I woke up to screaming, Hermione's screaming, my first reaction was to protect her; so I snapped my eyes open and struggled out of Danielle's hold. My haste made me clumzy and I fell at Bonnie's feet while someone spoke, this someone was the last person I wanted to see in this situation.
"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing my Invisability Cloak aside, careful to keep his wand directly at Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, thank you..."
"Your welcome," I snapped, scrambling to my feet and brushing off my robes. "What are you doing here?"
"Sometimes I feel as though you forget that I am your teacher, Miss Potter," Snape said, his upper plip curled into a sneer. "Show some respect."
I grimaced at him, showing him that I'll never respect him. "The day I'll respect you is the day when pigs fly."
Snape gave me one more disgusted look before turning to Lupin, slightly breathless but his face full of triumph. "Your wandering, perheps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glittering. "I was just in your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletfull 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."
"Severes," Lupin began, but Snape overoad him.
"I told the Headmaster again and again that you were helping your old friend, Black, into the castle, Lupin, and heres the proof. Not even I thought you had the nerve to use this old place as your hideout..."
"Severes, your making a mistake," Lupin said urgently. "You haven't heard everything - I can explain - Sirius isn't here to kill Harry or Nixie-"
"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes gleaming frantically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this... He was quite certain you were harmless, you know, Lupin... a tame werewolf..."
"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man in Azkaban?"
BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and tied themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrist, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move.
A scream escaped Dani's lips at the same time Sirius roared with rage and started towards Snape, but Snape had his wand pointed at Sirius' face.
"Give me a reason," he spat. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."
Sirius stopped dead. It was impossible to show which face showed more hatred.
Slowly, so no one would know what I was doing, I took out my wand and held it at Snape; no one noticed because at the same moment Hermione stepped foreward uncertainly.
"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, Mister and Miss Potter, Weasley, Johnson, and Heart are out-of-bounds and are in the presence of a convited murderer and werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."
"But if - if there was a mistake-"
"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"
A few sparks whot out of his wand, which was still pointed at Sirius' face. Hermione fell silent.
"Vengeance is sweet," Snape breathed at Sirius. "How I wished I'd be the one to catch you..."
"The jokes on you again, Severes," Sirius snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat to the castle - " he jerked his head at Ron. "I'll come quietly."
I sent a questioning gaze at Dani who whispered what I missed while I was out. Pettigrew was Scabbers? Weird.
"Up to the castle?" Snape asked silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I need to do is call the Dementors to the Willow. They'll be pleased to see you Black... Pleased to give you a kiss, I daresay... I-"
What little color in Sirius' face left.
"You - you've got to hear me out," Sirius croaked. "The rat, look at the rat..."
But there was a mad glint in Snape's eye that I've never seen before, he looked beyond reason. I held my wand higher.
"Come on, all of you," he said, flicking his wand and the end of the cords that bounded Lupin flew to his hand. "I'll drag the werewolf, perhaps the Dementors will kiss him too..."
My anger flared and I ran across the room, blocking the door. My wand was held tightly in my hand, ready to curse when I needed to.
"Get out of the way, Miss Potter, your already in enouph trouble," Snape snarled. "If I haven't been here to save your skin-"
"Oh, please, save me from your lame excuses," I snapped. "Your not here to save us, your here to get revenge on two innocent men."
"Innocent?" Snape sneered.
"Yes, innocent," I said tightly, because even I wasn't sure if they were innocent. "Let Professor Lupin go. He hasn't done anything."
"Except help a mass murderer inside the castle," Snape said triumphantly.
"Professor Lupin could have killed Harry and I any time this year," I said angrily. "We've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the Dementors. If he was helping Sirius, why didn't he finish us off then?"
"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolves mind works," hissed Snape. "Get out of the way, Miss Potter."
"Your pathetic," I replid coldly. "Just because they made a fool out of you at school you won't even listen-"
"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shreiked, looking madder then ever. "Your just like your father, Potter. I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bending knee! You would have been well surved if he had killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogent to believe you've might been mistaken about Black - now get out of the way or I'll make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"
I raised my wand more quickly than anyone would have thought possible.
"Expelliarmus!" I yelled; though I wasn't the only one who had shouted it. 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 down from his hair. He had been knocked out.
I looked around. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Bonnie, and Dani had tried to disarm Snape at the same moment. Snape's wand flew in an arc and landed softly on the bed next to Crookshanks.
"You shouldn't have done that," Sirius said, looking at me. "You should have left him to me..."
