Melody Riddle and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 17: The Escapades of a Rat

"Keep quiet, you stupid girl! Don't talk about what you don't understand!"

I ran faster. Jeez, Severus is loud when he's furious. A short moment later, I was close enough – but I hid in the shadows so they couldn't hear or see me. Harry stood in the doorway, blocking Severus who held cords that were attached to Professor Lupin. Severus held his wand tightly; Severus and Hermione stood in the room looking at Severus nervously, and Ron lay on the four poster bed... his leg stuck out at an odd angle.

I had just gotten there as Severus said – very dangerously, might I add – "Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works. Get out of the way, Potter."

"You're pathetic!" Harry shouted at him. "Just because they made a fool of you at school you won't even listen –"

Severus snapped. "Silence! I will not be spoken to like that! Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black – now get out of the way, or I will make you. Get out of the way, Potter!"

I raised my wand, and with a flick of my wrist I cast the Disarming Charm at Severus at the same time that Harry, Ron, and Hermione did. The blast sounded and Severus was lifted off of his feet – slamming into the wall and sliding down to the floor.

"You shouldn't have done that. You should have left him to me..." Sirius said.

Hermione moaned to herself, "We attacked a teacher.... We attacked a teacher.... Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble –"

She stopped talking the moment I walked into the room. Harry instantly shouted spells at me, which I deflected with ease.

"Stop!" Sirius said. "She – She's been helping me."

Harry stopped and stared, looking between the two of us. Hermione and Ron did the same.

"You know I'd never help attack Professor Snape without good reason, but you guys deserve to hear the truth," I said softly. Then I gave a nod to Severus, "He was acting like a madman. There was no choice but to disarm him. I'm surprised he didn't expect that, it was — you know what? Just... just ignore me." I knelt down next to Severus and tended to his head with some salve from my pocket. He was still out cold, which was good, but he was bleeding slightly.

Sirius bent down, and helped undo the bonds on Remus.

"I'm surprised, Melody. I never thought you would help a criminal," Remus said grimly.

I chuckled, "I knew he wasn't one when I found him. All you have to do is look in the eyes of someone to know if they're killers."

He smiled, "Again, you are an amazing witch." Then he turned to Harry, "Thank you, Harry."

"I'm still not saying I believe you," Harry said coldly.

Remus looked to Ron, "Then it's time we offered you some proof. You, boy – give me Peter, please. Now."

Ron kept Peter close, obviously still thinking of him as regular old Scabbers. He said, "Come off it. Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean..." He looked at Harry and Hermione to get support and help. There was none. Neither of them were sure. "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat – there are millions of rats – how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

Remus turned to Sirius, "You know, Sirius, that's a fair question. How did you find out where he was?"

Sirius pushed his hand into his robes and took out an old, crumpled piece of paper which he uncrumbled and smoothed it out a bit to show to the others. It was a picture of Ron and his family in Egypt, which had been from the previous summer.