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

Chapter 41 - The Only Proof

The moon starts shining above us.

"... you can handle this, we can handle this" the other me says.

The Trio runs to the Forest, Moony transforms, Dad transforms, Pettigrew transforms, I transform and fly after him.

"You're an Animagus?" Hermione shrieks.

"Surprise"

"You're an illegal Animagus! Your name wasn't on the list!"

"Yeah, yeah, that doesn't matter now... but I'm pretty cool, right?" I add, smiling a little.

"Yeah..." says Harry weakly.

"Well, it must've taken you a lot of work..." Hermione says, thinking out loud, "and counting on your age... yes, it is pretty cool"

Then the bark, the screams, and the other me flies to the Lake.

"Okay, let's go..." I say, sneaking out of our hiding place.

"Wait!" Harry whisper-yells, "Were any of you awake when the Patronus saved us?"

"What Patronus?" Hermione asks.

"The stag..." Harry and I say at the same time.

"I didn't cast it..." I say, "Mine's an owl. Do you know yours?"

They shake their heads.

"I know this is going to sound stupid but..." Harry begins, "I think I saw my... my father there, casting it and saving us..."

"But, Harry..." says Hermione, "Your father is-"

"Dead, I know... but I saw him"

I think for a moment.

"Maybe it was... you"

"What?"

"Have you actually realized how much you look like James?" I say, "You're exactly like him... except your eyes, of course. You've got-"

"My mother's eyes..." Harry finishes, smiling weakly, "People say that a lot..."

"But..." Hermione says, "What do you mean 'it was Harry'? Like, this Harry..." she suddenly realises, "Oh Merlin... Harry, you've got to go to the Lake right now! C'mon, I'll go with you. If... Jupiter doesn't need help...?"

"No, go on, save us all" I say, smiling reassuringly.

She gives me a slight nod and drags a still-confused-but-slowly-working-it-out Harry to the Lake.

"Now it's you and me, Pete..." I say, and, in less than a second, I'm flying close to the dark grass, trying to find Pettigrew.

It kind of feels like a déjà vu to be here flying above the grass of the Grounds of Hogwarts, looking for the guy who killed Lily and James. I mean, not the guy who killed Lily and James, it's- you get it, right? Anyways...

I still can't see him. What if he's already out of Hogwarts? What if he's already with Voldemort, wherever he is, helping him get his power back? No. No, that can't be. Voldemort is probably hidden in some inhabited forest or something, far away from here. Yeah, that's it. And still, Pettigrew didn't have enough time to get out of Hogwarts, so he's got to be here, somewhere in the dark grass...

There! There he is, running like a maniac (maybe because he is one), as fast as his small rat legs can handle.

He doesn't seem to realise that I'm right above him; a perfect time for me to fly down and catch him.

I hear his shrieks and feel him trying to let go off my beak, but frankly, I don't care. I actually feel some sort of satisfaction to see him suffer. Did that sound too evil? Maybe...

I get to the Lake and see past-me and present-Harry producing two different Patronuses. They create that strong barrier that I had seen and chase away all the Dementors. Then past-me passes out and Harry and Hermione look around.

"Jupiter, you're here!" Harry says, "That's you, right?"

I turn human again, letting Pettigrew fall to my hands, and nod.

"You've got him!" Hermione shrieks when she sees Peter.

"Yeah, I do" I reply, "Now... should we take Dad to the castle or..."

"Definitely not" Hermione interrupts, "First of all, they might wake up" she points at past-us, "and we can't risk them seeing us. Then, we must keep the past intact, and since we've already changed it by taking Pettigrew with us, I think we should let it stay like this. Now, where's Buckbeak?".

"Still in the Forest, I hope" I reply.

"Better check" Hermione adds, making her way to the Forest.

~

We're making our way to the castle now. The full moon is still shining, and you can hear some agonizing wolf howls coming from the Dark Forest now and then.

We get inside the castle, making sure no one hears or sees us. Then we make our way to the Headmaster's office, only to see the gargoyle step aside, letting Professor Dumbledore appear in front of us.

When he looks at us, he doesn't seem surprised at all. As if he was expecting this... maybe he was, I don't know... His shiny blue eyes travel from Harry to Hermione to me, and a small smile appears on his face.

"Mr Potter, Ms Granger, Ms Black..." he begins, as calm as always, "What can I possibly do for you?"

A/N: helloooo my lovely nifflersssss!! hope you're alright and hope you liked this chapter!!

i don't really know what to say... but IT'S FINALLY WEEKEND!! YAY!! anyways...

luv y'all

~luna loveniffler 💙