Quick A/N!
Hey guys, quick question!
At Fourth Year there will be a Quidditch World Cup, right? I was double thinking if Y/N will go with the Malfoys or with the Weasleys? You guys choose.
Also long chapter ahead.
~Sophia
Chapter 22-The Traitor
Y/N POV:
"Severus!"
Hermione screamed as well. Black leapt to his feet, as I felt a shock like electric across my body.
"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Severus, putting the Invisibility Cloak aside, carefully keeping his wand pointing at Professor Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you..."
I felt chills down my spine as I remembered that I have stolen the Invisibility Cloak from Severus before we got to Hagrid's cabin.
Severus' eyes then flickered to where I was sat down at as I saw his eyes traveled to my bleeding knee whiles I saw him point his wand to Professor Lupin's chest deeper.
"What did you do to Y/N?" asked Severus, glaring at Professor Lupin.
"I got into an accident," I immediately said to him, as he looked back at me and he looked at me in the eyes. He was using his Legilimens as I let him read my mind.
When I let him, he looked back at Professor Lupin.
"You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he asked, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did... lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was
a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."
"Severus -" Professor Lupin begun, but was instantly cut off by Severus.
"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 Professor Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything - I can explain - Sirius is not here to kill Harry -"
"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Severus, not paying attention to what Professor Lupin was saying. "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 Professor Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth
putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"
BANG!
A thin, snakelike cords burst from the tip of Severus' wand and twisted themselves around Professor Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles. He fell to the ground because of over balanced, and was unable to move. With a roar of rage and anger, Black started towards Severus, but within a second Severus pointed his wand towards Black's eyes.
"Give me a reason," he whispered, in a warning voice. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."
Black stopped dead on his tracks, it was impossible to say who has the more hatred on each others face.
I was just sat down, paralyzed, not knowing whom to believe. If all of it as true, then why didn't Severus told me? Oh, I know why. Professor Lupin mentioned that Professor Dumbledore asked Severus to not say to anyone about all of this, and he kept his word to him. Like he always did, and always will. I looked over at Harry and to Ron as I saw the two of them looked confused as i do, as Ron still struggled to keep Scabbers in his grip. I then looked over at Hermione who was beside me, as she stepped a little closer to Severus and said, "Professor Snape - it - it wouldn’t hurt to hear what they’ve got to say, w-would it?"
"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," snapped Severus. "You, Potter, Weasley, and also you, Y/N, you four 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!" shouted Severus, as he was getting more and more irritated. "DON'T TALK ABOIT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks from the tip of Severus' wand shot out, and was still pointed to Black. Hermione fell silence.
"Severus, your making a mistake -" I begun but was stopped by Severus.
"Shut it, Y/N, keep quiet! Did you tell someone about it? Did you?!" he asked, half shouted, making me flinch a little bit as he raised his voice to me.
I exactly know what he meant about it. He was talking about his past. I saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, Black and even Professor Lupin eyes on me with a confused look.
"No, I didn't," I said calmly, as I saw Severus sighed.
"Vengeance is sweet," breathed Severus to 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 Severus 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...."
Black's face turn into deeper white, it has drained what little color he has.
"You - you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat - look at the rat -"
But there was a mad glint in Severus' indicating that he had enough of all this.
"Come on all of you," said Severus, as he clicked his hand and the end of the cords that was still wrapped around Professor Lupin flew to his hand. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too -"
"But, Sev, he's -" I begun but was once again interrupted by Severus.
"I said, keep quiet, Y/N," he snapped at once. "If you don't want to end up like this werewolf then, shut your mouth."
I bit my lower lip to keep myself from saying anything else. But then, Harry took a few steps across the room and blocked the door.
"Get out of the way, Potter, you’re in enough trouble already,"snarled Severus. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin -"
"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry said. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn’t he just finish me off then?"
"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Severus. "Get out of the way, Potter."
"YOU’RE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T
EVEN LISTEN -"
"Harry, you don't the full story -" I begun once again.
