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Bonded chapter 26
🕑 Added 2022-08-11 23:25:49 +0000 UTCChapter 26 - Kill him?
"Damn," Harry said once he let go of Sirius. "Look at you, we're going to need to clean you up, you look like shit."
"You try and stay good-looking in Azkaban," Sirius mumbled before staring at Harry with a hopeful expression. "You know? You...you know the truth?" He looked as if he couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, I know," Harry confirmed with a small nod of his head. "We...I worked it out."
"Harry, what's going on?!" Hermione demanded. "Get away from him!"
"Sorry Hermione, but we've got business we need to attend to," Harry shook his head before turning around and aiming his wand in Ron's direction.
"What are you doing?!" Ron blurted out, backing up in fear.
"Give us the rat, Ron," Harry calmly ordered. "Hand him over."
"What?! You're mental! Both of you!" Ron accused, holding his pet protectively to his chest.
"Give it, now!" Sirius growled, staring at it murderously.
"Ron, it's not a real rat," Harry tried to explain.
"Yes, it is!" Ron stared at him with disbelief. "Scabbers is a real rat! He was Percy's rat and now he's mine! He's been in my family for..."
"Twelve years!" Sirius cut him off. "That's a curiously long life for a common garden rat, don't you think so? Huh? Besides, the little bastard is missing a toe, isn't he?!"
"So what?!" Ron asked as his rat started squeaking again.
"Ron, all they can find from Peter Pettigrew was a finger," Harry pointed out.
"You're trying to say that Ron's little rat is Peter Pettigrew?!" Hermione blurted out with disbelief.
"I don't know if you remember, Hermione, but the deputy headmistress of our school can turn into a cat," Harry reminded her. "And Sirius over here can turn into a dog,"
"He's an animagus?" Hermione asked, realising what Harry was trying to say. She took a step back and stared at Ron's rat.
"He's not!" Ron said stubbornly. "There's no way that he's an animagus! He's a rat! My family's rat! My rat!"
"Well, there's a sure way to prove it, isn't there?" Sirius growled, stalking forward with murderous intent, raising a wand that Harry recognised as Ron's.
'Incoming, Lupin.' Venom told Harry.
"Hold on, wait a sec," Harry said, flicking his wand and yanking Sirius a couple of steps back just before the door opened and Professor Lupin burst in.
"Expelliarmus!" Lupin yelled, easily disarming Sirius with a picture-perfect disarming spell, causing Ron's wand to fly to the floor.
"Well, well, Sirius," Lupin commented, staring at Sirius warily. "You're looking rather ragged, aren't you?" He asked lightly.
"We can't all look as pretty as you, Remus," Sirius said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "The dementors weren't very willing to share their beauty products with me."
"Expelliarmus," Harry quickly cast his own disarming spell, removing Lupin's wand from his hand, causing it to land in Sirius's waiting hands.
"Nice one, James!" Sirius grinned before staring down at the wand in his hands, Harry glanced at Sirius who apparently hadn't realised what he had just called Harry.
"Harry, what are you doing?!" Demanded Lupin. "Get away from him! He's dangerous!"
"Not for me," Harry replied. "You're a little late to the party, Professor, you've missed quite a bit."
"They've gone mental!" Ron yelled.
"Not that bit!" Harry snapped at him before turning his attention back to Professor Lupin. "I have reason to believe that Sirius is innocent."
"Are you joking?!" Lupin looked at him like he was crazy.
"I saw Pettigrew on the map," Harry told him.
"What map?" Hermione asked.
"You found the map?" Sirius grinned.
"That's not possible," Lupin said in a slow voice. "You can't have done."
"The map never lies," Sirius said smugly.
"Pettigrew was missing a finger, right?" Harry asked suddenly. "That's what the reports said, they all said that Sirius blew him up whilst leaving nothing but a finger."
"I wouldn't have left just a finger, I would have obliterated the bastard!" Sirius stated in an offended voice, causing Scabber's protests to grow louder.
"Sirius is an animagus," Harry continued on as if Sirius hadn't spoken at all. "Which means that Pettigrew could be one as well, right?"
