CHAPTER ELEVEN:

Third Person P.O.V.:

Charlie's mind had gone blank with shock.

The four of them stood transfixed with horror at the top of the hill. The very last rays of the setting sun were casting a bloody light over the long-shadowed grounds.

"Hagrid," Charlie muttered, his eyes widened; he wanted to be there for the half-giant because he knew Hagrid would be there for him if the roles were reversed.

Without thinking about what he was doing, he made to start down the hill once again, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione seized his arms.

"We can't," said Ron, who was paper-white. "He'll be in worse trouble if they know we've been to see him..."

"Ron's right," Harry added. "We can't be seen. Charlie, if you go down there -"

"I don't care about what my father is going to say!" Charlie yelled, angrily. "Hagrid's our friend, we should've -"

The boy trailed off as he noticed Hermione's breathing was shallow and uneven.

"How - could - they?" she choked. "How could they?"

Charlie's face instantly fell and he suddenly forgot about his anger. He moved to comfort the girl once again. Seeing Hermione cry made his heart sink and his voice get caught in his throat.

The boy didn't know what to say, so instead he held her tight as Hermione cried into his chest. Little did he know that this simple action meant the world to the world to her because in that moment she knew - he would stop everything to be there for her in her time of need.

"Come on," said Ron, whose teeth seemed to be chattering.

They set off back toward the castle, walking slowly as they were still trying to process what they had just witnessed. The light was fading fast now.

"Scabbers, keep still," Ron hissed, clamping his hand over his chest. The rat was wriggling madly. Ron came to a sudden halt, trying to force Scabbers deeper into his pocket. "What's the matter with you, You stupid rat? Stay still - OUCH! He bit me!"

"Ron, be quiet!" Hermione whispered urgently. "Minister Hawthorne'll be out here in a minute -"

"He won't - stay - put -"

Scabbers was plainly terrified. He was writhing with all his might, trying to break free of Ron's grip.

"What's the matter with him?"

"Scabbers - NO!"

Too late - the rat had slipped between Ron's clutching fingers, hit the ground, and scampered away. Before Harry, Charlie or Hermione could stop him, Ron had ran off himself and pelted away into the darkness, chasing after Scabbers.

"Ron!" Hermione yelled.

She shared a glance with Charlie and Harry, then the three of them followed at a sprint.

"Scabbers, come here -"

There was a loud thud.

"Gotcha!"

Harry, Charlie and Hermione almost fell over Ron; they skidded to a stop right in front of him. He was sprawled on the ground, but Scabbers was back in his pocket; he had both hands held tight over the quivering lump.

"Ron - we have to head back to castle -" Harry panted. "Dumbledore - the Minister - they'll be coming back out in a minute -"

But before they could even catch their breath, they heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws...

Something was bounding toward them, quiet as a shadow - an enormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog.

Charlie reached for his wand, but was too late - the dog had made an enormous leap and the front paws hit him hard on the chest; he kneeled over backward, the wind completely knocked out of him, as one of its claws managed to cut him.

"Charlie!" Hermione yelled in a panic tone. She tried to move towards him, but Harry seized her by the arm, preventing her from putting herself in harms way.

The force of the dog's leap had carried it too far; it rolled off of the brown eyed boy. Dazed, feeling as though his ribs were broken with blood running down his cheek, Charlie tried to stand up; he could hear the dog growling as it skidded around for a new attack.

Ron was on his feet next to Harry and Hermione. As the dog sprang back toward them, he pushed them aside; the dog's jaws fastened instead around Ron's outstretched arm. Harry lunged forward to stop him, but it was no use, as the dog was dragging Ron as easily as though he were a rag doll -

Then, out of nowhere, something hit Harry so hard across the face that he was knocked off his feet. Charlie had just stood up when he heard Hermione shriek with pain and fall too.

