~~~~~~~~
"Never mind, don't answer that. You'll probably give me a riddle or something," she muttered as an after thought.
The Slytherin stood in the middle while both sides stood confused. She just acknowledged Black with the same casualness she would give anybody else. Hermione, Ron, and Harry's relieved expressions turned apprehensive, staring at Echo, wondering why she didn't immediately join their side.
Hermione quickly grew suspicious, she warily glanced between Black and Echo. He didn't seem at all worried about her presence, in fact, he seemed a little relieved. Hermione knew now, that the chances of Echo siding with the Trio grew impossibly thin. She was correct as Echo side stepped into the middle of Lupin and Black.
Harry went pale, all color was drained from his face. His eyes traveled back and forth from the mass murderer, to the person he believed to be his friend as they stood side by side.
"No . . ." he whispered in disbelief. The hurt of Echo's betrayal coated his voice.
"I-I don't believe it," Hermione mumbled, equally shocked at Echo's choice of side.
"You're a traitor!" Ron shouted, clutching the struggling Scabbers closer to his chest.
The three Gryffindors felt like they've all been stabbed in the back by the one person they welcomed into their group. They're Professor betraying them was one thing, but their friend's was almost impossible to come to terms with. Harry felt lied to, he was confident in confiding with Echo about his concerns and secret desires; Hermione felt stupid, trusting Echo with her secret when she kept Lupin's lycanthropy from the others; Ron was furious, he should've followed his gut feeling about befriending a Slytherin.
Lupin observed Echo as she stared straight at the Trio. Guilt started rising in his chest, thinking that she only joined him because she felt obligated to help him. "Echo . . . you should think about what you're doing," he suggested, wanting Echo to join her friends.
Echo ignored him. "I know you've all made your judgments about me, all trust is gone—"
"— long gone!" Harry corrected. His expression matched Ron's, both furious.
"Don't listen to her! She's known about Lupin since the beginning! And I bet she's been helping Black, too!" Hermione yelled, putting the pieces together. Harry and Ron looked even more betrayed, knowing that Echo covered for Lupin.
"Two for two, Hermione," Echo admitted calmly. She understood what was going through their minds. There was no going around it until undeniable evidence was given. "I have known about his lycanthropy since the beginning. But I haven't been helping Black in the way that you think."
Lupin looked between Echo and Black with mass amounts of confusion in his eyes. Black wasn't looking at anybody but the rat.
"What do you mean?! You've been helping him into the castle so he could kill Harry!" Ron accused.
"No," said Echo firmly. "I never helped him into the castle . . . that was all him. I did, however, let him escape. Since November's full moon I've been bringing him food and other necessities. I've also helped with the search for Scabbers. But Harry," she said, locking eyes with him. He wanted to look away but felt compelled to stare back. "I've only helped him because I believe him to be innocent. Not now, or ever, would I want you dead."
"I don't believe you," Harry said strongly.
"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Black. "You boy — give me Peter. 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 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?"
"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Black growing slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"
Black put one of his claw-like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper; which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others.
It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prohpet the previous summer, the same photo he showed Echo, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.
"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.
"Fudge," said Black. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page . . . on this boy's shoulder. . . . I knew him at once . . . how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts . . . to where Harry was . . ."
"My God," said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw . . ."
"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.
"He's got a toe missing," said Echo.
"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple . . . so brilliant . . . he cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street either the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself — and sped down into the sewer with the other rats. . . ."
"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest hit of Peter they found in as his finger."
"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right —"
"Twelve years, in fact," said Echo. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"
"We — we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.
"Common garden rats don't live that long, Ron," Echo pointed out.
"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again..."
"He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Ron, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.
If Echo recalled correctly, Ron bought Scabbers' rat tonic before Hermione even wanted a cat.
"This cat isn't mad," said Black hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked crookshanks's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me . . . finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me . . . "
"What do you mean?" breathed Hermione.
"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't . . . so he stole the passwords into gryffindor tower for me . . . as I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table . . . "
Echo glared at the ugly feline. Oh, so Crookshanks was the reason Neville lost his passwords.
"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it," croaked Black. "This cat — Crookshanks, did you call him? — told me Peter had left blood on the sheets . . . I supposed he bit himself . . . well, faking his own death had worked once."
"And why did he fake his death?" Harry said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"No," said lupin, "Harry—"
"And now you've come to finish him off!"
"Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers.
Echo cursed under breath due to Black's dramatics and his unnecessary vagueness.
"Then I should've let snape take you!" Harry shouted.
"Harry," said Lupin hurriedly, "don't you see? all this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down — but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father — 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!" He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly overbright.