"He was," Lupin confirmed, staring at Harry with an odd expression on his face. "He could turn into a rat."
"Count the toes on that rat," Harry pointed to Scabbers. Lupin stared at the rat and didn't seem to look much at the toes since Scabbers now appeared to be trying to hide them behind Ron's hands, and instead stared at the rat.
"Wormy?" Lupin asked softly, taking a few steps forward.
"I knew that you would recognise him as easily as I can," Sirius spoke up as he aimed his wand at the rat. "Come on out, Peter, come out my little, squeaky friend. Come out!"
"Expelliarmus!" Once again Sirius was hit by a disarming spell and the wand flew out of his hand, landing on the floor along with Ron's and Hermione's, the group all turned to see none other than Snape standing in the doorway. "Vengeance is sweet," Drawled Snape with plenty of satisfaction in his voice.
By this point, both Harry and Sirius, in an almost scary level of synchronisation, threw their hands up into the air with exasperation and walked over to opposite corners of the room, shaking their heads and mumbling curses words under their breaths.
"I told Dumbledore that you were in league with an old friend, and now, here's the proof," Snape monologued to Lupin.
"Severus, please, don't be a fool," Lupin began.
"Can't really help it, can he? It's a habit by now," Sirius commented as he walked back over to Lupin while Harry let out an amused snort at Sirius's comment.
"Sirius, be quiet!" Lupin hissed.
"Be quiet yourself, Remus!"
"Ah, and look at you two, quarrelling like an old, married couple," Snape sneered.
"Snivellus," Sirius glared at him. "Why don't you have a shower then go along and play with your chemistry set?" That was as far as Sirius managed to get before Snape moved forwards and pressed the tip of his wand into Sirius's neck.
"I could do it, Black, don't for a moment think I don't want to," Snape spoke in a cold and quiet voice. "But why deny the dementors?" He asked, causing Sirius to look scared for the first time. "They're so longing to see you? Is that fear, Black? Are you perhaps in the need of some new underwear? I'm not sure why you're scared, I'm sure they'll treat you with the utmost respect, they're so longing to see you. I believe that you're to receive the dementor's kiss, I can only imagine what that must be like. It's said to be nearly unbearable to witness but I'll do my best."
"Snape," Harry spoke up from his corner. "We have reason to believe that Sirius is innocent, I found out that..."
"Silence, Potter," Snape cut him off, glaring at him. "I am in no mood to listen to you."
"Nor am I in one that would allow me to tolerate you," Harry glared right back at him. "Just listen to me, I..."
"I do not have time to listen to your babbling!" Snape hissed, cutting him off once again.
"For Merlin's sake! Just once in your life, don't be a dick and listen to me!" Harry snapped. "He's innocent, it was Pettigrew that..."
"Don't you dare talk to me like that boy!" Snape snapped back at him.
"I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, eh?" Sirius asked in an amused voice.
"Enough out of you, Black!" Snape snarled, staring at him with hatred in his eyes. "I will not be dissuaded from making sure that you receive the justice that you so rightfully deserve, I..."
"Expelliarmus!" Harry cast, having reached the end of his patience. Unfortunately, for Snape, Harry put a bit more power than necessary into his spell, causing Snape's wand to shoot out of his hand while Snape flew backwards and crashed into the wall behind him, proving a theory that Harry had had ever since his first year of Hogwarts, an old and damaged wall when combined with a thrown Snape results in a big hole in the wall.
"Whoa!" Sirius stared at Harry like he was an angel descended from heaven.
"Harry, you attacked a teacher!" Hermione blurted out.
"I dusted one in my first year, Hermione, keep up. Besides, it was Snape," Harry said defensively before turning his attention back to Ron's rat. "Now, shall we deal with him?"
"Yes," Sirius said quickly, picking up Ron's wand before tossing Lupin his own wand. "Shall we?" He asked Remus who stared at Sirius for several seconds before giving him a nod.
"Give him to us, Ron," Harry ordered.
"You're all mental!" Ron accused.