Charlie's eyes widened as he turned around, the light from the moon showed him the trunk of a thick tree; they had chased Scabbers into the shadow of the Whomping Willow and its branches were creaking as though in a high wind, whipping backward and forward to stop them going nearer.

There, at the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backward into a large gap in the roots - the ginger was fighting furiously, but his head and torso were slipping out of sight -

"Ron!" Charlie shouted, trying to follow, but a heavy branch whipped lethally through the air and he was thrown backward, falling next to Hermione.

The two of them shared a glance as they rose to their feet, almost relieved that the other was alright. They held the gaze for awhile before moving towards Harry and helping him to his feet.

When they looked towards the tree, all they could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog from pulling him farther underground - but a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot; Ron's leg had broken, and a moment later, his foot vanished from sight.

"We've - we've got to go for help -" Hermione gasped; she was bleeding too; the Willow had cut her across the shoulder.

Harry argues, "No! That thing's big enough to eat him; we haven't got time -"

Charlie tried to reason, "Harry - we're never going to get through without help -"

"If that dog can get in, we can," Harry panted, darting here and there, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches, but he couldn't get an inch nearer to the tree roots without being in range of the tree's blows.

So, the three of them tried to run towards it together.

Dodging out of the way of the Willow's branches, Harry reached the trunk first; he crawled forward, headfirst, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel. Charlie went next; he landed on his back next to Harry with a hard thud - if his ribs weren't broke before, they definitely were now. Seconds later, Hermione slithered down behind them, landing directly on top of Charlie, face down.

With a small groan of pain, the brown eyed boy looked up at the same time she had, their faces were now merely centimetres apart.

The moment was reminiscent of the train encounter at the beginning of the year. They could feel the hot, panted breath of one another on their faces. Hermione was trying to fight the urge to look towards his lips. Charlie, on the other hand, couldn't help himself - he was transfixed.

Sorry, Ron, be with you in a second -

Charlie was lost in the moment. His heart was beating out of his chest, but he didn't dare to move. If he did, their lips would touch, and it would be against Hermione's wishes of remaining friends - it would only complicate things further.

Hermione hadn't moved to get off of him. She was too busy trying to fight a blush from appearing on her face due to the proximity of their faces. God, if they were under any other circumstances, she would've leaned down and -

"Are you guys alright?" Harry interrupted as he looked down at his two friends with a small smirk.

Charlie and Hermione reluctantly shifted their gaze towards their friend. Suddenly, realization of what was happening had hit them, and they both scrambled to their feet, embarrassed.

"Yeah -"

"All good -"

They didn't look at one another. They were scared of what it would mean had they did; it would be like admitting what almost happened.

Instead, Charlie pointed down a long, dark pathway that was in front of them.

"This way," he said as he led his two friends down the path.

"Where does this tunnel come out?" Hermione asked breathlessly.

"I don't know..." Harry said as he looked around curiously, "It's marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it... It goes off the edge of the map, but it looked like it was heading for Hogsmeade..."

They moved as fast as they could. On and on went the passage; it felt at least as long as the one to Honeydukes...

Charlie was breathing heavily, trying to ignore the obvious pain from his rib cage. Then, the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted. Ahead he, Hermione, and Harry could see a patch of dim light through a small opening.

When they walked through, they entered a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up.

The room was deserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway. Hermione suddenly grabbed Charlie's arm, startling Harry slightly. Her wide eyes were traveling around the boarded windows.

"Guys," she whispered, "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."

At that moment, there was a creak overhead. Something had moved upstairs. The three of them looked up at the ceiling. Hermione's grip on Charlie's arm was so tight that he was losing feeling in his fingers. He raised his eyebrows at her; she nodded and let go hesitantly.

Quietly as they could, they crept out into the hall and up the crumbling staircase. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except the floor, where a wide shiny stripe had been made by something being dragged upstairs.

They reached the top. Only one door was open. As they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it. Charlie, Harry, and Hermione exchanged a last look -

Wand held tightly before him, Charlie kicked the door wide open.

