Percy Jackson and the Hound of Hogwarts [Book 3]

56) Azkaban

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked timidly. "Can — can I say something?"

"Certainly, Hermione," Lupin smiled.

"Well — Scabbers — I mean, this — this man — he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"

"There!" Pettigrew screeched, pointing at Ron. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair on Harry's head! Why should I?"

"I'll tell you why," Black said. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for twelve years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all his powers, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him...."

Pettigrew closed and opened his mouth several times. He seemed to have lost his voice.

"Er — Mr. Black — Sirius?" Hermione said. Black jumped at the formal address, and Hermione continued. "If you don't mind me asking, how — how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"

"Thank you!" Pettigrew nodded, frantic. "Exactly! Precisely what I —"

I hushed him with a look. Black stared at Hermione, thinking over his answer.

"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me... but it kept me sane and knowing who I am... helped me keep my powers... so when it all became... too much... I could transform in my cell... become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know...." he swallowed thickly. "They feel their way toward people be sensing their emotions.... They could tell that my feelings were less — less human, less complex when I was a dog... but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand....

"But then I saw Peter in that picture... I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry... perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again...."

Pettigrew was mouthing noiselessly, shaking his head, but still staring at Black as if he were hypnotized.

"... ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies... and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors....

"So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive....

"It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it.... It wasn't a happy feeling... it was an obsession... but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog.... It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused.... I was thin, very thin... thin enough to slip through the bars... I swam as a dog back to the mainland.... I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry...." he stared at Harry, who didn't turn away. "Believe me. Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."

I watched something in Harry's eyes change. He nodded, swallowing.

"No!" Pettigrew fell to his knees. He was groveling.

"Sirius — it's me... it's Peter... your friend... you wouldn't..."

Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," he hissed.

"Remus!" Pettigrew turned to Lupin, his hands clasped as if in prayer. "You don't believe this.... Wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," Lupin said. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?"

"Forgive me, Remus," Black said.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," Lupin rolled up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course," Black said, the ghost of a grin crossing his face. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," Lupin said darkly.

Hey. This chapter is o n   t i m e. It's nice. My Wattpad was bugging out on my phone. I usually write it on my phone, because it's comfier and portable, but now I have deleted Wattpad. It takes up so much space on my phone, it was bugging the whole thing out. I'll probably start publishing on my phone again whenever I get a new one (ie. when this one breaks completely), so chapters may be a bit awkward. It also means I will not be able to reply to comments as quickly, as I don't have my laptop on me at all times. But, I shall continue to post, and yeah. I may not write new chapters for this series as often, but the schedule will remain unchanged. I'm about sixty chapters within the fourth book, so it'll be a while before it's all caught up. Yay! I also have no clue if this is too long. It's different.

Anyway, I hope you have had a good Wednesday, and I will see you on Friday! Love ya!