"You're not listening, Harry," Echo interjected. Harry glared at her, but she continued, unaffected by it. "Black was never your mother and father's Secret Keeper . . . it was Peter."
"But, Fudge said different—"
"Take what the Minister says as a grain of salt," Echo said, an edge to her words, making it obvious that the Minister was not favored in her eyes.
"Harry . . . I as good as killed them," Black croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to peterat 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. He turned away.
"Enough of this," said Lupin, and there was a steely note in his voice Echo had never heard before. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."
Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.
"Ready, Sirius?" said Lupin. "I suppose, Echo, as well?"
Black had already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. Black and Echo approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.
"Together?" he said quietly.
"I think so," said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "Echo?"
"Let's just get this over with, I'm tired and this whole thing is giving me a headache," she mumbled.
Despite of the situation, Lupin quirked a smile. "On the count of three. One — two — Three!"
A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly — Ron yelled — the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then —
It was like watching a speed-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; Echo was taller than the man. His thing, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a 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 clothes almost like Scabbers' fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Echo saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.
She moved to stand in the doorway. Echo didn't hide the disgust in her eyes as she assessed over Pettigrew. He was as much as a coward as Fudge was — no, even Fudge had some dignity.
"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 towards the door, but quickly looked away noticing the stone-faced Slytherin. "My friends . . . my old friends . . ."
Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning look, then turned again to Pettigrew.
"You see, Peter," said Echo, taking a small step forward, and mimicking Lupin's light tone. "We've been having a little chat about what happened the night Lily and James died. Harry, over there —" she pointed to Harry casually— "wrongly believes that Black was the one to betray his parents. Now, you might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking like a dog toy—"
"Remus," gasped Pettigrew while beads of sweat broke out over his pasty face, "you don't believe her, a Slytherin, do you . . . ? Sirius tried to kill me, Remus. . . ."
"Speak about her like that again and I'll let Sirius finish the job, right now," said Lupin, more coldly. Peter cowered back. "But, 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!" Peter squeaked suddenly, pointing at Black, and nobody missed 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 fathomless eyes.
"No one's going to kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin.
"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking widely about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded window and, again, the only door where Echo stood. "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 Echo. "When nobody has ever done it before? Guilty conscience?"
"No! 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?"
Please, Echo mentally scoffed, The only 'Dark power' Black had, was his Gods awful sense of humor.
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, a sound Echo could identify from a mile away.
"What, scared to hear your 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? They are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've aren't the error of their ways. . . . If they ever got wind that you're still alive, Peter —"
"Don't know . . . what you're talking about . . . ," said Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face in his sleeve and looked up at Lupin. "You don't believe this — this is madness, Remus —"
"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Lupin evenly. "Unless . . . Echo's right and you do have a guilty conscious, but why would you if you were innocent?"
"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put on if their best men in Azkaban — the spy, Sirius Black!"
Echo rolled her eyes, "The only Black Voldemort would want escaping Azkaban would be Bellatrix."
Black's face contorted — either by Pettigrew's claim, or Echo's mention of his cousin.
"How dare you," he growled, 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 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 Potter only made you Secret-Keeper because Black suggested it," Echo said taking another step closer, causing Pettigrew to take a step backward. "Of course . . . it would be the perfect plan . . . a bluff, if you will. . . . Who would ever expect a weak, talentless thing like you, to be their first choice as Secret-Keeper? Voldemort would be sure to go after Sirius," Echo said emotionlessly, but her words were enough to strike a few blows to Peter's non-existent ego. "I would've payed, to see Voldemort's face, when you were the one to hand him the Potters. Tell me, Peter, was it the finest moment of your pathetic life?"
Peter was muttering distractedly; Echo caught the words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy." She payed close attention to the way his eyes continued to dart toward the windows and door.
Nobody had expected those words to fall out of Echo's mouth. She was always indifferent, and neutral. The only time anybody had heard animosity, or even dislike for someone from her, was Lupin, when she talked about hinkypunks and the Minister. Each Gryffindor was hesitant, on suggesting that this was out of character, because truth be told, they wouldn't know.
"Professor Lupin," said Hermione timidly, breaking the tensed silence. "Can — can I say something?"
"Certainty, 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 before now?"
"There!" said Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair on Harry's head! 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.
If only.
"Er — Mr.Black — Sirius?" said Hermione.
Black jumper at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though being spoken to politely was something he'd long forgotten.
"If you don't mind me asking, how — how did you get out of Azkaban, I'd you didn't use Dark Magic?"
"Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I —"
"Shut it. She didn't ask to defend you," Echo snapped, silencing him with a look.
Black was frowing 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 sensing their emotions. . . . They could tell 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 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, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He's be welcomed back with honors. . . .
