"Ron! Wait!" Finley heard Harry yell towards his ginger friend as the three of them ran after the boy and his rat. Tiring as it is, it was exhausting Finley with her shoulder sending jolts of pain. And now here they were, shocked to see a twisted tree the Finley knew well what it was.
"Scabbers, you bit me," she could hear Ron scold his rat.
"Do both of you realise what tree this is?" Hermione asked in horror.
"That's not good—"
"You think Harold?" Finley snapped, cupping her hands around her mouth in haste. "Ron, run for your bloody life!"
Ron looked up and paled, pointing behind them he yelled back, "Harry, Hermione, Finley! Run!"
Growls were heard, Finley turned around and was stunned to see the familiar black dog who always seemed so sweet to her. Looking like a feral beast out for blood, she too paled not knowing what to do. "It's the grim!"
A grim? Hell, it sure does look like a bloody grim. Whatever happened to the sweet dog who licked her tears away when she was feeling down, there must be a mistake.
"Calm down Snuffles, it's me. Finney! You don't want to eat us right?"
"Finley what are you doing?!" Hermione scolded backing away slowly. Goodness if only Filey knew what she was doing, she was clearly as clueless as anyone present, she was acting like an idiot treating a feral dog like a puppy.
The dog ran, causing Finley to fall back closing her eyes shut in fear that it bit her but it merely jumped over her. Feeling someone shake her shoulder, she looked up and Ron was screaming in horror.
"Harry!" Ron cried as he was pulled away by the dog with its teeth.
"Ron!" Harry exclaimed in alarm, helping Finley up and running towards his best friend and the dog. The black dog dragged Ron into a hole in the whomping willow, and it certainly started a commotion on the tree.
"Harry watch out!" Finley screamed as a branch came and lashed towards them, instinctively manoeuvring herself out of its branch's way.
"Finley! Duck!" She heard Hermione's yell but it was too late, the branch hit Finley's torso. Her arms grabbing hold on the branch.
"Ahh!" Finley screamed and soon she wasn't the only one screaming, Hermione was on one of the tree's branches too.
"Harry!" She hears a scream, she could've sworn that she saw Hermione grab hold on to Harry's shirt pulling him with her into the hole. And she was the only one left on the branches, she reached for her wand while she still held onto her the flailing branch for her dear life. Clutching on her wand, "Confringo!"
It wasn't the brightest thing she done, but it did shoot her into the hole, the down side was that she slid down the hole head first. And later she managed to kiss the dirty floor with her face.
"Are you alright Finley?" She could hear Harry ask, helping her up.
"I'll be fine," Finley says, clutching her shoulder tightly as she felt her hand violently shake again. It was either her paining shoulder, or an actual injury. Either way, Finley wasn't going to be able to use her wand again for the rest of her time spent in this weird hole.
"Where do you suppose this goes?" Hermione asked cautiously, supporting Finley's weight. Harry right in front of them protectively, and for some reason Harry might know where this was going.
"I have a hunch, I just hope I'm wrong."
The walk in the tunnels was wet and smelled of mould and rot, just hoping that Ron was still alive at this point. Finley tried desperately to hold herself together and not pass out from the pain. The mental exercise of not minding the pain wasn't working anymore. She couldn't use her wand to fix herself up like she does, and it was frustrating for her.
"Are you sure that you're alright Finley?" Hermione asks as she gently adjusts her hold on Finley's body.
"I'll be fine, let's just find Ron and get the hell out of here," Finley says, not liking where the tunnel was leading to.
The tunnel eventually lead to a trap door, and in the trap door the three friends could hear the whimpers. "That's probably Ron," Finley says.
"I'll go ahead and check first," Harry suggests before holding onto something to climb. And soon he held out his hand to help Hermione in, and both of them helped Finley seeing as she was the one injured.
"We're in the shrieking shack, aren't we?" Hermione asked looking around the broken down home.
"I hate this place already," Finley grumbles as she looked around the dusty old broken home that swayed in the wind. "It's looked wicked from afar, up close and inside it's the definition of evil."
"Come on," Harry called, leading the two girls up the stairs searching. As they reached the second floor, screams were heard, it was until Harry looked into a room that he saw Ron.
"Ron! Are you okay?"
"The dog where is it?"
Finley observed the room Ron was in and froze, there was no dog, it was a man. An animagus, and who knew.
"It's a trap. He's the dog! He's an animagus!" Ron rambled pointing at something in the corner of the room. The two teens looked towards where Ron pointed and saw Finley standing frozen by the door a few feet away from the thin and grim looking man.
Shallow faced, wearing tattered stripped clothing of a prisoner. He looked sick and horrifying, the four teens were left speechless. It was Sirius Black. The man who sold his best friends to the dark lord, the man who murdered his best friend and thirteen muggles in cold blood. The first man to ever escape Azkaban, was standing in front of four third years, and looked like he was out for blood.