"I've waited twelve years for this, I'm not waiting for a second more!" Hissed Sirius before he walked over to Ron and ripped Scabbers from Ron's hand, grabbing him roughly by the scruff of his neck.
"Scabbers!" Ron screamed, unable to get up due to his leg being damaged from Sirius's bite. "Leave him alone!" He cried but was ultimately ignored as Sirius tossed Scabbers into the air before Lupin hit him with a spell. Everyone watched as Scabbers transformed in mid-air, a dull thud was heard as a man landed on the floor.
"Hi Peter," Sirius said with a toothy grin that looked like it caused Sirius discomfort to perform.
"You don't look creepy at all," Harry commented as Peter quickly got up to his feet, allowing Harry a good look at the man. Peter was dressed in a black suit with white stripes and a black button shirt, he was small and round. His two front teeth were as long as an actual rat, his skin and hair looked uncared for, and he was also noticeably balding. He looked like the very definition of scruffy and shifty, his fingernails were long and sharp and he was noticeably missing a finger.
"Remus? S...Sirius?" Peter asked, staring back and forth between them. "My...my old friends..." He stuttered before holding his arms out as if expecting a big hug, though he quickly lowered his hands when he saw the frosty looks he was getting from both of his friends. "I...it's good to see you both, really..." He continued whilst looking around the room. "...T...truly, it's been so long and...Harry!" He yelled suddenly, staring at Harry like he was his salvation. "Look at you!" He smiled widely as he slowly walked over to Harry, faltering slightly when Harry aimed his wand at him. "You look so much like your father, like James, we were the best of friends, he and I, we..."
"How dare you speak to Harry?!" Sirius hissed furiously at Peter, looking like he had never seen or heard anything so horribly offensive in his entire life. Peter squeaked before he took several steps away from Harry who stared at Sirius. Seeing the look on his face, Harry was suddenly a lot less surprised that a lot of people thought that Sirius was a murderer because right now he definitely looked like one. "How dare you talk about James in front of him?!"
"Peter," Lupin spoke up, also aiming his wand at Pettigrew. "You sold James and Lily to Voldemort, didn't you?!" He accused.
"I didn't want to!" Cried Peter before he suddenly turned and started kneeling in front of Ron, grabbing him by his arm. "Ron, please help me, I was your rat! I was a good friend! Please Ron, I..."
"Get away from me!" Yelled Ron, looking disgusted and horrified. "You were in my house all this time!"
"Not creepy at all," Harry muttered, repeating his earlier comment. "Get away from him!" He told Pettigrew.
"I'm not doing anything!" Peter squeaked, quickly rising to his feet and stepping away from Ron when he spotted Hermione. "Dear girl," He began, walking towards her while she backed up. "Sweet girl, please help me, I..." He paused when Harry stepped in front of Hermione and cast a stinging hex on Peter's chest, causing him to yelp and back up.
"You're really starting to piss me off," Harry growled.
"Harry, I..."
"Don't talk to him!" Sirius yelled, rushing forwards and clocking Peter across the face with a vicious right hook that knocked the man down to the floor, Peter whimpered in pain before he rolled across the floor and quickly jumped to his feet, he rushed towards the exit, only to be blocked by Remus. Remus and Sirius moved forwards, causing Peter to turn and run before hiding behind a broken piano, Remus and Sirius quickly reacted and stood on either side of the piano.
"Please!" Begged Peter. "The dark lord, you have no idea what powers he possesses! We were losing! Dumbledore was costing us the war! We wouldn't have won under his leadership, he...it was a losing battle. And the dark lord, he...I couldn't say no to him. Do you have any idea what he would have done to me?! Ask yourself, what would you have done? What would you have done?!"
"I would have died!" Barked Sirius with no hesitation in his voice. "I would have died rather than betray my friends!"
"Big words, Sirius, but wasn't it you who betrayed Remus?!" Accused Peter. "You all suspected him of being the traitor, didn't you?! They did!" He quickly turned his attention to Remus. "Remus, you were the nicest to me, please, believe me! They thought you were a traitor!"
"Yeah, we did and that's one of my greatest regrets!" Snarled Sirius.
