Game Over▬RL 2

Black Betrayed Them

"He's out, Remus." She stated in a hushed voice. The fireplace lit with Minerva McGonagall's face was not something Remus had expected to see first thing in the morning. Harry's thirteenth birthday. Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban. The werewolf could feel the anger and betrayal seep into his veins. "Albus would like to offer you the Defence position this year." Remus hesitated, suddenly feeling nervous and off-put.

"I can't—"

"You can use the Shack again; Snape will brew you Wolfsbane."

"I don't know—"

"Please, you know him more than anyone." Minerva pleaded.

"I never did. She did. Could read each other like books." Remus knew he wouldn't have to say her name for the professor to understand. She nodded, pulling her head away from the flames for a second. He could hear the sniffle and he felt guilty.

"He won't stop until he gets Harry." That's all he needed.

Weeks later Lupin was getting ready to teach at Hogwarts. He had pulled out his briefcase. He remembers the day he had gotten it. Renee was just passing by a Muggle store and grabbed it for him. She customized it herself and gave it to him for his twentieth birthday. Always joked about him becoming a professor.

✿

"Hedwig!" Harry gasped. She clicked her beak and landed gently on Harry's arm. She had just made herself comfortable in the room when Harry had arrived. Tom bid him a goodnight before leaving them alone. Renee settled next to him. He stroked her feathers as he went over the last couple of hours in his mind. Blowing up Aunt Marge, seeing that black dog, the Knight Bus, officially meeting Cornelius Fudge, not going to wizarding jail, and now getting to enjoy the rest of his summer without the dreaded Dursleys. "It's been a weird night, Hedwig." He almost got out the full sentence without a yawn. But he failed. She hooted, moving away from him and up onto the wardrobe. Watched as he lay down and fell asleep without getting ready for bed or taking off his glasses. So, she jumped back down, pulling them off with her beak.

✿

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta." Harry strained to eavesdrop on the conversation, almost bumping his head into the table. He waved off Hermione and Ron's hands. "Do you remember who his best friend was?"

"Naturally," Harry heard the barmaid let out a nervous chuckle, "never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here. They made me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter! Had money on Ren and Sirius ending up together." Potter dropped his butterbeer resulting in Ron kicking him.

"Precisely, Black and Potter—" Harry tuned out the rest of what McGonagall was reminiscing about. His father and the deranged mass murderer were friends—best friends like he and Ron. And Ren... He assumes they mean Renee Potter.  The woman in the pictures is with his mum and dad. The Hufflepuff Prefect. His cousin or aunt or just someone with the same last name as him. Harry meant to ask Professor McGonagall about her when they found the Prefect records the year before. However, it had slipped his mind.

"Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was the best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Not to forget how Renee took him and his brother in. Harry has no idea of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him." Harry had no idea how Fudge could know all of the intel about his life. He didn't even know it. And now the Minister was just telling everyone. It was quite annoying.

"—Black betrayed them?" Rosmerta gasped. Harry could feel it as well. The lump in his throat, stinging in his eyes. He held it back and kept listening. This could be the only chance he had to know the truth.

"It was little Peter Pettigrew, another one of James' friends who caught up to Renee. Black had already gotten to her. He went after Renee knowing she'd want Black to pay."

"Renee was a bright girl; I knew I should have told Black to stay away from her," Rosmerta claimed now breathless with her voice barely over a whisper. Harry noted that she went back on her words from earlier.

"If he was with James, he'd have no choice but to be around her. He was her biggest protector. Perhaps that's why Black didn't hurt her until Lily and James were killed." McGonagall sighed and there was a rustling. Followed by a blowing of the nose.

"Course, Lupin was away during the attacks. Or else he would've been right next to her." Professor Lupin and this Renee?

"James was always more welcoming to Lupin when they were dating. Rather than Sirius. He knew that Lupin would always be there for his sister." Sister. Renee Potter was his aunt. And she was dead.

"Anyways, Black blew up the street after Peter cornered him. Renee's wand and Peter's finger were found in the rubble." She died at the hands of Sirius Black. Who had also given Harry's mother and father up to Voldemort? He was their best friend. Harry's godfather. Renee's roommate. They trusted him and they got killed. Now he was on the loose and hunting Harry down to finish the job.

✿

"You heard James?" Lupin asked with a weird tone. He knew why, the Professor had dated Harry's Aunt so of course he had to have been friends with Harry's dad.

"Yeah," he looked up at the man, "why—you didn't know my dad, did you?" Remus felt a tug in his chest. The whole story was too long to divulge today. James and the others become animagi to help his lycanthropy, falling in love with Renee, leaving home to live with the Potters, moving into an apartment with Ren, buying a house with Ren, and being one of the first people to hold Harry when he was born because Renee forced Marlene and Sirius to let them. He wished he didn't have to keep all this inside. But Harry was only thirteen. They had plenty of time to talk about everything.

"I did, as a matter of fact." Remus cleared his throat to knock the lump from it. "We were friends at Hogwarts. Listen, Harry. Perhaps we could leave it here for tonight. You've done wonderfully. This charm is ridiculously advanced. I shouldn't have suggested putting you through this." Renee would have my head. Overworking her nephew.

"No!" Harry got up, brandishing his wand once again, "I'll have one more go—'' I wish you were here to see this. He's got James' drive and Lily's determination. "Do you think you could show me one more time?" Remus nodded, taking his wand from his cardigan pocket. Without even thinking he cast a corporeal Patronus. He watched in awe. The beautiful owl soared throughout the room. Harry's eyes also followed the patronus. His head tilted before Lupin had produced a wisp of light rather than the animal. "Reminds me of Hedwig." Remus' eyes shot to the boy, the magic disappearing.

"Hedwig?"

"Yeah, my owl."