Redemption For A Monster (Marauder fanfic) Book Three

12- The Truth

After a few awkward moments of silence, Ron decided to voice what him and Harry were both thinking.
"You are all mental".
"Peter Pettigrew is dead. He killed him 12 years ago" reminded Harry, pointing at Sirius.
"I meant to, but little Peter got away... Not this time though" growled Sirius as he lunged towards Ron and Peter.
"Sirius, no! We've got to explain it all to them first" yelled Remus, as he held Sirius back.
"We can explain it afterwards. But right now I want to committ the crime I was imprisoned for" snarled Sirius.

Sara wasn't sure who to side with.
On one hand, she wanted to get it over and done with, after months of waiting in the Shrieking Shack, for this very moment. But she also understood that they needed to explain what had happened in the past, to Harry and his friends, before they committed murder right in front of them.
"Umm, Mr Lupin, Scabbers can't be Pettigrew. It just can't be true" said Hermione nervously.
"And why is that?" Questioned Remus.
"Because I've seen the list of registered Animagi, and Pettigrew's name is not on it"
"That is because there were three unregistered Animagi at Hogwarts, that the Ministry never found out about".
"If you're going to tell the whole story, then get on with it. I've waited 12 years for this, and I'm not going to wait much longer" snarled Sirius.
"All right, but I'm not sure where to start" admitted Remus.
Sara sighed and looked around the Shrieking Shack, which brought back so many memories from when the Marauders had all been together.
"The story starts here, in some ways, since this is where we used to hang out" reminded Sara.

"Yes. None of this would have happened, if I hadn't been bitten as a child. This was where I used to come to transform, every month.
My transformations were very bad back then, but I didn't mind, because for the first time in my life. I had friends, real friends; Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Sara Burne, and of course your father Harry, James Potter.
My friends could hardly fail to notice my monthly dissappearences, and in the end they worked out that I was a werewolf. But instead of deserting me, they decided to keep me company when I transformed. So they became Animagi.
They could keep my company as animals, since a werewolf is only a threat to people" explained Remus.

"Wait! If you had 4 friends, then why were there only 3 unregistered Animagi at Hogwarts?" Questioned Hermione.
"Because I'm not an Animagus. I could transform into animal already, since I'm a Maledictus. But that's a story for another day" revealed Sara.
"You're right... I've been feeling guilty all this year, because I had a hunch that Sirius was sneaking into the school, using his Animagus form. But I was too ashamed to tell Dumbledore the truth. So in a way, Snape has been right about me all along, since I have known more than I was telling" sighed Remus sadly.
"Snape? What's Snape got to do with anything?" Questioned Sirius.
"He's here, Sirius. Teaching Potions. He fought very hard against my appointment this year. He doesn't like me very much, because of a little trick Sirius played on him that involved me, which nearly killed him, when we were kids-"
"Serves him right. Always sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to, to get us expelled" interupted Sirius.

Sara rolled her eyes. She had missed out on that particular prank, as she had been visiting her mother at the time.
But if she had been there, she would have told the boys that it was a bad idea, from the start.
"Severus was very interested in where I went every month. Sirius thought that it would be very amusing to tell Severus, that if he prodded the knot of the tree, it would immobolise, and he would be able to follow me in. Of course Snape tried it, and if he'd gotton as far as this shack, he would have come face to face with a fully grown werewolf. But James found out what Sirius had done, so he went in and saved Snape, at great risk to his own life. However, Snape had caught sight of me, but he was forbidden by Dumbledore, to tell anyone else" revealed Remus.

"So that is why Snape doesn't like you. Because he thought you were in on the joke?" Questioned Harry.
"That is right" sneered a cold voice.
Everyone spun around and saw that Severus Snape himself, had entered the room.
"You're wondering perhaps how I found you all? Well, I went to take you your potion Lupin, but you weren't there. That was when I saw a certain map open on your desk. I saw Mr Potter and his friends sneaking off the school grounds, so I followed them here, and look what I've found" gloated Snape.
"Severus, you're making a terrible mistake. You haven't heard everything. I can explain-"
"Three more for Azkaban tonight I think" smiled Snape, interupting Remus.
"You fool. Is a school boy grudge, really worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?" Remus questioned.

There was a loud bang, as ropes suddenly exploded from Snape's wand, twisting over Remus' mouth, wrists and ankles.
Sara screamed as Remus became unbalanced, and fell to the floor with a loud bang.
Enraged, Sirius charged towards Snape, but Snape just raised his wand, pointing it straight between Sirius' eyes.
"Give me a reason. Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will" Snape threatened.
Sirius stopped and held his ground. It was hard to tell which face showed more hatred.
"Really Snape? You are going to kill us all, after I saved your life?" Questioned Sara.
Snape frowned, when he realised that he was indeed in Sara's debt, since she had saved his life during war.