Upon entry, the boy surveyed the room. On the floor, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

Harry, Charlie and Hermione dashed towards him.

"Ron - are you okay?"

"Christ, that rat better be worth it."

"Where's the dog?"

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain. "Harry, it's a trap -"

"What -"

"He's the dog... he's an Animagus."

Ron was staring over Harry's shoulder. His three friends had wheeled around. With a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them.

A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he would've resembled a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin.

It was Sirius Black.

Charlie raised his wand -

"Expelliarmus!" Black croaked, pointing Ron's wand at him.

Charlie's wand shot out of his hands, high in the air, and Black caught it. Then he took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on Harry.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said hoarsely.

His voice sounded as though he had long since lost the habit of using it. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful... it will make everything much easier..."

The taunt about his father rang in Harry's ears. A boiling hate erupted in the boy's chest, leaving no place for fear. Without knowing what he was doing, he started forward, but there was a sudden movement on either side of him and three pairs of hands grabbed him and held him back...

"No, Harry!" Hermione gasped in a petrified whisper, while Charlie held him in pace; Ron, however, spoke to Black.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" he said fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of colour, and he swayed slightly.

Something flickered in Black's shadowed eyes.

"Lie down," he said quietly to Ron. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, though he was clinging painfully to Harry to stay upright. "You'll have to kill all four of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Black, and his grin widened.

"Why's that?" Charlie spat, stepping in front of his friends, still holding back Harry. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew...What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Charlie!" Hermione whimpered. "Be quiet!"

"SCREW THAT! HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared, and with a huge effort he broke free of his friends restraints and lunged forward -

Harry had tackled Black to the floor. As he pinned Black to the floor, he took out his wand and pointed it aggressively under his chin; Harry's hand was shaking in anger.

Black simply laughed, "Going to kill me, Harry?"

"Yes." Harry said with a glare, "To avenge my parents."

"Harry, don't!" His friends yelled simultaneously.

But it was too late. Harry raised his wand and as soon as he was about to mutter a spell -

BLAM!

The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Charlie wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurdling into the room, his wand raised and ready.

Lupin's eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the floor, over Hermione, cowering next to the door, over Charlie, who was looking at him curiously, to Harry, standing there with his wand covering Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleeding underneath Harry's wand.

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted.

Harry's wand shot out of his hand and into Lupin's. The boy quickly stood up and looked at Lupin with the same curious gaze as Charlie, as Remus approached Sirius, eyeing him intensely.

"Looking a bit ragged, aren't we, Sirius?" he said, extending a hand to help the criminal to his feet, "Finally the skin reflects the madness within."

Sirius Black smiles widely as he took Remus' hand and rose to his feet, "You'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you, Remus?"

The two regarded one another; the moment taut with tension. Then, Lupin stepped forward and... embraced Sirius like a brother.

Charlie immediately gritted his teeth, moving forward, much to Hermione's attempt to pull him back.

"Of course" he spat, looking at Lupin, "You've had us all fooled! You helped Black get into the castle, didn't you? My grandfather gave you an opportunity, and this is how you repay him? Helping a murderer?! You've got to be bloody joking!"

Lupin's face fell slightly as he looked in Charlie's brown eyes that were burning with fury; the boy felt the most betrayed he had ever had in his life.

Then, Hermione stepped forward next to Charlie, "I trusted you! We all did! I even covered up for you! And all this time you've been his friend!"

She then turned towards her three friends and spoke, while pointing in Lupin's direction, "He's a werewolf! That's why he's been missing classes!"

Charlie, Ron, and Harry all stared, completely dumbfounded, at Lupin. Black howled, bitterly amused.

Lupin shifted his gaze between everyone in the room, before gulping as he looked at Hermione, "How long have you known?"

"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay..."

"He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant... Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the Boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both," Hermione said quietly.

Lupin forced a laugh.

"You are the brightest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."

