Redemption For A Monster (Marauder fanfic) Book Three

72- The End Of The Rat's Tale

The one thing Sara found the worst about being stuck in Snape's basement, aside from the lack on contact with her friends, was the small amount of space she had to exist in.
At least when she had been trapped in Grimmauld Place and her father's manor, she'd had many floors to walk between. But now she was stuck in a small basement that was no bigger than 3 metres wide and 5 metres in length.
The only time Sara was allowed to leave the room was on Sunday evenings when Snape allowed her to wash in his bathroom. But she was only permitted to do this when he was home. And it always took place at night, so Sara never got to see the sun coming in through the windows.

To make her life a little more bareable, Snape had given Sara a radio after hearing rumors of a station called Potterwatch, which was run by the surviving Order members.
Hearing Remus' voice again, even through a stereo, gave Sara hope.
This station also allowed Sara to stay in touch with the outside world. And at the beginning of each broadcast they would read the names of those that had died since the last show and hold a minutes silence for them.
When Ted Tonks' name was mentioned on the list of the dead, Sara was filled with sadness for Tonks. Even though she hadn't known Ted very well, he was still Tonks' father, and Sara knew what it was like to lose a father.

Remus also mentioned Sara's name at the end of each show, praying that she was safe, and wishing that she could let him know that she was alive and well.
Sara wanted to send him a Patronus message, but Snape refused to let her have her wand back to do it. Fearing that once she had her wand back, she would run away.

Every morning after spending breakfast at Hogwarts, Snape would return to make Sara some food, and give her the Daily Prophet.
She didn't enjoy reading the lies that the Ministry were telling the public, but she understood that it was necessary for her to read them, to learn about what Voldemort and his puppet Minister Pius Thicknesse were up to.
After hearing about Harry hiding in the Forest of Dean, Sara thought that she was going to be getting regular updates on her godson.
But Snape seemed to have to need to visit him again, or give her any indication about where he was or what he was up to.
So Sara remained in the dark until Easter, when she finally got some news about him.

"I bring news" announced Snape as he entered the basement one evening.
"What sort of news? Good or bad?' Questioned Sara nervously.
"Both. Potter was captured by Snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor. The Malfoy's summoned the Dark Lord, but by the time he arrived Potter and the other prisoners escaped" revealed Snape.
"Harry was captured? Is he alright?"
"The Malfoy's would not have risked harming Potter, since the Dark Lord wants the pleasure of killing him. However, from what I have heard, Bellatrix Lestrange did torture Granger for a while, before they all managed to escape".
Sara shuffled uncomfortably at the mention of Bellatrix, since she knew that they were in someway related, by Bellatrix's marriage to Rodolphus Lestrange.

"How did they manage to escape from Malfoy Manor?" Asked Sara.
"Apparently they had help from the Malfoy's old house-elf, who Potter helped free in his second year of school, so the elf was in his dept" answered Snape.
"I see... You said prisoners, who else had been captured with Harry? Or was it just Ron and Hermione?"
"No. There were other prisoners at Malfoy Manor, who Potter escaped with. Ollivander the wand maker and Luna Lovegood. There were also two other prisoners who were brought in with Potter and his friends; a Goblin named Griphook, and a Hogwarts student in Potter's year named Dean Thomas".

"Do you know where they've gone?" Quizzed Sara.
"No... Although I have a hunch that they might have gone to Shell Cottage, since it's owned by the Weasley's, and I know that some of the Order have been using it as a safe house. Also, due to Potter's escapade at Malfoy Manor, the Weasley's have all gone into hiding, since their son Ron was seen by the Potter's side, so is clearly not at home dying of Spattergroit" replied Snape.
"Poor Molly. I hope they are O.K"
"I'm sure they are all fine".

"I bet You-Know-Who isn't happy that the Malfoy's let Harry slip through their clutches" sighed Sara.
"No. The Malfoy's are all currently house-bound" revealed Snape.
"I'm sure they'll be alright though, since the bald guy can't afford to kill all the Death Eaters that fail him. He'd have no servants left if he did"
"I expect that they have suffered, but I do believe that they alive... News of Potter is not all I bring... Wormtail was living at the Malfoy Manor, since he was serving the Dark Lord, who spends a lot of time there. However, after Potter's escape he was found dead in their dungeon"
"Peter is dead?".

"Yes. He was found with his silver hand around his neck. The hand was given to him by the Dark Lord, after he cut off his own hand to resurrect his master. However, when giving him the hand, the Dark Lord warned Wormtail to not let his loyalties waver again. Since he was found strangled to death by the hand, Wormtail must have denied his master, possibly by assissting Potter with his escape" explained Snape.
"Peter helped Harry escape the manor?" Questioned Sara.
"Maybe. We cannot know for certain what happened. But whatever he did, the Dark Lord would not have approved of it, so the silver hand killed him" replied Snape.

"I should be happy. This news should make me glad. The traitor who betrayed my friends is dead. I should be rejoycing, but I'm not. I don't feel happy. If anything I feel sorrow. Yes he was a traitor, who I've threatened to kill on many occassions, but he was also one of my good friends for 10 years. And you saying that he died saving Harry's life, just confuses the situation even more... I don't know how to take this" admitted Sara.
"His death does not satisfy you, is that it?" Questioned Snape.
"It's more than that. Despite what he did, I guess I never really wanted him dead. His death wouldn't bring back my friends... He was just a coward. He didn't turn on us because he was evil, he was just scared of dying. Which just makes him pathetic. And it's harder to want someone pathetic dead, than someone who is evil, like Bellatrix and You-Know-Who".

"I see your point. But now that he is dead, he cannot betray us anymore. So his death is good" stated Snape.
"Us? Careful now Snape, you were not on my side during the first wizarding war. It was not you, who had to watch your friends die. You may have lost Lily because of Peter, but I lost dozens of friends, some of which died right in front of my eyes. So don't try and claim that his betrayal affected you as much as it did me. Don't try and compare your pain to mine. I lost everything back then, not just one person" reminded Sara coldly.
"If you truely lost everything, because of Wormtail, then why aren't you happy he is dead?"
"I told you. His death doesn't bring back the people I lost. It means nothing to me. I haven't seen him in 4 years anyway, so I guess really don't care about him anymore. Dead or alive, it matters not to me".

"Well it matters to me. His death makes things easy for the Order, as he can no longer reveal any of their secrets that he has been holding onto for all these years. So we should celebrate his death" announced Snape.
"I am not celebrating his dead" stated Sara, firmly.
"Suit yourself, but I will"
"Go on then, don't let me stop you".
Sara's behaviour confused Snape and she couldn't blame him, since it confused her too.
And she got absolutely no sleep that night, lying awake, trying to decide whether Peter's death was a positive or negitive thing.