𝘋𝘈𝘕𝘊𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘏 𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘋𝘚 𝘛𝘐𝘌𝘋/𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 (English version)

Chapter 17

The room fell silent,Snape's arrival was a problem. The man harbored too much resentment inside, he would never listen to Black, he would never allow him to explain what had happened the night of the Potters' death.
Sarah shifted her gaze to Harry, nodding when he pulled Hermione's wand from his pocket.
He wanted to disarm the professor, and she was going to help him.

"Expelliarmus!" they shouted together, and the spell hit Snape with such force that he was thrown onto the bed behind him.
Hermione covered her mouth with her hands.
"Guys! You attacked a teacher!"
But the two paid no attention to the girl and turned back to listen to Remus and Sirius.
"Tell us more about Pettigrew," Sarah said, lowering her wand.
"He went to school with us,we thought he was our friend," Remus began.
"No, Pettigrew is dead... you killed him," Harry raised his wand again, not believing their words.
"That's not true, I thought the same until you saw him on the map!"
"The map was probably lying!" Sarah snapped.
"The map never lies! Peter Pettigrew is alive and he's right there," Sirius' thin fingers pointed toward Ron, who immediately turned pale.
"Me? He's crazy!"
"Oh, not you... your rat!"
Scabbers began moving uncontrollably in Ron's hands.
"Scabbers has been with my family for..."
But Sirius interrupted him, "Twelve years... curious, a long life for a common rat. He's missing a finger, isn't he?"
Sarah bent down toward Ron and took a closer look at the rat.
"They only found his finger..." She widened her eyes when she noticed the description matched perfectly.
"That coward cut it off so everyone would think he was dead. And then he transformed into a rat."
"Let me see," said Harry.
Sirius took the rat in his hands, ignoring Ron's protests.
Remus and Black began casting spells at Scabbers, who was trying to wriggle away.
The last spell, however, hit him, and before them appeared a short, chubby man.
Sarah moved forward, standing next to Harry.
"Harry... he's really here."

Peter Pettigrew was filthy, his teeth were black, and due to the years spent in his Animagus form, he still squeaked like a rat. He spread his arms theatrically.
"Remus, Sirius... my old friends." He tried to escape toward the door but was stopped by the two men.
"Harry, look at yourself, you look so much like your father James. We were great friends... oh, Sarah... dear sweet Sarah, Marlene cared about me, oh yes, she would have spared me."
Sirius angrily approached him, pointing his wand at Pettigrew's throat.
"How dare you speak to them? How dare you talk about James and Marlene?"
"You sold James and Lily to Voldemort!"
Professor Lupin had followed Sirius, and now he, too, was pointing his wand at Pettigrew.
"I didn't mean to! The Dark Lord, you can't imagine the weapons he has! Ask yourself, Sirius, what would you have done?" he asked, pretending to cry.
"I would have died!" Black shouted, red with rage "I would have died rather than betray my friends!"
Pettigrew moved under an old piano in the room, but Sarah stood in front of the door, blocking his escape. He clung to her.
"Sarah! Marlene wouldn't have wanted me dead! She would have spared me, she would have had mercy!"
The two men grabbed him, holding their wands in front of him, ready to kill him.
Harry stepped forward, stopping them.
"I know who this man is, but we will take him to the castle."
The old rat almost sighed in relief, bringing his hands to his flushed face.
But the boy spoke again, slowly walking toward him.
"After that, you'll face the Dementors."
Pettigrew almost squeaked in fear, curling up into himself. Remus grabbed him and began descending the stairs of the Shrieking Shack, followed by the rest of the group. Sirius and Harry helped Ron, who was still injured.