"THEN, TELL ME THE WHOLE STORY! TELL ME -"
"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Severus shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like son, Potter! 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! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black - now get out of the way, or I will make you.
GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"
Before Severus could step forward towards Harry, he had raised his wand up to him.
"Harry, don't -" I shouted, trying to stop him but it was too late.
"Expelliarmus!" he yelled. Severus flew across the room, to the wall, then slid down to the floor, I saw a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair.
Both Ron and Hermione tried disarming Severus at the same time. Severus' wand soared up in the air falling down to the bed next to where Crookshanks is.
"SEVERUS!" I shouted, trying to stand up, and once again failed, but luckily I was caught by Harry.
He wrapped his arm around my waist for a little bit more support as his other hand raised with his wand.
"You shouldn’t have done that," said Black, looking at Harry. "You should have left him to me...."
I saw Harry avoid his eyes, as I looked at him.
"Harry, you shouldn't have done that..." I whispered to him, as I felt my eyes fill up with tears.
"I only disarmed him," said Harry.
"Can't you see the blood oozing under his hair?! Is that how blind you are?!" I asked, half shouted.
Harry didn't answer.
"We attacked a teacher... We attacked a teacher..." whimpered Hermione. "Oh, we're gonna be in so much trouble -"
Professor Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Black bent down and quickly untied him. Professor Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms were the rope had cut into them.
"Thank you, Harry," he said. "I'm still not saying I believe you," he told Professor Lupin.
"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Professor 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 me, Harry and Hermione for support, "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat - there are millions of rats - how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"
In fact, that is a good question to point out.
"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Professor Lupin, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"
Black put one of his clawlike hands into his robe and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he unfolded and smoothed out, then he held it our for us to see it.
It was the Daily Prophet from previous summer, it was the photograph of Ron and his whole family. And there he is, Scabbers, in Ron's shoulder.
"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 Harry was...."
"My God," said Professor Lupin softly, staring at Scabbers and back again. "His front paw..."
His front paw? What's with his paw? His only missing one finger what's the matter with that -
"The Ministry mentioned that a finger was the only thing left when Peter Pettigrew was supposedly murdered by Sirius Black," I muttered.
"Right you are, Y/N!" exclaimed Black to me. "He's got a toe missing!"
"Of course," breathed Professor Lupin. "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. 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?" I said, now more convinced that Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew. "The biggest bit of
Peter they found was his finger."
"Y/N, I don't know if you're getting mad like them or anything, but 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 Professor 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 at the bed, purring quietly.
"Ron, you mentioned that Scabbers was looking really ill before Hermione even get Crookshanks! That's why you asked the lady at the pet store a Rat tonic!" I told him, as I saw Harry and Hermione double think because of this.
"This cat isn't mad," said Black hoarsely. He reached his hand out and started stroking Crookshanks ginger fur. "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...."
Everything was really absurd but, fits perfectly.
"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?" he said furiously. "Because he
knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"No," said Professor Lupin, "Harry -"
"And now you’ve come to finish him off!"
"Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers, who was still struggling through Ron's grip.
"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.
"Harry," said Professor 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 - 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!"
Professor Lupin was pointing at Black who was shaking his head to him. The sunken, dark eyes was now suddenly overbright.
"“Harry . . . I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me.... I'm to blame, I know it.... The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter,
make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies... I realized what Peter must've done... what I'd done...."
His voice broke and turned away.
"Enough of this," said Professor Lupin. "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 Professor Lupin. "If he really is a rat, it won’t hurt him."
Ron looked at him.
"Ron, give it to him!" I shouted, half irritated.
Ron hesitated, but as long last, he held o if Scabbers sand let Professor Lupin took him. Scabbers was now even more squeaking, turning and twisting as his black eyes was almost bulging from his head.
"Ready, Sirius?" asked Professor Lupin.
Black has already retrieved Severus' wand. He approached Professor Lupin and the struggling rat, his wet eyes were now suddenly burning in anger.
"Together?" he said quietly.
"I think so," said Professor Lupin, his one hand gripped upon the struggling rat whiles the other was pointed to it. "On the count of three. One - two - THREE!"