"Harry, get back," Finley manages as he held out her good hand in attempt to shield away her gryffindor friends. She slowly backed away from the slowly advancing criminal, as she cautiously did so, her hand was now visibly shaking violently.
It didn't matter if her friends could see it, she was set on protecting her friends now from the serial killer, Sirius Black.
"If you want to kill Harry, you have to kill us too!" Finley heard Ron warn, even if his voice was squeaking and shaken, he tried his best to stand and protect Harry even with a bad leg. But still Sirius continued to walk forward slowly and still his eyes were sent on one target.
"Didn't you hear me? I said you'll have to kill us first before you kill Harry!" Ron yelled in attempt to startle the man.
"No," the criminal's voice said, hoarse and scratchy. As if he was deprived of water for over a decade, "Only one will die tonight."
"That'll be you!" Harry screamed, pulling Finley back and charging towards Sirius, choking him and pulling him to the ground. Harry's wand was out, pointed towards Sirius Black. But as Finley watched the scene unfold, the criminal did not make a move of defence, he let Harry take him down.
Something was off.
"Are you going to kill me, Harry?" Sirius laughed as if he was going insane. His teeth baring with stains of dirt in between, silly for Finley to take note.
'Next time I think about murdering Pansy, I'll remember that they don't have toothbrushes in Azkaban,' Finley thought and instantly scolding herself, this was not the time to remember Pugsy Parkinson.
"Expelliarmus!" A voice thundered as the old broken doors opened. It was professor Lupin disarming Harry, and it shocked the four of them even more. Their favourite Professor helping a criminal? It can't be.
Harry rolled off Sirius, the DADA professor advancing towards the criminal, wand still pointed towards him. "Well well Sirius, quite ragged aren't you?"
"Finally, the flesh reflects the madness within," Lupin says getting nearer the man who laid on the dusty floor where Harry pinned him on.
Harry grabbing Finley's hand and pulling her closet to them as she was unconsciously walking towards the two adults.
"Well, you'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you Remus?" Sirius retorts casually towards the professor.
Lupin slowly dropped his wand, a smile etching on his face, he helped Sirius Black stand up on his feet. Sirius hugging Lupin as if he was embracing the man with his life on the line.
"It's him," Sirius laughs in both relief and joy. As if he found an answer he was searching all his life, and answer that Finley wanted to learn as soon as it unfolded.
"I understand," Lupin replied, holding an expression of comfort for his friend.
The four teenagers all watched in shock as the scene unfolded, was Professor Lupin helping the criminal to get to Harry?
"Let's kill him!" Sirius suggests, his eyes was bright and ready to grab and wand to kill. A tone that did not settle with anyone in the room.
"No!" Hermione yelled, catching the two adult's attention. "I trusted you! And all this time, you've been his friend."
"Hermione—" Finley started but winced in pain, her arm stopped shaking and was now beginning to throb.
"He's a werewolf! That's why he's been missing classes." Hermione continues.
Everyone in the room failed to notice how pale Finley went with the pain starting to grow in her body.
"How long have you known?"
"Since Professor Snape set the essay," Hermione says standing still as the professor started to advance slowly towards them.
"Well, Hermione. You are the brightest witch of your age I've ever met," Lupin remarks as he looked at his students with pride. If it were up to Remus, he would be praising the four of them for their courage but this didn't settle with the impatient felon.
"Enough talk Remus! Come on, let's kill him!"
"Kill who?" Finley manages to ask, hiding pained voice.
"Wait!" Remus reasoned.
"I did my waiting!" Sirius' voice boomed, all the emotions he felt since he was sent to Azkaban resurfaced. His face contorted in the look of both depression and fury, "Twelve years of it! In Azkaban!"
The man's voice slowly broke, only Finley saw it as a sign of weakness, Sirius Black was vulnerable. Too vulnerable to be someone who lead the massacre of innocent lives, he didn't kill the Potters.
"You didn't do it," Finley voiced. Gazes were now on her, now they realised the shape Finley was in. A busted lip, a trembling arm, pale faced, she looked terrible.
"No, it wasn't me," Sirius nodded, something sparked in his eyes, hope. Hope that someone was here that believed that it wasn't him who killed his best friends, he made a small advance towards Finley but was blocked by Remus and Harry who stood in front of Finley protectively.
"Very well, kill him," Remus said, handing Sirius his wand. "But wait one more minute, Harry and Finley have the right to know why."
Harry and Finley? What does Finley have to do with any of this?
Finley gulped, were her best friends right all along?
"What does Finley have to do with this? You betrayed my parents, you're the reason they're dead!" Harry gritted, hiding Finley behind his back.
"No it wasn't him, somebody did betray your parents. Somebody who quite recently, I believed to be dead!"" The professor spoke, his eyes glaring at one particular thing.
"Well, who was it then?—"
"Peter Pettigrew!"