Once they exited the Whomping Willow, Sarah breathed fresh air again and felt better.
She saw her father moving slowly, looking at the castle ahead of him. Both she and Harry followed, falling in step beside him.
"It's beautiful, isn't it? I'll never forget the first time I crossed that threshold. It will be wonderful to do it again as a free man" Sirius said, he couldn't stop gazing at the castle.
Hogwarts had been a refuge for him, a place where he could always be himself, for better or for worse.
The Black house, on the other hand, was the complete opposite, where he was denied the chance to freely decide his life, attacked for his beliefs and views that contrasted with those of the pure-blood family.
Sirius looked at Harry for a moment.
"What you did before was a noble gesture... he doesn't deserve it."
"My father wouldn't have wanted his two best friends to become murderers. If he dies, the truth dies with him." He glanced at his godfather, almost smiling before speaking again
"If he lives, you're free."
Sarah looked back at Pettigrew, who was trying to escape while muttering incoherent words.
The girl was shaken,everything had happened too quickly, and there was so much information to process.
She looked at Sirius, who had now shifted his full attention to her.
The moment had arrived, the one the man had been waiting for years, the one he dreamed of at night when the only memories he could replay in his mind slowly began to fade.
He moved slowly, his heavy, torn coat brushing against the slightly damp grass from the rainy day, but he didn't care.
He placed his trembling hands on the girl's cheeks, gently stroking them with his thumbs.
Small tears fell from the man's eyes, now completely overwhelmed.
"Sarah... Sarah, I don't know how to explain the happiness I feel in this moment. Not a day has gone by where I haven't dreamed of seeing you again, of seeing the girl, the woman you've become," he pushed aside a lock of hair that had fallen on her face. "You're just like your mother; know that it's a gift. The most beautiful, courageous, and selfless woman I've ever known. Without her..." He paused.
He had to wipe away the many tears on his face before continuing, releasing everything he had held inside while in prison.
"Without her, I wouldn't have had you, I wouldn't have known love, I wouldn't have been loved like I dreamed of. Sarah, I want to rebuild everything with you, give you what I couldn't give you in 12 years, what was taken from us."
Sarah smiled at his words, placing her hands on his, which were still on her face.

"And I know you already have a family," Sirius continued quickly. "I want to thank them in person. They raised you, gave you what you deserved, and I will forever be grateful to them. I don't want to take away the love you already have... but to add the love that has been yours since day one."
The girl immediately gave in, throwing herself into the man's arms, who remained speechless for a moment.
Her arms tightened around his thin torso, making him shudder.
He soon hugged her back, resting his chin on the top of her head.
"I won't abandon you again, Sarah,now we're a family at last."
Harry watched them from a distance, smiling.
He felt no jealousy, embarrassment, or anything else,he was simply happy for Sarah. Seeing her finally at peace after difficult months was a victory for him.
Sarah pulled away, smiling at Harry.
She spread her arms, inviting him to come closer.
"Family, you don't really think you're not part of it, do you?"

"GUYS!" Hermione suddenly yelled, breaking the peaceful moment that had formed.
The girl pointed at the full moon, then shifted her gaze to the left, where Remus Lupin stood.
Sirius quickly realized what was happening and, moving swiftly, tried to support him with his arms.
"Remus, my old friend, did you take the potion tonight? You know what kind of man you truly are, Remus! Your life is in your heart, here!"
Pettigrew looked at the two and smiled victoriously, giving a mocking wave to the four teenagers before transforming into a rat and fleeing far from them.
"NO! NO, HE ESCAPED! WE HAVE TO FOLLOW HIM!" Sarah shouted, but she didn't even have time to take a step before the old professor began transforming into a wolf, throwing Sirius away from them.
Sarah, Harry, Hermione, and Ron watched him, trying to make as little noise as possible. No one had any idea how to handle the situation.
"Professor?" Hermione asked "Professor Lupin?" she called again softly, but the wolf howled, moving closer to the group.
Suddenly, from the tree, Professor Snape emerged, having finally recovered from the spell, and positioned himself in front of them upon seeing the creature.
They were about to be attacked when a black dog, the one Sarah had seen countless times since the beginning of the year, appeared out of nowhere, giving them a chance to escape.
"It's Sirius!" Harry yelled, watching the dog being attacked by the wolf in an obviously uneven fight.
"He's going to kill him!" Hermione shouted.
Sarah shuddered at those words,she wouldn't let her father be killed in front of her eyes.
She grabbed the first rock she found in front of her and threw it at the professor's back. The latter turned around, his yellow eyes now focused on the young Black.
"Damn..." she muttered, glancing at Harry, who now stood beside her.
They backed away slowly, and they would have been attacked if a howl from afar, probably from the nearby forest, hadn't distracted the wolf.
Thankfully, he began to leave, disappearing among the tall trees.
Sarah turned her gaze toward her father, who had now transformed back into a human and was struggling to move down the hill.
The two followed him, finding the poor man unconscious, surrounded by a circle of Dementors that were getting closer and closer.
"Harry, we have to do something! They're killing him!" Sarah ran to her father's side, drawing their attention to her as well.
She soon felt a strange sensation, the same one she had experienced on her first day on the train to Hogwarts.
The last thing she heard before falling to the ground was Harry shouting something... and then darkness.

Aaaah we are so close to the end of the third year...
So just enjoy Sirius at least :(
Vote and comment below to let me know what you think about the story!!!
Lots of love,
Ale