A blue-white light erupted from the wands that Black and Professor Lupin was holding as it straightly went to the rat. Scabbers was in midair, his small gray form twisting madly - Ron yelled in horror - the rat fell and hit the floor real hard. Then, there was a another blinding flash of light then -
It was like seeing a tree growing real fast. A head was shooting upward, limbs were sprouting for each side, with a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been earlier, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was snarling at him as his fur stood up in the air. I felt Harry's grip on my waist got tighter.
He was a very short man, hardly taller than me, Harry and Hermione. He looked like a shrunken plump man who had lost a lot of weight at a short amount of time. His skin looked grubby, like Scabbers's fur, his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes goes around the room.
His eyes travelled to me, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Professor Lupin and finally to Black. But, I saw his eyes flickered towards the door and back to Black again.
"Well, hello, Peter," said Professor Lupin pleasantly, as though a few days had been transformed in front of him into his old schoolmate friend. "Long time, no see."
"S - Sirius... R - Remus..." Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky, as I suspect his personality was also like a rat. Very sneaky. (hehe XD) "My friends... my old friends..."
Because of this Black raised his wand arm, pointing it at Pettigrew, but Professor Lupin seized his waist just in time before he even do something. He then turned to Peter once again, his voice calm 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," gasped Pettigrew at him, whiles I can see the beads of sweta comming out from his pasty white skin, "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'd be so -"
"He's come to try and kill me again!" squeaked Pettigrew all of a sudden, pointing at Black, as I saw him use his middle finger since his index finger was missing. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too.... You've got to help me, Remus...."
Black looked even more like a skull than earlier as he looks at Pettigrew with killer 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, his eyes travelling at each windows, cracks and at 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 Professor Lupin, his brows furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"
"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"
Then, Black laugh, it was a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room.
"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said.
Pettigrew flinched as though Black was holding a brandished whip.
"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 tone of breathing getting faster and faster. His white, pasty face was gleaming because of the sweat.
I looked straight at his eyes, carefully, but can't fully read his mind since he was moving every second, like a rat.
"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 once again, wiping his face with his sleeve and looked up at Professor 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 Professor 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," growled Black, suddenly sounding like a bear ready to bite his dinner for the night, when earlier he was mimicking Pettigrew. "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...."
"Ugh," I suddenly, awkwardly, said as all of their eyes turned to me. "Pettigrew, isn't it - ?"
"Oh, don't bother to be nice to him!" snarled Black.
"If you are not the spy" - Black snorted at this - "then, why do you seem scared?"
This isn't really me asking questions because I'm confused or a little puzzled, it was a distraction for him to make eye contact with me so I can fully see his mind.
"Of course, I'm scared! The person who attempted and who's framing me is in this room! How can I not be scared?" said Pettigrew, we made eye contact. This was perfect.
I saw the Dark Lord, his red eyes that gleamed through the darkness looked upon the small man, with his very small eyes.
Before I could go even further, mine and Pettigrew's eye contact stopped.
"You're using Legilimens!" shrieked Pettigrew, as he went behind Professor Lupin and using him as a shield.
"What do you mean?" asked Professor Lupin, as everyone looked at me.
"I felt it!" he shrieked once again.
"I'm too young to know Legilimens," I said, furrowing my eyebrows at him. "How did you even know the feeling?"
"Y-you're Severus's sibling! I should have known!" everyone looked at him, weirdly. "He used to Legilimens to me too!"
"And what if I am a Legilimens? Then, why are you scared?" I asked, now with a grin across my face.
"Is he the spy?" asked Harry.
"I'm not quite sure, but I did saw the Dark Lord looking at you. In fact, to be exact, he looked quite pleased," I said, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm liking you more and more," muttered Black.
"Me, a spy... must be out of your mind too... 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 viciously 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. And to top it all up, Y/N saw you with Voldemort."
I saw Pettigrew muttered for distraction, as I caught some of his words like 'far-fetched' and 'lunacy'. But I just can't notice seeing his eyes darted to the windows and ro the only door.