"And...Sirius was the one that sent Snape to you on the full moon!" Peter reminded Remus. "Remember, if you had killed him then you would have been put down, the ministry would have killed you."
"What is he on about?!" Ron blurted out.
"Ron," Hermione spoke softly. "Professor Lupin is a werewolf,"
"What?!" Ron's eyes went wide and stared at Lupin like he was the actual murderer.
"How long have you known?" Lupin asked her.
"Ever since Snape set an essay on werewolves," Hermione answered.
"Well done, Hermione," Lupin complimented her before turning his attention back to Peter. "As for you, whatever Sirius might have done pales in comparison to what you did. You got James and Lily killed!" Peter squeaked before he quickly ducked down and crawled under the piano before running towards the door, only to stop when Harry blocked his way.
"You were going somewhere?" Harry asked innocently, tilting his head slightly.
"Harry, listen to me, your dad would have spared me, he would have shown me...argh!" Peter yelped when a stinging hex hit him in his neck, causing him to stumble back.
"You don't mention him!" Harry hissed.
'We need to kill him!' Venom growled in Harry's head. 'Kill him! He's responsible for all of our suffering! He sent Voldemort to our house, he got our parents killed! Kill him!'
"Exactly!" Sirius snarled before sending a bone breaker into the back of Peter's knee, causing the plump man to fall to the floor in pain. "You should have raised Peter that if Voldemort didn't kill you then we would!"
"No," Harry spoke softly. "He's mine. He killed my parents, I decide his fate." Harry stepped forwards and aimed his wand at Peter.
'Kill him,' Venom's voice filled Harry's head. 'Kill him, do it, kill him.'
"Harry, no!" Yelled Hermione. "You can't kill him! Hand him off to the proper authorities! They'll punish him."
"What can they do to make up for what he did?!" Snarled Harry, his body shaking with rage.
"Harry, please, this isn't you! Don't kill him!" Hermione pleaded. "If you do then you'll just end up going to Azkaban! B...Besides, without him, we can't free Sirius!" Hermione reminded him. "We need him alive!"
'We need him alive,' Harry mentally repeated. 'Venom, she said we need him alive. Should I kill him? No, no, killing is wrong, I can't,'
'You already did, remember Quirrell?' Venom reminded him.
'That's different,' Harry half-heartedly protested before staring at Pettigrew. 'I want to kill him, want to kill him, I want to kill him, Venom, I want to kill him. But...Sirius needs him alive. We need him alive. What do I do Venom?' Harry asked, feeling confused. Venom was silent for a moment, though for Harry it felt like a lifetime.
'Keep him alive,' Venom eventually answered, not entirely happy with it but realising the benefits of freeing Sirius. 'Don't worry, we'll get him next time.' He added reassuringly, hoping to cheer Harry up.
"You have no idea how much I want to kill you," Harry glared at Pettigrew. "But today is not that day."
"Harry, this man..." Sirius began.
"I know, Sirius, I know," Harry sighed. "But we need him alive, we'll take him to the castle."
"B...Bless you, boy," Peter snivelled. "Bless you, I..."
"Don't be too happy," Harry cut him off. "I said we'll take you to the castle, after that, the dementors can have you," Harry told Pettigrew who barely was able to be shocked before Harry hit him with a body bind, causing Peter's arms to snap to his body while his legs snapped painfully together, causing Peter to scream out in pain when he felt his broken leg slam into his other one.
"Let's go," Harry said, sounding tired, not noticing the looks that Hermione and Ron were sending him. "I'll take Pettigrew out. Sirius, you can help Ron out. Lupin, you should stay here, today's a full moon. The last thing we need is you transforming on us."
"What about Snape?" Hermione spoke up, her voice noticeably more quiet than usual, gesturing to the hole in the wall.
"What about him?" Harry asked in an uncaring voice.
(.)
A.N: Hi guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter, for those who might be upset that Peter's alive, all I'm going to say is that the story isn't done yet.
Anyway, thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review.
Comments
Wanous
Need more chapters
Christian Jeffress
Thanks for another highly entertaining chapter, and very much hope that he can manage to stay with Sirius.
