Not Alone After All

Chapter XXIX

"Harry," Remus said in a soft voice, trying to calm him down. "Don't you understand? All these years we thought Sirius that had betrayed your parents and that Peter had followed him to get revenge, but we got it all wrong. Try to understand: Peter is the one who betrayed your mother and father!" He said, his voice booming louder and louder, forcing Laura to take a step back, simply in fear of what might happen. "And Sirius was the one who ran after him, to avenge them..."

"That's not true!" Harry suddenly yelled out. "He was their secret keeper," he pointed accusingly at Sirius Black. "And before you got here, he said he had killed them!"

Laura was about to pass a comment, but Sirius held his hand up. He looked at Harry and nodded gravely. "Harry.. Laura...." he trailed off as if he were trying to find a good way to say what he wanted to say. "It's like I killed them," he ended up confessing in a rough voice. "At the last minute, I was the one who convinced them to switch keepers, I convinced James and Lily to have Peter as keeper instead of me. It's my fault, I know it is..." He said. He looked up to see Laura staring at him with a frown on her face and tears glistening in her eyes. "On that night, I went to check on Peter to see if he was still, but he was already gone, no signs of struggle to be seen. It was weird, and it scared me, so I ran to your parent's house - your house. When I saw the house blown to pieces, and when I saw James and Lily..." his breath hitched in his throat. "When I saw them there, I realised what Peter had done." He looked between Harry and Laura. "What I had done, in a way..."

"That's enough," Remus spoke up, his voice almost metallic, harsh. Laura flinched. This was a Remus she didn't know. But Remus didn't even notice the sudden fear he had struck upon the girl. "There is only one way to prove what happened." He paused. "Ron, give me that rat."

"What are you going to do if I give him to you?" Ron asked, still not entirely convinced that the rat in his hands was actually Peter Pettigrew.

"Force him to show himself," Remus told him. "If he's actually only a rat, he won't feel a thing."

Ron hesitated but gave Remus Scabbers, who immediately returned to his scratching and desperate squeaking.

"Ready, Sirius?" Remus asked, holding the rat by its tail. Sirius, who had already taken Snape's wand from the ground, walked closer to Remus and the rat, who was still struggling in his hands.

"Together?" he asked in a low, dangerously low voice.

"Yes," Lupin answered. "On three. One... two... three!"

A blue light came out of both of their wands. For a second, nothing happened, and the rat remained still. But then, he started convulsing and contorting in on himself. The rat fell to the ground, shaking. Sirius Black decided Laura was standing a bit too close to the man, and placed a hand on her arm, pulling her backward. She kindly gave in, taking a step back.

Soon enough, a man, only slightly taller than Harry himself, was standing in front of them, right where Scabbers had fallen to the ground; Peter Pettigrew.

As soon as Crookshanks caught sight of the man, he hissed.

Peter Pettigrew was a short, bald man. His nose was pointy, and his eyes small. He actually looked like his Animagus. His breath laboured and fast, he looked around the room, obviously looking for the doors. He locked eyes with Sirius, and then Laura, since both of them were standing very close to the door, bus then he looked away quickly.

"Hello, Peter," said Remus in a happy sort of tone. It honestly scared every single one of the people in the room. He had been so angry, so tense all this time, and now he was speaking in a tone that was completely natural, as if he had hung out with Peter yesterday. "Long time no see," he added in the same tone.

"S...Sirius. R.... Remus," the short man said in a small voice that reminded Laura of the squeaks of a rat, ironically. "My friends! My dear.. old friends..." He said to the two of them, as if he had done nothing wrong.

Sirius almost growled, lifting Snape's wand, but Laura caught his wrist, wanting to see how the situation would play out.

"We were having a lovely conversation, Peter, about what happened on that night that James and Lily died," Remus said casually. "Maybe you missed out on some details, seeing as you were trying to escape and screaming all along."

"Remus," said Pettigrew, his voice hesitant. Droplets of sweat were starting to form on his forehead, and his hands were trembling. "You can't believe that... He tried to kill me, Remus..."

"That's what we'd heard," Remus replied, his tone colder than ever. "I'd like you to help me make some things clear, if you would."

"He still wants to kill me!" Peter suddenly yelled out, pointing at Sirius. Laura jumped at the sudden loud voice at her direction. "He killed Lily and James, and now.. now I'm the one he wants dead!" He screamed, not once addressing anyone besides Remus. Sirius looked as if he wanted to kill the man. Laura guessed that if the two were alone, he already would have.

"No one will try to kill you, until we set some things straight," Remus clarified.

"Set things straight?" Pettigrew asked hesitantly. Once again, he looked around the room, searching for ways of escaping. His eyes roamed around the windows, all barricaded, and then it set on the girl, the young girl who stood in front of the door, his only way out. "I knew he was following me! I knew he would try everything to find me! I've been waiting for twelve years!"

"You knew Sirius was going to escape Azkaban?" asked Remus, obviously surprised. "Even if no one had done it before?"

"He would learn the ways of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" Pettigrew told them. Sirius Black suddenly started to laugh, making Peter Pettigrew jump in surprise but also fear.

"Voldemort, teach me his secrets?" Sirius asked with a humourless laugh. Peter took a step back, terror written all over his small face. "Are you scared of listening to your leader's name, Peter? I understand. I can only imagine his friends aren't very happy with you, am I right?"

"I don't see... I don't see what you mean, Sirius," mumbled Peter, but his tone and his voice gave away everything. His breathing accelerated.

"You didn't hide from me, during all those years, Peter," Sirius continued, taking a step towards him. "You hid from Voldemort's followers. I heart many things in Azkaban. Many people over there would kill you if you weren't already dead. Yes, you gave Voldemort James and Lily Potter's locations, but that's why he was destroyed. His followers didn't all end up in Azkaban. Many of them are still free. And if they learned you were still alive, Peter...."

Peter was quick to deny all of that, pretending he did not know what Sirius was talking about, and begging Remus to believe him. But Remus didn't. Peter then went as far as to call Sirius Black a spy for the Dark Lord.

"How dare you?!" Sirius barked at his old friend. "Me, Voldemort's spy? When have anyone ever seen me submit myself to those who were brigger and stronger than me? But you, Peter... I'll never understand how I didn't immediately see that you were the spy. You always loved having stronger friends to protect you, didn't you? For a moment it was Sirius and me.. and James..."

"A spy?" Peter asked him, running a shaky hand through his drenched face. "Me? Are you crazy? How can you say such thing?" He said in a breath. It was like the air was having trouble to get to his lungs.

"Lily and James made you their Secret Keeper because I told them to," Sirius barked, making Peter take a step back. "I thought it was the best plan. They wouldn't go after you, because you were the scrawny kid no one wanted to put their trust in. I thought Voldemort would come for me. It must have been the best moment of your miserable life, right? Being able to tell Voldemort about the whereabouts of the Potters?" he accused.