Six impossible things before breakfast
“Alice laughed. 'There's no use trying,' she said. 'One can't believe impossible things.'
‘I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. 'When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. There goes the shawl again!”
― Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking Glass
It was Lewis Carroll who suggested it was possible to believe in the impossible. Albus Dumbledore liked to think he was the optimistic type; he still, even now, held out hope of winning over Harry Potter.
Albus knew that he had let Tom Riddle get out of control, he had his chances to put a stop to the boy’s nonsense several times when he was at school but it would have been too quiet. No one would have understood the enormity of the feat.
It had been essential for Tom to become a public figure, someone to fear just as Grindelwald had become so feared. Albus had been a little arrogant perhaps; he had thought he would defeat Tom as easily as he had Grindelwald. However, his plan failed to take into account the reason why defeating Gellert had been so easy.
The truth was it had not been easy, he had avoided the confrontation for as long as he could hoping against hope the man he loved would see reason. He did not see reason and Albus was forced to act. He could not kill Gellert but he could stop him.
Gellert had not wanted to kill Albus any more than Albus had wanted to kill him, and therein lay the problem with Tom. This Dark Lord would be more than happy to see Albus dead and he was more than capable of doing it. Albus realised that he needed someone else to kill Voldemort.
He could see how the series of events around Voldemort, the prophecy and the Potters had been fortuitous. Severus, abandoning the Dark for the sake of his childhood friend and the love of his life (unrequited thought it was), had been an unexpected bonus. The icing on the cake however had been Harry’s survival. It should have ended that night; Voldemort ought to have died. Albus was loathe to admit it but Lord Voldemort had surpassed Albus expectation and experience.
A good man would have seen the boy looked after as per his parents' wills, a good man certainly would not have suppressed those wills in the name of protecting the child and then placed him in the care of the one person his parents said should not look after him. A good man would have insisted on closely examining the house to find out how the child had survived; obviously Lily had done something to protect her son, nothing else made sense.
Albus Dumbledore was not a good man. No, he was a great man and if he had seen an opportunity to turn something which was otherwise a truly tragic event, into something hopeful and prophetic; well, that was because he was a visionary, the one destined to lead the Light to victory against Voldemort.
Following the defeat of Grindelwald the Wizarding Public had loved and adored him. They begged him to take the role of Minister for Magic but Albus knew that was not where he would have the most influence. No, to have proper control of a population you must control the new generations. As Headmaster he got to spot the best talent and nurture it, bending the best and brightest to his will.
James Potter had been one of those best and brightest, at least he should have been. The Potter Heir was born from the Peverell line, the man's cloak was the proof of his connection to Iolanthe Peverell. Albus had believed James would be the one to unite the Hallows and defeat the new threat to the Wizarding World - the new hero, mentored by the old hero.
Then came the prophecy.
In hindsight, Albus could see that James Potter had never been right for the role of vanquisher of the Dark Lord. He was too self-absorbed and arrogant to be a proper hero, people would not relate to the spoiled little rich kid. He was also a bully; there was a point where good fun stopped, and cruelty began. If any of James’ more unsavoury activities had been revealed, the public would have turned on him in an instant.
Albus supposed he could have thought it through a little more but Harry’s miraculous survival, combined with Sirius Black blowing up Peter Pettigrew in such spectacular fashion followed by the attack on the Longbottoms set everything up so beautifully. So dramatically.
It made much more sense for Harry Potter to be the hero; a boy so powerful he vanquished the Dark Lord at just fifteen months. So powerful he would need the guidance of an equally powerful mentor and the best part was that Albus would control the entire narrative. He would shape the child into the ideal hero.
It should have been perfect only it wasn’t.
Albus sat in his office and watched his silver instruments ticking; the one he had linked to Harry had on occasions given him pause when it slowed down significantly. He supposed that had been when the abuse had been particularly bad; of course, he ought to have checked. It had been that lingering doubt that had left him susceptible to the Daniels woman’s blackmail.
Essie Daniels, that had been the change; the instruments had not missed a beat after she took on the tutelage of Harry Potter and Harry Potter and became a Slytherin. Why had he not seen it before? Curse the woman.
The silver instrument flew across the room and smashed against the office door. Damn and blast if he had just got rid of Essie then…he stopped and collapsed into his seat. If he had not listened to Essie Daniels then Harry Potter would be dead; killed by the very man who Albus had chosen as his guardian.