"Professor Lupin?" said Hermione. "Can - can I say something?"
"Certainly, Hermione," said Professor 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!” said Pettigrew, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"
"Because Professor Dumbledore had mentioned last year that the Dark Lord, according to his research, is in Albania," I said to Hermione, as she looked confused. "You wouldn't know because you were petrified at that time."
"I'll give you a another reason,” said Black to Hermione. "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 several times but closed it again.
"Er - Mr. Black - Sirius?" said Hermione.
Black, or shall I say, Sirius jumped at this addressed and looked at her like he had never 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 at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I -"
Pettigrew stopped and fell silence, as Professor Lupin gave him a look. Sirius was frowning slightly at this, not from annoyance, but he didn't seem to know what to answer.
"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me... but it kept me sane and knowing who I am... helped me keep my powers... so when it all became... too much... I could transform in my cell... become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know...." He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions.... They could tell that my feelings were less - less human, less complex when I was a dog... but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand....
"But then I saw Peter in that picture... I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry... perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength
again...."
Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing something, but staring at Black the whole time 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, 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...."
"So, you turn into your Animagi form to slid right under the guards noses with no worries?" I asked, remembering my theory about this.
"Yes," said Sirius simply.
"That's right! I asked Severus about this and he said Dementors would have difficulty sensing you because of the less complex emotions of animals," I said, quite really fast. "So, my theory right all along..."
For the first time, when I looked over at Sirius, he smiled at me. Not a pity or sarcastic smile, it was a true smile whiles I smiled back.
"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, like Y/N said becuase of the complex emotions.... I was thin, very thin... thin enough to slip through the bars.... I swam as a dog back to the mainland.... I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry...."
He looked at Harry, who did not look away.
"Believe me," croaked Black. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."
I looked up at Harry, but at long last, he nodded.
"No!"
Pettigrew fall down on his knees as though Harry's nod was agreeing for his death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees to Sirius his hands clasped in front of his as though praying to the gods above for mercy from doing a terrible sin.
"Sirius - it's me... it's Peter... your friend... you wouldn't..."
Black kicked him out and Pettigrew recoiled in horror.
"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," said Sirius.
"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Professor Lupin instead, still with clasped hands 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 Professor Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Petti-
grew's head like he was not there.
"Forgive me, Remus," said Black.
"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Professor 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 his grin then vanished. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves.
"And I'm sorry for saying those horrible things earlier to the two of you," I said, inbetween their conversation.
"It's fine, Y/N," answered Professor Lupin to me with a smile.
"No worries," said Sirius to me. "Shall we kill him together?"
"Yes, I think so," said Professor 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 disgust.
"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 Sirius 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 from Pettigrew's hands, as she moved backwards, looking horrified.
Pettigrew once again turned to his knees to Harry and I, he then seized my robes and grasping it so tightly almost making me fall, luckily Harry tightened his grip onto me.
"Please.... sibling of Severus-"
"Don't even dare to beg mercy to me, you're just wasting your last moments in this world. Thanks to you my best friend didn't met his parents, you rat!" I said, half shouted seizing my robe from his hands.
Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head
slowly toward Harry who was next to me.
"Harry... Harry... you look just like your father... just like him...."
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Sirius. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK
ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"
"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling in front of Harry, nudging him making me fall to the ground. "Harry, James wouldn’t have wanted me killed.... James would have understood, Harry... he would have shown me mercy...."
Sirius and Professor Lupin both strode forward, seizing Pettigrew's shoulder and pushing him onto the ground as he was twitching and shaking in terror as they stared down at him.
"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said Sirius, who was
shaking too, but this time in anger. "Do you deny it?"
Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible and quite uncomfortable to watch, it was like watching a balding, huge baby. In fact, this is what I imagine Harry's cousin looks like, except for the balding part.
"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 Sirius. "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 Sirius, with a terribly fury in his face, he looked like a dog growling to a cat. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"
"You don’t understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"
"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Sirius. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"
Sirius and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised and was pointed at Pettigrew.
