invisibility Cloak and tucks it safely into his pocket.
"And two of us should be chained to this," says Black, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."
"I'll do it," says Lupin.
"And me," says Ron savagely, limping forwards.
Black conjures heavy manacles from thin air, soon Pettigrew is upright again, left arm chained to Lupin's right, right arm to Ron's left. Ron's face is set. He seems to have taken Scsbbers's true identity as a personal insult. Crookshanks leaps lightly off the bed and ears the way out of the room, his bottle-brush tail held jauntily high.
But there's one thought that is still rocketing around my brain. If Sirius didn't kill my adoptive parents, then who did? And, why?