The Loyal and Just

Chapter Twenty Two

I was traveling down the tunnel. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron were in the front, Snape drifting behind them. And behind them was Sirius and Harry, who were talking about living together, and then me and Hermione.

"You know one thing I'd still like to know," Hermione started, "How do you fit into all of this?"

"Uh," I start, "Well, my mum always believed that Sirius was innocent, she told me a few years ago. They were cousins, you see, and really close. Then in October, I actually ran into Sirius in the woods. We talked sometimes, I tried to help him out as much as possible. Then last February, me and Daphne — a fellow Slytherin — got into a fight and she practically exiled me. So, instead of going back to the common rooms, I joined Sirius. I stayed in the Shrieking Shack with him ever since."

"Huh," Hermione said as we walked out of the tunnel,

Everything seemed to be going right, we were heading up to the castle, prepared to explain the truth, when the clouds shifted and I realized. It's a full moon. Lupin didn't take his potion.

"He's not safe," I say out loud as Sirius flung his arm out to prevent Harry, Hermione and I from going any further.

"Run," Sirius whispered, "Run. Now."

But Harry and Hermione weren't running, Ron was tied up to Lupin, and I wasn't going anywhere. I was going to stay, help Sirius.

"Leave it to me — RUN!" Sirius shouted as Lupin was turning into a wolf. Sirius turned into a dog bounding forward as Lupin disconnected from Ron and Pettigrew.

"SIRIUS!" I shouted as I turned into a fox, running to join Sirius, after all, the two of us would be better than just Sirius.

I sprinted his way, at Lupin. Lupin — as a wolf — had just tried to scar his face off, when I rammed into Sirius, knocking him out of the way. Together, the two of us attacked, kept Lupin focused on us rather than Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I had just leaped upon him when Lupin's claws came down, the razor-sharp claws ripping down my neck and all the way down to my abdomen. I fell back, Sirius looked at me worried as Lupin clawed him too.

Bracing all of my strength and energy, trying not to fall back, I darted back at him, pushing the wolf off balance. Lupin ran off. I stood there, gasping as a fox, triumphant.

I looked around. Sirius was nowhere to be seen, but I heard him. Whimpering. I turned back into a human. The pain from my wound, from Lupin, was agonizing, but I ignored it as much as possible. My breath was ragged as I followed after Sirius. He was at the lake, moaning, surrounded by dementors. I grabbed my wand.

I scoured my brain for any happy thoughts. Coming to Hogwarts? "Expecto Patronum!" I scream. The same I had used earlier in the year? "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A few wisps came out of my wand. Harry and Hermione had joined me by now. Astronomy? Nothing happened. Meeting Sirius?

It was becoming harder and harder to come up with something happy. Something powerful. Instead, my mind was filled with, it seemed, every horrible thing that had ever happened to me.

"COME ON!" I raged, thinking of Kitty, a memory that quickly became nothing, "EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!" But nothing was happening.

My vision started to become blurry, No! I have to do something! I have to get this right!

"Expecto Patronum!" My voice was becoming weaker and weaker.

Nothing came.

I fell down, as the dementors came ever closer, filling me in misery. One of them wrapped it's rotten hand around my throat, shooting pain from where Lupin had scarred my neck.

"No..." I moaned as I blacked out.