No matter how he framed it, if Harry had died it would have been on him; Fudge would certainly have hung him out to dry. It was not as if there were no magical families to take him; anyone would have taken him. Molly Weasely had offered but Albus had not wanted Harry to have such a huge family. Harry needed to be strong independent and willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good.
No, the Weasely’s would not have done at all. The aunt and uncle had been the perfect choice, harsh and generally uncaring; they were not supposed to try and kill him. Albus had heard people talk in the Hogs Head and The Leaky Cauldron, he knew that people were saying that Petunia had been so afraid Vernon would kill Harry she had gone to Gringotts and asked the Goblins to help her.
Merlin, why could people not just behave the way he wanted them to?
Now his school was surrounded by Dementors, he had a werewolf on staff and an escaped convict was somehow gaining access to the castle to search for Harry. Severus and Minerva held Albus responsible for all three of those unfortunate occurrences and both had made their displeasure very clear.
The dementors had proved to have the most unfortunate effect on Harry, Albus was only mostly sure Lupin was not helping Black and even worse Harry had shown no interest at all in hearing stories about James Potter’s adventures from his old school friend.
It looked increasingly likely that Harry Potter would never defeat Voldemort because he was too much like Lily. He would want to talk it out, come to an arrangement or make a treaty; at least Gellert had seen sense on that point and had pretended to lose in a duel.
How could he make Harry see reason, get Severus back on side and get the Malfoys removed as Harry’s guardians?
‘Six impossible things before breakfast,’ he mused ruefully. He couldn’t even manage three.
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Quidditch was usually a a big deal at Hogwarts almost the entire school turned out to watch matches even when their teams were not playing. However, the upcoming match did not have the same excitement about it. Hufflepuff were out of the running but depending on points Gryffindor could still win if Slytherin lost by more than 100 points or If they won by less than 100 points.
It was as tight a competition as anyone could hope for and any other year it would have created a tense lead-up with plenty of pre-match heckling. Unfortunately, the attack on Cedric combined with the continued threat of Sirius Black and the presence of the dementors had worn everyone down.
Harry lagged behind the rest of the team as they made their way down to the pitch it was the last practice before the match against Ravenclaw on the weekend and his heart was just not in it. The Headmaster, Professor Snape and Madam Hooch were all present for the practice to ensure there was no interference with the team from any source.
They ran drills Harry and the reserve seeker chased the snitch but even with the firebolt, Harry was beaten to the snitch three times. Alex Harper was jubilant and Flint was unimpressed. He told Harry he needed to get his head in the game or Harper would play. Harry nodded and promised to do better because it was expected of him, not because he cared.
On the morning of the Match Harry suddenly found his fire; it had been the worst year yet at Hogwarts and Tom had not made one appearance. Harry was sick of feeling scared and angry; he would go out there and he would win the match for his team and they would take the damn Cup.
Flint’s pregame speech was as passionate as Harry had ever heard; he implored his team to dig deep and overcome everything that had happened and win.
The snakes flew like a team possessed. The chasers were on fire, the keeper saved everything that came his way and Harry kept an eye on the scoreboard to win the Cup they had to win the match by more than 120 points.
Harry watched as the score ticked over. It was not until Slytherin were up by 80 points that Ravenclaw scored their first goal and then their second. With 150 points for catching the snitch, Harry had to wait until they were ahead by at least 70 points.
Cho Chang was a formidable seeker and she was not going to make it easy for him. Cho did not follow him as such but neither did she let him get too far away. The two seekers stayed above the game watching the score and each other.
The Ravenclaw chases hit their stride after their third goal and soon the scores were tied at 100 points each. That was when Harry saw the snitch. It was hovering right beside the Hufflepuff stands Harry could see Cedric looking at it. Cho had flown the opposite way and Harry wanted to get as close to the snitch as he could before she realised he had seen it.
He was within twenty metres when Cho realised he was gone from her sight and took off after him. Harry who had been watching the snitch as it flew above the Hufflepuff stand towards the Slytherin stands took off towards it. The snitch vanished behind the stand and Harry chased it; neither the snitch nor Cho’s old comet were a match for the Firebolt and Harry soon wrapped his hand around the little golden ball.
The celebrations in Slytherin House had gone on long and late and for the first time in Hogwarts History the defeated team joined the winner's celebration - Slytherin had taken the Quidditch Cup from Gryffindor and not even the Headmaster could change it.
