The Daughter of the Murderer - BOOK 1 - *COMPLETED*

Chapter 34 - Family Meetings And Old Friendships

"J-Jupiter...?" he says, finally taking a look at the person who just knocked out the Potions Master, "Is that you...?".

"Yeah... I think so..." I mutter.

He looks astonished, surprised. And he also looks like he's about to cry. Then, I feel him wrapping his weak and thin arms around me. I hug him back instantly and let the tears fall; the ones I've been guarding for 12 years now. I hear his faint sobs, his faint apologies, his faint heart beating; a heart that seemed to suddenly wake up.

He lets go and cups my face.

"Oh Merlin... You've grown up" he cries, "and I've missed it all...".

Now that I get to look at him... I just want to cry more. He's is so skinny that he almost looks like a skeleton... you can basically see all his bones through his ripped and dirty clothes. His usually shiny, shoulder-length hair is now pasty, and it almost reaches his elbows. His bright smile is now weak, his white teeth are now yellow. But his eyes... his grey eyes are still passionate and hopeful, something you would never expect from a person who just escaped from Azkaban.

"It's so good to have you back" it's the only thing I manage to say.

His eyes drop more tears as he pulls me in another tight hug, as tight as his weak arms can manage.

"Look," says Harry, "I really don't want to be a jerk and end your lovely reunion, but... tell me about Pettigrew".

~

"You're not gonna tell me you escaped Azkaban to come after Scabbers, right?!" says Ron, still a bit confused, and before anyone could say something, he talks again, "I mean, there are millions of rats in the world, how did you know Scabbers was the one you were looking for if you were in jail?!"

"When Fudge came to inspect Azkaban, he gave me this" says Dad, taking a crumpled paper from his ripped cloak. It was a photo from The Prophet from when the Weasleys went to Egypt. "I saw him on top of your shoulder, Ron, and I recognised him at once. The article said you were going to Hogwarts this year, where Jupiter and Harry were...".

Ron's still puzzled.

Remus looks at the picture and then at the real Scabbers still trapped in Ron's big hands.

"Merlin!" he says, "He's missing a finger!".

I look at Scabbers too, "Oh damn... yeah he is...".

I know every detail that the Ministry gave away about the night Lily and James were killed. I know all that was left of Pettigrew was one of his fingers.

"So what?!" says Ron.

"The only evidence that Pettigrew was supposedly killed by my father, along with the 12 Muggles was... his finger. It was all they could find, all that was left of him..." I say, still looking from the picture to the rat.

"He cut his own finger, shouted that I had betrayed my friends, made a blast that killed the people around us, and disappeared through the sewers, mixed with the other rats" says Dad.

"Well," replies Ron, "he might've just... fought with another rat! That's why he lost a finger! He's been in the family for so long!"

"Twelve years, correct?" I ask, "It's not that usual for a rat to live so long".

"We've been treating him right!" Ron shouts, desperate.

"Still..." I say, "He hasn't been looking really good, has he? I bet he's been sick since Dad escaped".

"No, he's just scared of that evil furball!" he replies, pointing at Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, who had apparently been here, laying in the bed the whole time, without me realising it.

"That cat is not evil..." says Dad, stroking the cat's bright ginger fur, "he's the smartest cat I've ever seen. He's been helping me get inside the castle, he even stole the passwords to the Gryffindor Tower from the bedside table of some kid"

Poor Neville...

"He told me Peter had left blood on Ron's sheets..." Dad carries on, "maybe he tried to fake his death again... I don't know, he might've bitten himself or something... Ya know, Peter can be-".

"STOP CALLING HIM PETER!" Ron interrupts, "HIS NAME IS SCABBERS! DO YOU HAVE ANY PROOF THAT HE'S NOT EVEN A RAT?!".

"Well..." says Remus, "we can...".

Ron looks extremely surprised, as if he wasn't even waiting for this answer.

"W-what...?" he stutters.

"If you give me... Scabbers" Moony begins.

"What are you doing with him?!" Ron shouts.

"We just want to make sure that he is Pettigrew... if he's not, then nothing will happen to your rat".

Somehow, we convince Ron to give Remus the supposed rat.

Dad takes Snape's wand and Moony takes his. They point both wands at the crying rat and it starts floating when the wands produce a whitish blue light. Then, the rat falls down, making Ron shriek, and starts transforming into a man. The rat's head becomes human, and so does the rest of his body.

Now, where the rat was, stands a noticeably short man. He has small watery eyes, front teeth bigger than Hermione's, not much hair left, and looks as if he lost a lot of weight in a short period of time (which he probably did). In all honesty, he still kind of looks like a rat.

"S-Sirius...?" he shrieks, "R-Remus...!" he looks at the door, and then back at us, "Oh, my friends! My old friends!".

A/N: hellooooo my lovely nifflerssss! how r y'all doing?? hope you liked the chapter!

well, um... i don't really know what to say, tbh...

i'm still thinking of a way to bring wolfstar to life and still make teddy exist... i'll have to think...

anywaysssss

luv y'all

~luna loveniffler 💙