"Alright. To make things even between us, I will let you go. I will tell no one that you were here, and you can run away, living out the remainder of your short life, wherever you please" offered Snape.
Sara looked between Remus, who was tied up on the floor, and Sirius, who had a wand pointed at his face.
"You should know by now Snape, that I would never abandon my friends... I should have let you burn, if this was how you were going to repay me" announced Sara.
"Very well. But you can't say that I didn't give you a choice. There will be Dementor kisses all around tonight, I think" smiled Snape, cruely.
Sara shivered, at the thought of being that close to a Dementor.
She raised her wand towards Snape, but before she had a chance to do anything, Harry beat her to it.
"Expelliarmus!" Shouted Harry, sending Snape flying accross the room.
He hit the opposite wall with a loud thud, and a small trail of blood began oozing down his forehead.

"Harry, you shouldn't have done that" Sirius said calmly.
"He's right. You should have left him to me" agreed Sara.
"I'm still not saying that I believe you" replied Harry, as Sara helped Remus out of the ropes, and to his feet.
"Then it's time we offered you some proof. Give me that rat" demanded Sirius.
Ron hesitated, but handed his rat over to Sirius.
Remus retrieved his wand from Snape's hand, and returned to where Sirius was standing.
"Together?" Asked Remus, as he looked at Sara.
Sara nodded, and pointed her wand at the rat.
"On the count of three. One, two, three!" Continued Remus.

There was a flash of blue light from both wands, causing the rat to spin madly in the air. It began to grow quickly, before finally becomming a fully grown man.
Crookshanks hissed and spat at the man, as everyone in the room pointed their wands at the man who had replaced the rat.
"Hello again, Peter" said Remus calmly.
"S-Sirius, S-Sara, R-Remus" squeaked Peter, as his eyes flicked towards the door.
"I don't think so" warned Sirius.
Peter then turned to look at Harry.
"Harry, you look so much like your father, like James-" started Peter.
"How dare you speak to Harry! How dare you talk about James in front of him!" Shouted Sirius angrily.
"You sold James and Lily to Voldemort, didn't you?" Questioned Remus.
"Not to mention all the rest of our friends in the Order" added Sara.

"You have no idea what he's like. I was never brave like you guys. I was scared. I didn't mean to do it" whimpered Peter.
"Don't lie! You were passing information to Voldemort for a year, before James and Lily died. You were his spy!" Snapped Sirius.
"That's how the Death Eaters always knew where to find us. You sold out all of our friends; Marlene, Dorcas, James, Lily. You betrayed them all!" Spat Sara.
"You don't understand. He would have killed me" Peter whined.
"Then you should have died! Died, rather than betray your friends, as we would have done for you!" Sirius yelled.
"Yes. And you should have realised Peter, that if Voldemort didn't kill you, then we would. Together" announced Remus.
The three friends all nodded in unison, and Sara and Remus raised their wands at the weeping man in front of them, as they prepared to kill the traitor who had betrayed them, so many years ago.

"Wait! You can't kill him!" Yelled Harry.
"Harry, this piece of vermin, is the reason you have no parents. This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die, without batting an eye" snarled Sirius.
"I know. But we should take him up to the castle, and hand him over to the Dementors. He can go to Azkaban, just don't kill him" replied Harry.
Remus sighed and lowered his wand.
"Very well. If anyone has the right to decide what happens to him, it's you".
Sara nodded, and sent cords from her wand, tying and gagging Peter, so that he couldn't run.
"But if you transform, we will kill you Peter" warned Sirius.

Remus made his way over to Ron, and pointed his wand at his injured leg.
"Ferula" he muttered, causing bandages and a splint to form around Ron's leg.
"That's better. Thanks" said Ron gratefully, as he stood to his feet.
"What about Snape?" Asked Hermione, pointing to Snape's body.
"There's nothing wrong with him. Harry was just a little over enthusiastic with his spell. Not that I'm complaining, since he wanted to throw us all in Azkaban" admitted Sara.
"Mobilicorpus" murmered Remus, causing Snape to be pulled into the air, as if by invisible strings.
After tying Peter, to Ron and Remus, so that he definately couldn't escape, the group made their way out of the Shrieking Shack, and towards the school. Pulling Snape behind them like a strange and creepy puppet.