"Damn right, she is." Charlie added with a small smirk at the bushy haired girl before glaring once again at Lupin.

"Oh we get it," Black said, impatiently, "You glow like the sun, and howl at the moon. Enough talk! He dies! Now, if you won't do it with me, Remus, I'll do it alone!"

"Wait, Sirius -"

"I've done my waiting!" shouted Black, his voice slightly cracking as he suddenly remembered his imprisonment. "Twelve years of it! In Azkaban! Trust me, you wouldn't have lasted a week!"

Lupin eyed Black carefully, and then nodded slowly, "Alright fine, as you wish."

"No!" Hermione shouted, shaking in fear.

Ron buried his head in his knees, scared as to what was to come next. Charlie stood his ground next to Harry, protecting him as his friend confronted his parent's murderer.

"You killed my parents," he spat. "You betrayed them! You sold them out to Voldemort!"

"That's a lie!" Black defended, "I would never have betrayed James and Lily!"

"Harry, please," Lupin pleaded. "You've got to listen."

"Did he listen?" Harry retaliated, his voice raising slightly. "When my mother was dying! Did he listen to her screaming?!"

"No!" Sirius yelled, his eyes glittering with pain. "I wasn't there! And I'll regret it everyday for the rest of my life!"

"Someone else betrayed your parents, Harry." Lupin explained, softly. "Someone in this room, right now. Someone who, until quite recently, I believed to be dead -"

"He's as good as dead."

Charlie raised a brow, "What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"Well, Peter Pettigrew, of course!" Black said with a twisted smile.

The four Gryffindors shared a confused glance.

"You're both absolutely mental." Charlie spat. "Peter Pettigrew is dead. You killed him twelve years ago!"

Lupin sighed, "He's not. You saw him yourself on the map."

"The map was lying then!" Harry roared.

"The map never lies!" Lupin yelled. "I would know, I helped write it. I'm Moony - that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

Harry was taken aback, "You wrote -"

"Yes, yes!" Black dismissed quickly, "We're wasting time talking about things that can be discussed later!"

Black then turns to Ron, and croons in a cruel sing song, "Come out, come out, Peter... Come out, come out and play..."

Ron drew back from Black's demented gaze, "You're mad."

As if on cue, Scabbers emerged from Ron'a pocket, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him from escaping.

Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.

"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly.

"What d'you mean - of course he's a rat -"

"No, he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," said Black with a twisted smile as he watched the rat squirm in fear, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

Then, Sirius immediately lunged at Scabbers; Ron yelled with pain as Black's weight fell on his broken leg.

"Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled, launching himself forwards and dragging Black away from Ron again, "WAIT! You can't do it just like that - they need to understand - we've got to explain -"

"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, trying to throw Lupin off. One hand was still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, who was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tried to escape.

"They've - got - a - right - to - know - everything!" Lupin panted, still trying to restrain Black. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand, and Harry - you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!"

Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, and bleeding hands.

"All right, then," Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for..."

The four Gryffindors shared a very curious, yet fearful glance once again before they listened to Lupin as he told them his story.

Lupin began by saying that when he came to Hogwarts, as a young werewolf, Dumbledore devised a way for him to leave Hogwarts secretly and safely through the Whomping Willow and remain, during the full moon, in the Shrieking Shack.

James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, were friends of his and noticed his monthly absence, and figured out his true identity. Lupin told the young Gryffindors how they worked toward becoming animagi so they could assume animal form and keep him company without placing themselves in danger.

The Marauders roamed everywhere and learned every part of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, and they ultimately used this information to create the map.

Lupin then explained that Snape, who now makes the revolutionary potion Wolfsbane that allows Lupin to keep his mind, thus remaining harmless during his transformation, as a student was always curious about the monthly disappearance. Which resulted in a cruel prank that Lupin and his friends played on the young Slytherin, creating a hatred-based grudge that has lasted all of these years.

Then, as soon as Lupin finished the story -

"Expelliarmus!"