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The owl circled Hagrid's hut three times before it landed and delivered its letter to the half-giant. It was the 28th of April and Hagrid was almost at the end of his tether worrying about what would happen to Nellie his Hippogriff. He had raised Nellie and her brothers from chicks and he didn't know what he would do if they killed her.
The hearing was due to be held at the Ministry in the morning, this letter was probably the confirmation of the hearing. Hermione had been working on preparing Nellie’s defence for weeks and she had found some really good information, which Harry had sent on to Counsellor Saari. Hagrid had been grateful for their help, he knew Daphne had asked her father to help too he hoped it would be enough.
The Headmaster had already made him send Buckbeak and Henry away to a sanctuary run by the Scamander family. Hagrid knew it was for the best but he missed them, still, he hoped that after tomorrow Nellie would be able to join her brothers.
Albus had told Hagrid there was nothing he could do about the hearing but he promised to accompany the half-giant to the Ministry. It was the least he could do since he was responsible for it happening. It had been the latest failure in his attempts to get Harry to behave like a hero. The boy was supposed to come up with a plan to save the creature like he did with the dragon; arranging a rescue and carrying it through the school to the astronomy tower or something equally brave and foolish.
Hagrid tore open the envelope and with a shaky hand he pulled out the letter inside; he read it through three times before he let himself accept what the words were telling him and he let out a whoop of joy.
Harry, Hermione and Daphne were headed down to Hagrid’s hut to wait with him for the expected letter from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. They heard the noise and froze; it had come from Hagrid’s hut but they couldn't tell was a good noise or not. They looked at each other and began to run, arriving at the hut several minutes later out of breath and gasping. Harry reached up and banged on the door which was immediately flung open and Hagrid looked out for his visitors.
It was hard to tell if Hagrid was happy or sad, he had clearly been crying but he seemed to be smiling as he beckoned them into his hut and held out a piece of parchment to Hermione, the girl took the offered page with some trepidation and read it out loud.
Dear Mr Hagrid,
Further to matter 7765, keeping a vicious creature in a school and matter 7766 failing to control a vicious creature, resulting in the injury of a minor. Currently before the investigation committee.
We are pleased to inform you that both matters have been dismissed in light of new evidence presented to the office this week by counsellor Margarite Saari on behalf of Mr Harry Potter and Miss Hermione Granger.
It is now the opinion of this office that the creature in question is not any more dangerous than others of its kind, and the incident which occurred was due to incorrect handling of the creature rather than any flaw in the hippogriff's character.
However, per the laws for the keeping of dangerous creatures, Suitable housing for dangerous creatures, subsection 2.2 of article 198, we find the creature; Nellie the Hippogriff to be unsuitable for housing in a school environment.
Therefore, you are hereby ordered to find alternative living arrangements for the Hippogriff. These arrangements will need to be communicated in writing to the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Dangerous Creatures no later than 11th May 1994.
The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures have been informed that their involvement is no longer required. We trust this matter is now resolved to your satisfaction.
Sincerely,
Matthias Greengrass
Inspector and Investigator for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures
Hermione was grinning and crying as she finished reading the letter, and she threw her arms around Harry and then Daphne. Harry let out a silent breath of relief he had hoped the appeal Miss Saari had lodged would be enough but he had been worried.
“I can't thank yer all enough,” Hagrid said gruffly as he poured tea and put out a plate of his rock cakes in celebration.
“It was our pleasure Hagrid,” Hermione told him with a huge smile.
“We’re just happy we could help,” Harry told him.
Daphne nodded, “We’re really happy for you and Nellie,” she added.
The students accepted tea though all three elected to save their rock cakes for later. The visit was very pleasant. Hagrid told them he had agreed to keep working with Professor Grubbly-Plank, who had agreed to stay on for the time being to help him with creating a more suitable curriculum for Care of Magical Creatures in the future.
It was the best possible outcome and now that this was sorted and Quidditch was over Harry could focus on his exams. Harry couldn’t wait for the year to end he hoped that over summer Sirius would turn up and Miss Saari could prove his innocence; he had no idea what he would do then. Sirius would have to learn to accept Severus and his parents if he wanted a relationship with Harry.
Hopefully, school at least would be less exciting next year.
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Exams were the next thing on the agenda they had been cancelled the year before for all the students except OWL and NEWT students and Harry wanted to make sure he performed well. He had been diligent in his studies this year and he was confident in his ability in Charms, Divination, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions. He was not so confident in the rest so he made a concerted effort to focus on Care of Magical Creatures, Runes and Transfiguration.