I smiled at him. "I'm sorry, but I've been waiting three years to do that, I couldn't pass up the oppertunity."
"We attacked a teacher..." Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "We attacked a teacher... Oh we're going to be in so much trouble-"
Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Sirius went down quickly and untied him. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his wrists where the ropes had cut into him.
"Thank you, Nixie," he said.
"I'm not sure if I can believe you till I see proof that Pettigrew is alive," I said uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact.
"Then its time we offered you some proof," said Lupin. "you, boy - give me Peter, please. Now."
Ron clutched Scabbers (Or Peter, I guess) closer to his chest.
"Come off it," said Ron weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean..." He looked up at us for support. "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat - there are millions of rats - How's he supposed to know which rat he's after if he's locked up in Azkaban?"
"You know, Sirius, that is a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Sirius and frowning. "How did you find out where he was?"
Black put one of his hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled, old newspaper.
It was a photograph of Ron and his family on vacation that appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.
"How did you get this?" Asked Lupin, thunderstruck.
"Fudge," answered Sirius. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his newspaper. And there was Peter, on the front page with Peter on his shoulder... I knew him at once... How many times have I seen him transform? And the caption said that the boy would be going back to Hogwarts... to where Harry and Nixie were..."
"My God," said Lupin, staring at the picture then at Scabbers and back again. "His front paw..."
"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.
"He's got a toe missing," said Sirius.
"Of course," breathed Lupin. "So simple... so brilliant... he cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transformed. "Said Sirius. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I killed Lily and James. Then, just before I could curse him, he blew up the whole street with his 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 part they could find of Peter was his finger."
"Look, Scabbers probably gotten into 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 say he's been loosing a bit of weight when he found out Sirius was on the loose again."
"He's been scared of that mad cat," said Ron, nodding towards Crookshanks who was purring on the bed.
This wasn't right, I thought, because Scabbers has been acting sick since they had left Egypt.
"Ron," Bonnie said. "There are too many coinsidences."
"Yes," Sirius agreed, nodding at Bonnie in approval. "And this cat isn't mad. He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He's recodnised 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 started to communicate to him what I was after... and he's been helping me..."
"What do you mean," Hermione breathed.
"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't... so he stole the passwords into the Gryffindor Tower for me... as I understand it, he took it off a boys bedside table..."
"Hey!" Dani finally said, she sounded indignant. "Neville got into alot of trouble for that. He can't even go to Hogsmeade anymore."
"Tell Neville that Sirius Black is sorry, than," Sirius grinned.
I snorted. Imagining Nevvile's scared round face.
"Anyway, Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it." Sirius went on. "This cat - Crookshanks, did you call him - told me Peter left blood on the sheets..."
"You can talk to cats," I asked incruduliously.
Sirius turned to me, confused. "Can't you? I mean, in your animagus form?"
"What!" Everyone but Lupin and Sirius shouted.
"You just told them my secret!" I yelled exasperated.
"Nixie, please, don't tell me that you became an unregistered Animagus?" Hermione begged, then groaned when I gave her a sheepish smile.
"Cool, what are you?" Bonnie asked.
I blushed and mumbled under my breath.
"What?"
"A puppy..." I said louder. I peeked up at them from under my eyelashes and saw them laughing at me under their breath. "Can we get on with the story, please!"
"Oh, yeah," Sirius said. "I suppose Peter bit himself... well, faking his own death had worked once."
These words seemed to jolt Harry back to his senses. "And why did he fake his own death? Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"No," Lupin said. "Harry-"
"And now you've come to finish him off!"
"Yes, I have," said Sirius with an evil look at Scabbers.
"Then Nixie should have let Snape take you!" Harry shouted, pointing at me.
"Harry," said Lupin hurriedly. "Don't you get it? All this time we though Sirius killed your parents, and Peter tracked him down - but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father - Sirius tracked him down-"
"THATS NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET KEEPER. HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"
Harry was pointing at Sirius, who was shaking his head, his sunken eyes suddenly over bright.
"Harry... I as good as killed them," said Sirius, who seemed to forget everyone else in the room as he stared at Harry, as though begging for reasurence. "I pursuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last minute, pursuaded them to use him as their Secret-Keeper instead of me...I'm to blame, I knwo it... that night they died, I arranged to check on Peter, amke sure he was still safe, but when I"d arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents house straight away.And when I saw their house, destroyed. And their bodies...I realised what Peter must have done... What I'd done..."
His voice broke. He turned away.