Remus and Sirius' wands has shot out of their hands in the direction of, coincidentally, Severus Snape, who was currently standing in the doorway, with his wand raised.

"Ah vengeance is sweet." Snape said slowly, as he approached the two adults. "How I hoped I'd be the one to catch you."

"Severus -"

"I told Dumbledore you were helping an old friend into the castle, and here's my proof." Snape spat towards Lupin.

The four Gryffindors stood still as they watched the encounter unfold, unaware of what to do. However, without even realizing it, Hermione had grabbed hold of Charlie's arm once again upon Snape's arrival. His touch comforted her; he was exactly what she needed in the moment.

Black spoke sarcastically, "Brilliant! And - as usual - dead wrong. Now, give us back our wands. Remus and I have a bit of unfinished business to attend to."

As Black approached him, Snape placed his wand under his chin, "Give me one good reason why I should."

"Don't be a fool, Severus." Lupin warned.

"He can't help it," Black laughed. "It's a habit by now."

"Quiet Sirius!"

"Oh bite me, Remus!"

"The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle" - he jerked his head at Ron - "I'll come quietly..."

"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the Dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black... pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay..."

What little color there was in Black's face left it.

"You - you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat - look at the rat -"

But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that Charlie nor Harry, Hermione, or Ron had never seen before. He seemed beyond reason.

"Come on, all of you," he said, addressing the room before stopping on Lupin. "I'll even show them the werewolf. Perhaps the Dementors will have a kiss for him too -"

Before he knew what he was doing, Charlie had removed himself from Hermione's grasp, crossed the room in three strides and blocked the door.

"Get out of the way, Hawthorne, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin -"

Black's eyes had widened at Charlie's last name. He quickly turned to Lupin, who gave a small nod.

"Professor Lupin could have killed us about a hundred times this year," Charlie said, ignoring the interaction happening behind Snape. "Harry has even been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish him off then?"

"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Snape. "Get out of the way, Hawthorne."

Before Snape could take another step towards Charlie in the doorway, Harry had raised his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" he yelled - except disarming wasn't all that happened. There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair - he had been knocked out.

Charlie's eyes had widened as he turned to his friend, "Harry! What did you just do?!"

"We attacked a teacher...We attacked a teacher..." Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble -"

"Oh, bloody hell..." Ron muttered from the ground, even more fearful than ever before.

Lupin had glanced from Snape's unconscious body to Charlie, who stood stunned in the doorway.

"Thank you, Charlie," he said.

"I'm not saying I believe you," he told Lupin.

"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Lupin. "You, boy - give me Peter, please. Now."

Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest.

"Come off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean..." He looked up at Harry, Charlie and Hermione for support, "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat - there are millions of rats - how's he supposed to know which one he is after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"

Black put one of his claw-like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others.

It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.

"Hawthorne," said Black, causing Charlie's head to snap in his direction. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me this paper. There was Peter, on the front page... I recognized him instantly... so did Fenwick. He told me that if Peter was indeed guilty, it was time he got what was coming to him... He said that I should consider it as a peace offering considering the fact that the foul git helped turn me in the first place... I didn't know what he was playing at, but I didn't care. I had to stop Peter before he got to Harry..."

To say Charlie was stunned was an understatement. Even Hermione, Harry, and Ron didn't know how to process the information.

"My father...?" Charlie trailed off in disbelief.

Black eyes had widened as he shifted his gaze to Charlie, "The very same - never was too fond of him. I thought Julia was mental when she told us that they were getting married, but I guess I understood when she told me she was pregnant."

Black moved towards the younger Hawthorne and knelt down slightly, to meet him at eye-level, "It's nice to meet you Charles. God, it feels like just yesterday when your mother showed us your first ultra-sound photo. I'm sorry about your loss... I heard about it just before I was sent to Azkaban..."

The brown eyed boy couldn't help but let a single tear roll down his face.

