Immortal Magic (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Allison's Point of View.

"We attacked a teacher," Hermione whispered, staring at Snape's unconscious form in horror.  I crossed my arms, still breathing hard from anger. "He deserved it," I muttered. "Letting a schoolboy grudge cloud his judgement for years."

"You three shouldn't have done that," Sirius said, though there was obvious amusement tugging at the corners of his mouth. "That should've been my job."

Hermione looked like she was seconds away from fainting as Sirius crouched beside Lupin and quickly untied the ropes binding him. "Thanks," Lupin said quietly, rubbing his wrists once he was free.

Harry still looked torn. Furious. Confused. Betrayed. "I still don't believe you," he said flatly. I stepped closer and slipped my hand into his again. "We haven't heard everything yet," I reminded him softly.

Harry glanced down at our joined hands before finally nodding once. Sirius noticed the movement but said nothing. "Then perhaps we can give you proof," he said instead, turning toward Ron. "Give me the rat."

Ron instantly tightened his grip on Scabbers. "You broke out of Azkaban just to get him," Ron said suspiciously. "Even if what you're saying is true, there are thousands of rats. How do you know Scabbers is Pettigrew?"

Lupin looked thoughtfully at Sirius. "That's actually a fair question." Without answering immediately, Sirius reached into his robes and pulled out a folded piece of newspaper.

He handed it over silently. I unfolded it carefully, my eyes scanning the moving photograph. "That's us," I said quietly. The picture showed our family in Egypt during the summer. Ron stood near the front, Scabbers perched lazily on his shoulder.

"When Fudge visited Azkaban," Sirius explained, "he brought the paper with him." His grey eyes locked onto Scabbers. "And there he was." Lupin suddenly leaned closer to the photo.

"Merlin..." His eyes widened. "The paw." Ron frowned. "What about his paw?" "He's missing a toe," Sirius said immediately. Lupin nodded grimly. "He cut it off himself."

Realisation slammed into me so fast I nearly gasped. "The finger," I whispered. Everyone turned toward me.

"The first Hogsmeade trip Harry and I snuck into," I explained quickly, "we overheard Professor McGonagall, Fudge, and Madam Rosmerta talking." I looked between Harry and Hermione.

"They said all they found of Pettigrew was a finger." Harry nodded slowly as understanding spread across his face, too. Sirius' expression darkened.

"He screamed for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James." Pain flickered across his face at the mention of them.

"Then before I could stop him, he blew apart the street with a curse hidden behind his back." His voice became rougher. "He killed twelve people, cut off his own finger and disappeared into the sewers as a rat."

Ron still looked unconvinced. "But Scabbers has been with our family for years," he argued weakly. "Maybe he lost the toe in a fight."

"A common garden rat doesn't live twelve years," Lupin said gently. "We took care of him," Ron defended stubbornly. Lupin exchanged a look with Sirius.

"He's also lost a lot of weight this year," Lupin pointed out calmly. "Almost as if he's terrified."

"He's scared of Crookshanks," Ron shot back immediately. Harry shook his head. "No. He started acting strange after you came back from Egypt." He looked at Sirius. "Around the same time, Sirius escaped."

"And Crookshanks isn't mad," Sirius added. That earned shocked looks from all of us. Sirius actually smirked slightly. "He's the smartest cat I've ever met."