"And he's in this room right now!" Sirius exclaimed, looking even more impatient as time passed by.
"Come out come out Peter! Come out and play!"
"Expelliarmus!" A familiar black robed Professor emerged from the broken doors. They all froze as Remus' wand flew off from Sirius' hand, shocked to see their potions professor holding up his wand at Sirius Black.
Finley most especially as he was the last person she expected to come in the shack and follow them, this evening was certainly eventful.
"Vengeance is sweet," Snape began eyeing Sirius who cautiously looked at the wand that was pointed at him. "How I hoped I'd be the one to catch you."
"Severus—" the wand was now pointed at Lupin who raised his hands in surrender.
"I told Dumbledore you were helping a friend into the castle. Here's the proof," the black robed professor says as he pointed his wand towards the two wizards who were unarmed.
"Brilliant, Snape. Once again you've put your keen mind into the task and come to the wrong conclusion," Sirius comments walking around trying to stray the wand's point to him.
"Now if you'll excuse us, Remus and I have some unfinished business to attend to—" the wand was now shoved back towards Sirius.
And all the teenagers could do was stand and watch, Finley leaning on Harry for support, the pain now slowly subsiding, growing numb for some unknown reason.
"Severus don't be a fool!" Remus warns his fellow professor, cautious that he might do something drastic to his dear friend.
"He can't help it. It's a force of habit," Sirius remarks mockingly.
"Sirius be quiet—"
"Be quiet yourself Remus!" Sirius snaps, Remus dropping his head giving up.
Was it wrong to think that this situation was hilarious? Maybe it was the numbing pain on Finley's arm, but this was certainly amusing for her that she couldn't help but snort.
"Now listen to you two arguing like an old married couple!"
"And why don't you run along and play with your chemistry set!"
And that did it, Finley snorted and couldn't help stop the shit eating grin creeping on her face. This caught the professor's attention indeed.
"And I see that you are here as well Evans, even after my numerous warning you still find yourself by the side of these lions—"
"We're her friends, there's nothing you could do to separate her from us," Hermione defends, holding on to Finley who paled at the deadly stare the professor gave her.
"It doesn't matter, she'll be in France before you could even start your fourth year." This was news, rather large of a news to everyone in the room and the only thing Finley could do was drop her head in shame.
"You can't do that! You can't separate Finley from her brother for long Severus!"
"I can and I will! I lost Lily once to a Potter, and I'm not losing her daughter too!" Severus stated. Finley now stunned at how quick the truth came out, both Harry and Finley had not made a sound. To Harry it was shocking that the sister he thought died had been his friend for three years. To Finley, the things her best friends said were right, she should've believed them.
"She's my goddaughter you whinny son of a bitch!" Remus yelled in rage as growing red. This was another revelation that Finley wasn't ready for, her memories flashed to the night she asked about the little girl in the picture frame. "If anything happened to Lily and James, I was the one to protect her—"
"And how can you protect her when you can't even protect you from yourself!" Severus seethes, causing Remus to shut up and feel defeated.
Turning back to Sirius who fell silent, staring at Harry and Finley longingly, there they were. The children if his best friends James and Lily, one he lost and the other he thought had died along with his other good friend.
"I could do it, you know." Snape spoke, wand now pointing back towards Sirius, anger in his eyes.
"But why deny the dementors, they're so longing to see you."
This was getting out of hand, and Finley needed to do something, she couldn't reach her wand with her hand. She couldn't use her other hand as it was being held by Harry who was too caught up with watching the scene in front of them.
"And when I'm done with you and your little werewolf boyfriend. I will make sure that the girl will never see her troublesome brother again—"
"Expelliarmus!" A shout was heard, as loud as the voice went, it sent the black robed Professor flying towards the old bed breaking it in the process.
"Harry what did you do?!" Hermione gasped, not knowing what her best friend did or what just happened.
"You attacked a teacher!" She exclaimed as she watched Harry point his wand at Sirius once again. His other arm still around Finley.
"Tell us about Peter!" Harry demanded.
"He was at school with us, we thought he was our friend," Remus started to explain, his gaze resting on the girl Harry had his arms around in, worried at how the girl looked.
"No. Pettigrew's dead. You killed him—"
"No he didn't," Finley said, releasing herself from Harry's grip, standing on her two feet. Her arm wasn't anymore shaking, and this time she was glaring towards something that no one seemed to care for except the older men.
"He really didn't. I thought so too, until you mentioned Pettigrew on the map."
"The map is lying then!"
"No Harry," Finley interrupts, as far as the conversation went, it all made sense as to why Lupin always had the map opened during her tea with him in his office. It made a lot of sense as to why the professor was afraid of Sirius getting a hold of the map that Harry had.
"They made the map, it can never lie to its creators," Finley explains. Cheering in her head that she finally solved a piece of a puzzle that she never thought she was solving.
"Pettigrew is alive! And he's right there!"