Hermione stood back slightly, waiting for the opportunity where she would be able to comfort the boy at the newfound revelation.

"You - you knew my mother?" he said, softly.

Black smiled widely, "Indeed I did, and what a pleasure it was to know her. Still can't believe she ended up with your father. Complete opposites, they were. There was always something off about Fenwick... he always wanted to know too much. Who would have guessed that he'd be the one to seal my fate... He arrived on the scene just a minute after I did, coincidentally... He said he felt guilty for locking me up, but he had to do what was right for the Wizarding World... The bastard even said he saw Peter's mangled body himself, and apparently all the clues led to me..."

"You're getting off topic, Sirius," Lupin warned. "Don't burden the poor boy with the mistakes made by his father."

Charlie went to protest - he wanted to hear more. But the moment had gone, when Black's eyes had filled with rage once again as he looked to Scabbers.

Ron shook his head as Black approached him once again, "No - no way! Not Scabbers! He's been in my family for -"

"Twelve years!" Sirius said bitterly. "A curiously long life for a common garden rat! He's missing a toe, isn't he?"

"So what?" The ginger retaliated.

Suddenly, Charlie put the pieces together, "You heard my father in the Three Broomsticks, Ron... all they found of Pettigrew was his -"

"Finger, yes." Black snarled. "Dirty coward cut it off so everyone would think he was dead! Apparently it worked! Fooled Fenwick - fooled the world! Then, he transformed into a rat to escape!"

Charlie stared into Black's sunken eyes. He wanted to believe him, but he needed to see it for himself. - they all did.

"Enough of this," said Lupin, and there was a steely note in his voice Charlie had never heard before. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."

"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Lupin tensely.

"Force him to show himself," said Lupin. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."

Ron hesitated.

"It's okay, Ron." Harry reassured, as he suddenly understood as well. "Give it to him."

Out of Harry's request, Ron held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.

"Ready, Sirius?" said Lupin.

Black had already retrieved Snape's wand. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.

"Together?" he said quietly.

"I think so", said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One - two - THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly - Ron yelled - the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then -

A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands.

He was a very short man. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes.

He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Charlie saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.

"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."

"S-Sirius... R-Remus..." Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky and shaky, as though he was nervous. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friends... my old friends..."

Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning took, then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the floor -"

"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, and Harry could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "you don't believe him, do you...? He tried to kill me, Remus..."

"So we've heard," said Lupin, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'll be so -"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly, pointing at Black, and Charlie saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too...You've got to help me, Remus..."

Lupin didn't answer. Instead, he stood still, watching Pettigrew's actions intently. Peter's small, watery eyes darted towards door once again. Suddenly, he made a break for it, but Charlie was quick to move in front of him.

Pettigrew's nose twitched, his gaze looking directly into Charlie's eyes before he grabbed the boy by the shoulders, "Oh Charles, thank goodness! Please! You have to help me - just like your father did! Great man, he is, your father! Be like him! Please! Help me!"

The brown eyed boy gritted his teeth before shoving Peter off of him, "I'm nothing like my father."

"Please, Charles!" Pettigrew cried. "I'm innocent!"

Charlie shook his head in disgust as he suddenly began to believe Black's story, "Innocent people don't run."

Pettigrew fell to the floor, avoiding Remus and Sirius' gaze at all costs. He was looking around the room, trying to find help, almost like he was doing it as a way to avoid the truth.

"Ron..." he pleaded, "haven't I been a good friend... a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you... you're on my side, aren't you?"

But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion as he drew back closer to the wall to get further away from him.

"Kind boy... kind master..." Pettigrew crawled toward Ron, begging at his broken leg. "You won't let them do it... I was your rat... I was a good pet...."

"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," said Black harshly.

Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's sweater to which Charlie immediately became protective, and moved towards her.

"Sweet girl... clever girl... you - you won't let them... Help me..."

Hermione pulled her sweater out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away behind Charlie, looking horrified.

Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry.