I glanced at my friends and brother. Harry looked unsure, Hermione looked sadened, Ron looked like everyone had gone mad, Bonnie still looked as though she were ready to run, and Dani looked at Sirius with deep sorrow, like she wanted to hug him.
"Enouph of this," said Lupin with a steely note in his voice I had never heard before. "Theres one certain way to prove what happened that night. Ron, give me that rat."
"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" asked Ron 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, held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeck without stopping, twisting and turning, his black eyes bulging in his head.
"Ready, Sirus?" asked Lupin.
Sirius had already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes seemed to burn on his face.
"Together?" he said quietly.
"I think so," holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count o0f three. One - two - THREE!"
A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in middair, his small grey form twisting maddly - Ron yelled - the rat fell and his the floor. There was another blinding flash of white 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 and Hermione and me. 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 has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. I saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.
"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 to the door. "My old friends..."
Sirius' wand rose again but Remus held his wrist firmly, then turned back to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.
"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed a bit while squeacking on the bed down there-"
"Remus," gasped Pettigrew. "You don't believe him, do you? He tried to kill me Remus..."
"So we heard," Remus said, 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 I saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too… You've got to help me, Remus…"
Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes.
"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," 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. "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… 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 shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Lupin. "You don't believe this — this madness, Remus —"
"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," 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 bearsized 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 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 backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan… a bluff… Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you… It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."
Pettigrew was muttering distractedly; I caught words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy," but I couldn't help paying more attention to the ashen color 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. If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry or Nixie before now?"
"There!" said Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's or Nixie's heads! Why should I?"
"I'll tell you why," said 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 of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him…"
Pettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk.
"Er — Mr. Black — Sirius?" said Hermione.
Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though he had never seen anything quite like her.
"If you don't mind me asking, how — how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"
"Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I —"
But Lupin silenced him with a look. Black was frowning slightly at Hermione, but not as though he were annoyed with her. He seemed to be pondering his answer.
"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me… but it kept me sane and knowing who I am… helped me keep my powers… so when it all became… too much… I could transform in my cell… become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know…" He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions… They could tell that my feelings were less — less human, less complex when I was a dog… but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand…
"But then I saw Peter in that picture… I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry and Nixie… 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 hypnotized.
"… ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies… and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry and Nixie, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors…
"So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive…"
I remembered Harry telling me 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 through the bars… I swam as a dog back to the mainland… I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You two fly as well as your father did, Harry, Nixie…"
I beamed proudly.
He looked at Harry, who did not look away.
"Believe me," croaked Black. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."
Harry seemed to believe him and nodded.
"No!"
Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.
"Sirius — it's me… it's Peter… your friend… you wouldn't —"
Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.
"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," said Black
"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, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.
"Sweet girl… clever girl… you — you won't let them… Help me…"
Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified.
Pettigrew then turned to Bonnie with wide, teary eyes.
"You are the nicest Slytherin I know..." Pettigrew whimpered. "Help me... help me..."
Bonnie threw her nose in the air with no pity in her eyes. Pettigrew turned to Dani, who had her eyes wide and looked revulted.
"Don't think about trying to beg to me, you moster," Dani said, her voice shakey.
Pettigrew turned to me, shaking. "Nixie... You look so much like Lily... Lily would understand... she won't let them... she won't..."
"Yes," I agreed. "Lily would understand. I'm not Lily and I'm not a forgiving person, either."
Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry.
"Harry… Harry… you look just like your father… just like him…"
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Black. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"
"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed… James would have understood, Harry… he would have shown me mercy…"
Both Sirius and Lupin strode forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.
"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," 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 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 realized," said Lupin quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."
Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall.
"NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."
Black and Lupin both looked staggered.
"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you and Nixie have no parents," Black snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."
"I know," Harry panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors… He can go to Azkaban… but don't kill him."
"Harry!" 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 don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers — just for you."
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 person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Black. "But think… think what he did…"
"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does…"
Pettigrew was still wheezing behind him.
"Very well," 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. Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand this time, and next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.
"But if you transform, Peter," growled Black, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too, "we will kill you. You agree, Harry?"
Harry looked down at the pitiful figure on the floor and nodded so that Pettigrew could see him.
"Right," 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 safety 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.
I suddenly burst out laughing, causing everyone to tunr and stare at me as though I was mad.
"What?" Bonnie asked.
"Ron has been sleeping with a middle-aged man in his bed for years," I giggled. "How did Fred and George not see that when they had the map?"
I got shrugs for an answer.
I shook my head and laughed. After getting a strange look from everyone we set off. I took the liberty of conjuring a mustache on Snapes face while we climbed.