My One and Only

Chapter 29 - Year 3

IT WAS SILENT FOR A FEW MOMENTS, and Maia struggled to breathe.

"Peter Pettigrew is dead!" Harry said, his expression in a mixture of disbelief and fury. "He killed him twelve years ago!" he thrust a finger at Sirius, who's face became shadowed with hatred.

"I tried to." He growled. "But little Peter was one step ahead of me. Not this time though!" Before anyone had a chance to react, Sirius lunged towards Scabbers, landing on Ron's broken leg, causing the redhead to cry out in pain.

"Wait!" Lupin yelled, heaving Sirius off of the thirteen-year-old. "You can't just do that! They need to understand. We have to explain first—"

"We can explain later!" Sirius growled, struggling to wrestle his malnourished body from Lupin's grip. Maia never thought she'd see anyone more sickly than the werewolf, but watching him pin down Sirius she suddenly realized how strong he actually was.

"No." Maia said, and both men went still instantly. "Tell us now. We have a right to know the truth."

"Alright." Sirius said, glaring furiously at Scabbers. "You tell them." He said, casting Lupin a quick glance. "But make it quick so I can finally do what I meant to do twelve years ago."

"This is insane." Ron said, struggling to lift himself up onto his good leg, but he froze as Lupin aimed his wand at him.

"Listen to what I have to say, Ron." He said. "And please, don't let go of Peter."

"He's not Peter! He's Scabbers!" Ron yelled, struggling once more to keep the rat in his grasp.

"Let him explain, Ron." Maia said fiercely. She was so tired of being left in the dark, especially about things that directly concerned her and her brother. Ron sank back into a seated position, though his expression was anything but accepting.

"I thought Peter was dead too, until I saw the map tonight. The map never lies." Lupin said. "That is Peter Pettigrew in Ron's hands." 

Harry and Ron shared a look of disbelief, though Maia was less skeptical. She trusted Lupin, even if it turned out that he had betrayed them. She knew it was crazy, but after all the conversations she'd had with him, the moments they'd spent together, she couldn't bring herself to doubt his story. Especially not when he looked so desperate for them to believe in.

"But Professor." Hermione said, her voice weak. "Scabbers couldn't be Peter. We studied Animagi in Transfigurations. Animagi have to register with the Ministry of Magic. I looked up the list when I was doing my homework. There's only been seven in the last century, Peter wasn't one of them."

Maia jumped as Lupin began to laugh, and she was surprised to see that even Sirius looked rather smug suddenly.

"Right you are, Hermione." He said. "The Ministry never knew there used to be three unregistered Animagi at Hogwarts."

Maia looked to Sirius, but his smug look was gone and replaced with one impatient fury.

"Hurry up, Remis. Tell them the story."

"Alright, but I need your help, Sirius. There are some parts I'm still uncertain about."

The group fell silent as a loud creak echoed in the hall and the door eased open slowly. Maia stood stiff as a board as Lupin crept across the room and peered out into the corridor.

"No one's there."

"This place is haunted." Ron said, and Lupin shook his head, still staring at the empty hallway.

"No." he said. "It was never haunted. The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me." He pushed his graying hair out of his eyes, suddenly looking years older than his mere 33.