Severus had told him most people tried for between five and seven NEWTs. To get into a Mastery course he would need an O at NEWT level in that subject. Harry had not given much thought to what he would do after school but he wanted to keep his options as open as possible so he needed to do well in all his exams.
As school became Harry’s focus everything else faded away, he spent long hours in the Library with Draco who also wanted to do well and keep his options open. The two boys were not alone in their pursuit of high grades; there were several others also spending long hours in the Library they were Hermione, Fred, George and Cedric. The unlikely group often sat around the same table offering encouragement and help to each other.
The stress was clearly getting to Hermione who was already focused on her NEWT scores. The girl was determined to get at least as many as Percy Weasely; who was trying for ten NEWTS the same as his brother Bill had achieved.
Draco was horrified when he saw how many subjects Hermione was taking. “How are you even doing that?” he demanded. You would need two of you to get to all these classes Arithmancy is on at the same time as Divination and Care of Magical Creatures is on at the same time as Muggle Studies and why are you taking Muggle Studies?”
Hermione scoffed “That’s none of your business Draco! I have sorted all it out with Professor McGonagall.”
“It's impossible,” Draco insisted.
“It isn't,” the girl returned.
Harry rolled his eyes and tuned out their bickering; he turned to talk to Cedric. The sixth year was studying for seven exams. “I need to get decent grades to give myself the best chance at O’s in my NEWTS next year. Dad wants me to do well, he wants me to be more than just a Ministry worker. I can't let him down.” Cedric told him. Harry couldn’t see how Mr Diggory could be anything but proud of Cedric no matter what scores he got and he told the boy so. Cedric blushed at that and Harry felt a bit weird about it so he turned his attention to Fred and George.
The twins had much different plans: they wanted to open a joke shop and they were aiming to do well in their potions and charms OWLS. Harry was impressed by their ambitions and tucked the information away for future reference. Lucius had told him that when he got his Heir Ring at fifteen, he would have a say in where his money was invested. If the twins were as successful as he thought they might be; their joke shop would be a very good investment especially if he got in at the beginning.
Several hours later Harry and Draco left the Library; Draco was still obsessed with Hermione’s timetable insisting it was impossible and that even with a time turner it would still be nearly impossible. Harry had looked confused. “Time turner? What's a time turner?”
Draco rolled his eyes “What it sounds like Potter, it turns time back, so you can do hours over again. They are very tightly controlled and regulated by the Ministry anyone using one has to be under close supervision to make sure they don’t change the future. It would be really unfair if she had one,” Draco muttered darkly.
Harry stopped listening to Draco’s rant as he thought about that information; he remembered a conversation between Ron and Hermione on the first day of divination.
“I was right behind you Ron,” Hermione had said.
“You were, then you weren't,” Ron had growled.
Draco, none the wiser to Harry’s epiphany continued talking as they entered the common room and went to dump their books in the dorm before dinner.
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Remus Lupin stirred the grey mist swirling in the pensive with his wand, There was something wrong with his memory. Lily had trusted him with information but he could not remember it. He remembered witnessing her will on a brief visit home. Lily had accosted him on his way to talk with James and Sirius. She had dragged him into Lord Potter’s office and insisted he sign as a witness.
Lupin had not had the chance to read the will then, but Lily had spoken as he knew the contents of the will. Truthfully he had not been thinking straight at the time he was too focused on trying to make amends with Sirius. Unfortunately, Sirius did not want to know him, he had been furious with him for leaving the way he did and he would not listen to Remus' explanation.
Mind magic was not Remus’ speciality but even he could tell there was something wrong with these memories. The Headmaster was an expert on mind magic; he could ask him for help. He was reluctant however to trust the man especially after what Harry had said and he was unsure if Severus would agree to help him.
Remus closed his eyes and tried to think; Lily had left the care of Harry to his Godmother Alice Longbottom or Severus Snape. He remembered that because he had objected to the idea. He watched the Lily in his memories roll her eyes at him, and put her hands on her hips as she had snarled at him. “We have been through this Remus, you know my plan. James is a fool if he thinks we will be safe in his cottage. He is signing our death warrants with this mad plan but Harry will live and Severus will keep him safe.”
Remus did not know her plan. He knew he should know but the memory was gone.
One thing he did know was that no plan of Lily’s would ever have included Petunia. Lily would never have left Harry to Petunia. So how had Harry come to be left there?