"Harry... Harry... you look just like your father... just like him..."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Black. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed... James would have understood, Harry... he would have shown me mercy..."

Both Black and Lupin strode forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said Black, who was shaking too. "Do you deny it?"

Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.

"Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord... you have no idea... he has weapons you can't imagine... I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you, Remus and James. I never meant for it to happen... You-Know-Who forced me -"

"DON'T LIE!" bellowed Black. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"

"It wasn't just me! He - he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.

"You should have realized," said Lupin quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

Hermione squealed in horror as she buried her face into Charlie's shoulder. He immediately wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"NO!" Harry yelled, much to everyone's surprise.

He ran forward, placing himself in front Pettigrew, facing the wands.

"You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."

Black and Lupin both looked staggered as his three friends gazed at him in disbelief.

"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Black snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."

"I know," Harry panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors... He can go to Azkaban... but don't kill him."

"Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You - thank you - it's more than I deserve - thank you -"

"Get off me," Harry spat, kicking Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because - I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers - just for you. Besides, dead, the truth dies with him. Alive... the innocent are freed."

"Very well then," Lupin said softly, as he lowered his wand. He and Black shared a glance before Lupin spoke again, "It's what Harry wants..."

----------------

Charlie helped carry Ron out of the Shrieking Shack, and back up through the roots of the Whomping Willow, which had ceased to move. All the while, Hermione and Harry led Snape through. Lupin and Sirius guided Pettigrew to the top, with their wands places aggressively into his back - any sudden movements, Peter was dead.

Harry and Hermione had settled Snape's unconscious body to the floor beside the Whomping Willow while Charlie helped Ron elevate his leg, to take the pressure off.

Within a few moments, Hermione had joined Charlie next to Ron, while Sirius and Harry had moved to share their first conversation as godfather and godson. Lupin took control of Pettigrew in the near distance without any sign of resistance.

"You alright, mate?" Charlie asked Ron.

The ginger nodded his head, "Broken leg is the least of my worries. I've been sharing a bed with a murderer for the past few months. Hell, he's been living under the same roof as me for twelve years!"

The brown eyed boy couldn't help but chuckle lightly, "Yeah, I think that revelation was the weirdest bit."

Hermione watched the two boy's interact intently before she shifted her gaze to Charlie specifically. She took in the sight of his side profile; his cheeks were slightly stained with tears from the mention of his mother, but were also covered in blood and dirt from his run in with the Whomping Willow.

Without realizing what she was doing, she reached up and caressed the boy's cheek, wiping the blood off of his face. Charlie immediately turned, startled slightly at the interaction which was happening before a very confused Ron.

"Are you okay?" Hermione whispered.

Charlie's eyes melted at her touch before he quickly nodded his head.

"All good," he said with a small smile to which she reciprocated, almost relieved to hear that he was in fact, okay.

Next to them, Snape was finally becoming conscious. The long-haired Professor had sat up straight, glancing around confused. Charlie, Hermione, and Ron shared a quick laugh as a snarl appeared on Snape's face, realizing what must've happened.

Then - a cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight.

Snape instantly shifted his gaze towards Lupin, while Black did the same; both frozen at the sight. Without hesitation, Snape had moved in front of Charlie, Hermione and Ron.

Charlie could see Lupin's silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.

"Oh, my -" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"

"Run!" Black yelled. "Run. Now."

There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws.

As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from the kids and Pettigrew. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other.

Charlie stood, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the battle to notice anything else. It was Hermione's scream that alerted him and caused him to focus -

Pettigrew had dived for Lupin's dropped wand.

"Expelliarmus." Charlie yelled, pointing his own wand at Pettigrew; Lupin's wand flew high into the air and out of sight.

"Stay where you are!" Harry shouted, running forward.

Too late - Pettigrew had transformed. Harry and Charlie saw his bald tail whip through the trees and heard a scurrying through the grass.