"You should have realized," said Professor 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, whiles I was still sat down on the ground clutching my, still, bleeding knee watching them.
"NO!" yelled Harry all of a sudden, making all of us bewildered. Harry ran in front of placing himself in front of Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."
Sirius and Professor Lupin both looked staggered.
"Harry, what are you doing?!" I asked, also staggered as Sirius and Professor Lupin.
"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," snarled Sirius. "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," spat Harry at him, pushing Pettigrew's arms off of 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, only Pettigrew was making noises. He was wheezing on the ground as he clutched his chest. I saw Sirius and Professor Lupin looked at each other before they lowered their wands.
"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Sirius. "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 Professor Lupin. "Stand aside, Harry."
Harry hesitated.
"I'm going to tie him up," said Professor Lupin. "That's all, I swear."
Harry stepped aside as Professor Lupin walked up to Pettigrew, this time, cords burst out of his as it wraps itself around Pettigrew making his wriggle on the floor like a worm, bound and gagged.
"But if you transform, Peter," growled Sirius, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too, "we will kill you. You agree, Harry?"
Harry looked down and nodded
so that Pettigrew could see him.
"Right," said Professor Lupin, suddenly businesslike. "Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, and Y/N, I think your cut might need a few stiches and I have no idea how to do that, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing, and Y/N, you need to change that piece of cloth it's already soaked in blood."
Before I could say anything, Sirius said something.
"I got it," he said, then hurried up to me, as well as Professor Lupin to Ron.
Sirius bent down in front of me, as he carefully bent my knee as I winched a little bit. He took the piece of cloth that was soaked from my blood and put it down, whiles I grabbed it. He pointed his wand at the cut and muttered, "Ferula", then in thin air a clean bandaged was now wrapped around it.
"Thanks," I muttered, looking down at my knee not at Sirius.
"It's fine, your my godson's girlfriend," he said, as I immediately looked up with widened eyes.
"What? No - you've got the wrong idea - he's not - Harry's not my -" I stopped as I saw him chuckle.
"I was kidding. I know you like that Malfoy boy," he said, as I felt my cheeks burn. "Just take note that he might break your heart."
I gave him a confused look, as he stood up. I then looked over at the other side of the room, as I saw Severus, still unconscious.
"What about Severus? What about Professor Snape?" Hermione and I said in unison, as we looked at each other and chuckled.
I rummage through the pockets of my robe and found a flask, I took the piece of cloth whiles I opened the flask. I squeezed the cloth, as I let the blood trickle down into the flask. When I finished, I tried to stand up, and finally, I successfully stood up with no worries as I saw Ron was now also in his feet.
"Is Severus okay?" I asked, worried.
"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," said Professor Lupin, bending over Severus and checking his pulse. "You were just a little - overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er - perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this..."
Professor Lupin raised his wand, pointing it at Severus, as I staggered beside him. He muttered 'Mobilicorpus'. As tgough invisible strings were tied around Severus's wrist, neck and knees, he was pulled up into a standing position though his feet was a few inches aeay from the ground, he kinda looks like a puppet, but his head was unpleasantly, dangling at the side.
I walked up to Severus, as I took his black, strand of hair away from his face whiles I pulled out my wand.
"Ferula," I muttered, and just like what happened earlier to my knee, a bandage was wrapped around Severus's forehead where blood was trickling down.
When I turn around I didn't realized that Professor Lupin had already picked the Invisibility Cloak.
"And two of us should be chained to this," said Sirius, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."
"I'll do it," said Professor Lupin.
"And me," said Ron savagely, limping forward.
"Are you okay with that, Ron?" asked Hermione, as he nodded.
Crookshanks then, leap out from the bed and led the way out of the bedroom, with his long brushlike tail uphigh in the air.
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6686 words. OH MA GAD I'm exhausted.
My back hurts, geez... In case that you missed the question at the very start of this chapter (idk how you missed it but anyways) if Y/N will go with the Malfoys or with the Weasleys at the Quidditch World Cup at fourth year?
You guys choose bc I'm double thinking about it. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!!
~Sophia
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