"So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive. . . .
"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 might 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 a thin, very thin . . . thin enough to slip through the bars. . . . I swam as a dog back to the mainland. . . . I journeys north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in this shack, and the Forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You flew 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."
Harry glanced at Echo, receiving a confirming nod. And at long last, Harry believed him. Throat to tight to speak he 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 change 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," 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?"
Kill? No, if they killed him then Black would never be proven innocent. It didn't matter if they found Pettigrew's body; the only thing the Ministry would see was two "bestfriends," one being the most wanted wizard in the U.K, and the body of a "hero." Peter is as useless as it gets, but they just needed him alive for the time being.
Echo peered over at Harry, noticing his hesitation of killing Pettigrew. If he didn't speak up, then she would.
"Yes, I think so," said Lupin grimly.
Damn. Even Echo didn't expect that.
"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 good pet. . . ."
The fuck?
To say that killing this rat was tempting, would be the understatement of the century. This grown man, slept in the same bed as a child, and was now calling him master? He sounded like a pedophile — and Echo didn't fuck with pedophiles.
"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 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 TOU 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. . . ."
Before Black or Lupin could drag Peter back, Echo was in between Harry and Petttigrew. Her fist collided with his nose — a sickening crack filled the room. Peter staggered back on his own, clutching his nose. Blood seeped through his fingers. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.
"Touch him again, and I'll bring you to Thanatos, personally," Echo fumed, tone laced with promise. She still looked calm, which was most unsettling. Echo wasn't sure where Thanatos was on the family tree, but he must know her mother since he visits the underworld often. — so maybe he could do her a favor. Lupin was the only one to catch on to her little reference.
Ron swallowed nervously. That could've been him, if Echo really taught Hermione how to punch.
"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said Black, who was shaking too. "Do you deny it?"
Pettigrew burst into tears — the blood and tears mixed and streamed down his face. It was horrible to watch: He looked like and 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 HAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"
"He — he was taking over everywhere?" gasped Pettigrew. "W-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"
"What was there to be gained by fighting the biggest dick in wizarding history?" said Echo, disbelief and disgust flickered across her features. "Only innocent lives, Peter."
"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew, not able to make eye contact with Echo. "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. Echo looked between Harry and Pettigrew — he was fighting himself in his head.
"No!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front of Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."
Black and Lupin both looked staggered. Echo released her breath, a pounding headache followed after.
"Harry; this piece of vermin is the reason you 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. Well hand him over to the dementors. . . . He can go to Azkaban . . . but don't kill him."
"Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, he was about to fling his arms around his knees, but a foot connected with his chest. Peter fell back, wheezing and coughing from the air getting knocked out of him.
"I would've let you touched him just so the only thing I would have to worry about, was burying you in a ditch," Echo said with a shrug. "But then Black wouldn't be proven innocent — and I like Harry's suggestion more. . . ."
No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black and Lupin looked at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands.
"You're the only person who has the right to decided, 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 pathetically 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 buisnesslike. "Ron, I can't mend bones as nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's beat if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing."
"Wait," Echo said, walking over to the night stand, stepping over an unconscious Snape like he was a log, and returning with a small jar of sage colored paste.
"I'm not sure if it'll mend bones, but it'll surely stop the bleeding," she said, handing the jar to Lupin. "I would suggest using more than a thin layer."
Lupin nodded and opened it, already knowing what it was. He hurried over to Ron, bent down and was about to apply it before Ron spoke up.
"That's not going to sting, is it?" Ron said nervously, eyeing the jar suspiciously.
"No, it'll just cause a tingly feeling," Lupin reassured, answering for Echo.
Ron sighed with relief, and relaxed his tensed body, feeling the cold and tingling sensation of this mysterious paste. Once Lupin was done he seized his wand and tapped Ron's leg, 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 since.
"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. "Echo was 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 in the castle. We can take him like this. . . ."
Black walked over to stand by Echo and Harry, he raised his hand, expecting a high-five. "Nice, Snivellus deserved it."
Echo looked at him unimpressed, then walked away towards Lupin, "Don't touch me," she grumbled, passing him.
"Joy-killer," he mumbled. Instead, Harry fulfilled Sirius' high-five, earning a smile in return.
Lupin muttered, "Mobilicorpus." As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrists, neck, and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head still killing 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' 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.
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A/N
-kind of like this side of Echo, ngl
-ok, so I know that if you've read Harry fanfics, then you've read this scene like a hundred times, but it's vital information . . blah, blah, blah.
-I was gonna finish this later, as I was cleaning my room. But somebody asked for me to post sooner, sooo, thank them.
-Any who, I'm alive but I'm dead.
Words:5506
Days:3