There was a howl and a rumbling growl; the two boys turned to see the werewolf taking flight; it was galloping into the forest -

"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled.

Black was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and back, but at Harry's words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.

Then, from beyond the range of their vision, they heard a yelping, a whining: a dog in pain....

"Sirius," Harry muttered, staring into the darkness.

Harry set off at a run, Hermione and Charlie right behind him, leaving Ron on the ground under the protection of Professor Snape. The yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. They pelted toward it, running flat out, feeling the cold without realizing what it must mean -

Charlie, being the fastest, had taken the lead towards the whimpers of the dog, but came to an abrupt halt as he came face to face with Professor Lupin in his werewolf form. Harry and Hermione had caught up with the brown eyed boy, but he quickly signalled for them to stop - any sudden movements and Lupin would attack.

The werewolf drew closer to the boy. Harry was desperately tried to hold Hermione back as she whimpered in panic at the sight before her.

Charlie drew his wand once again, terrified, but tormented as well, knowing that Lupin dwelled somewhere inside the beast.

"Please, Professor," he tried to reason. "Stop... It's me..."

That didn't work, however, as Lupin remained unphased in his werewolf form, and had moved even closer to the boy; his growls growing hungrier.

Suddenly... a howl pierced the night.

The werewolf faltered, cocking it's head towards the forest. Charlie waited, petrified. Lupin's eyes shifted back to him, snarling as he moved closer, ready to kill - the boy didn't dare move.

With that, a second howl echoed in the distance.

This time, the werewolf bounded towards the forest, and vanished. Hermione wasted no time whatsoever before barrelling towards the boy and engulfing him in a hug - Charlie's confrontation with a werewolf was probably the scariest thing Hermione had ever seen.

They pulled away as the yelping of the dog had continued in the distance, before stopping abruptly. Charlie, Hermione and Harry headed towards it once again, and as they reached the lakeshore, they saw why it had stopped - Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.

"Nooo," he moaned. "Nooo... please...."

That's when Harry, Hermione, and Charlie saw them; Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake.

Sirius spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them...

"Quick! Think of something happy!" Harry yelled, raising his wand, blinking furiously.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Charlie nodded towards Hermione, as the two of them raised their wands for Harry.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

But there too many of them, and the three Gryffindor's spells weren't powerful enough...

Hermione has collapsed to the ground, and Charlie could feel himself growing weaker by the minute. Harry was on his knees, willing to fight until his last breath, but he too, was failing to fight the Dementors off; his Patronus kept flickering and dying.

Charlie watched in, what felt like, slow motion as the nearest Dementor seemed to be considering them. Then it raised both its rotting hands - and lowered its hood.

Where there should have been eyes, there was only thin, gray scabbed skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was a mouth... a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death rattle.

A paralyzing terror filled Charlie so that he couldn't move or speak, he could only watch as the Dementor singled in on his best friend.

The Dementor had Harry around the neck, and the boy with glasses could hear his mother's voice screaming in his head - this what it - Charlie was going to watch his friend die, before he would suffer the same fate...

Then, suddenly - a bright silver light, encompassed the area, circling the four of them.

Something was driving the Dementors back...

They were leaving - The air was warm again -

With every ounce of strength he could muster, Charlie raised his head a few inches and saw an animal amid the light, galloping away across the lake. Above it, was a bird, shining brightly in the light, circling around the galloping animal - almost resembling two protectors sent from God...

Eyes blurred with sweat, Charlie tried to make out what was going on, but his eyes shifted as he saw Harry collapse next to Sirius Black's body.

"Harry!"

---------------
Author's Note:
*this chapter was not proof read*

This chapter is soooo long, but it had to be done! I really want to finish PoA today, so I can start Goblet of Fire tomorrow.

Speaking of, I'm looking for any suggestions as to what you guys want to see happen next in the story! I have a few ideas, but I'm curious as to what you want to happen, so let me know ❤️

Much love! Until next time!

xo, Selena