What had happened? What was he missing? And how did he come to be missing memories at all? It was impossible he could not recover his memories without help.
Severus could help him and he was Harry’s guardian. He would keep Harry safe no matter what Lupin’s memories showed. Lupin sighed and put the memories back in his head. He would talk to Severus when school finished for the year.
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Exams began a week after Nellie was sent to the sanctuary. Harry, Daphne and Hermione had gone down to be with Hagrid when Rolf Scamander arrived to collect her. Hagrid had shed a few tears but he was surprisingly pragmatic about it; accepting that it was certainly the best outcome for Nellie.
When it was over Harry could finally focus on his exams. He was only in his third year but as Professor Flitwick had pointed out OWLS would come soon enough.
Exam week was a very long week. Their first exam was Transfiguration and then Charms followed by Potions. Their final exam arrived none to soon Harry and Pansy made their way up to the divination classroom with the rest of the class for the final time that year. Harry was undecided about continuing with the subject Severus had offered to help him catch up in Arthimancy if he wanted to drop it.
The exam was reading tea leaves and Harry was soon absorbed in reading his cup he identified an anchor, an axe, a palm tree, a heart some triangles and the letter S.
It was a fairly happy cup Harry thought, his heart filled with the messages he was getting. The heart indicated a lover was close by though its position in the cup meant the romance would be slow, the triangles suggested it would also be a strong and durable love; the palm trees told him it would likely result in marriage. The S of course was his lover's initial; he felt a tingle down his spine as he recorded that on his parchment.
Then he turned his attention to the axe; it indicated a difficult venture in the near future, one which could very likely go badly. There was no rat or dog but the anchor was the same distance from the axe as it was from the heart which meant that the difficulty might affect his lover. The anchor suggested that his lover and the difficulty were likely to be permanent parts of his life, both were holding him in place and keeping him grounded. He supposed it could refer to Tom but he had an icky feeling that it might be much worse.
Harry had not thought about Sirius Black or Peter Pettigrew since exams had started but now they returned to his mind. Black was his Godfather, but it would not be impossible to cut the man from his life. Miss Saari had told him he had a good case for claiming abandonment but Harry wanted to hear what the man had to say for himself first.
He would not sacrifice his relationship with his family or with Severus. Black would have to understand that and accept it or he would not get a chance to know him; Harry was hoping the man could be reasonable and that twelve years under the dementor's guard had not made it impossible for Black to be reasonable. He also wanted to talk to Lupin about a few things. He did not want to talk to Pettigrew. He wanted hex that rat with the most painful hexes he could think of and he had a few in mind. Harry sighed and put down his quill. He could at least take some comfort in the knowledge that come what may Severus would be with him.
Only ten minutes were remaining when he finished his analysis of the cup. He could leave but instead, Harry leaned back in his soft armchair and waited for the allotted time to pass, rather than risk disturbing others' concentration. The week had been exhausting and the room was warm and the heavy scent was cloying. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift something was causing his spidey senses to tingle.
When Professor Trewlany finally called time Harry was slow to react and as such he was the last to leave the room. Pansy had gone on ahead keen to get back to the common room and compare notes about their final exams with Draco and Daphne. Hermione was just ahead of Harry so the two of them were in the room when a chill descended on the usually too warm room. Professor Trelawney’s eyes rolled back in her head and she spoke in a harsh tone which sounded as if it were being ripped violently from her.
“The Dark Lord bides his time waiting in the shadow. Tonight before moons rise, one who betrayed his friends, who has hidden alone and friendless for twelve long years will set out to find his Master. The rat’s return will signal the beginning of the Master’s return and the Dark Lord will rise again greater and more powerful than before…tonight before moons rise the servant returns to his master.” * adapted from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Harry and Hermione both froze on the spot and stared at the Professor who coughed a hash-hacking cough as if she was choking; then she shook her head and then smiled her usual dreamy smile “Yes, dears, can I help you?” she asked blinking owlishly.
Hermione shook her head and grabbed Harry’s hand pulling him towards the hole in the floor and down the rope ladder. At the foot of the spiral staircase, she pulled Harry in under the stairs and looked at him in wide-eyed horror. “Was that? Did she? Was that a real…” she stammered.
“A real prophecy? Yeah, I think maybe it might have been,” Harry replied slowly.
“What did it mean?” Hermione asked.
Harry looked carefully into the girl's eyes. He could probably obliviate her he thought but he wasn't sure if he dared. He was very powerful and if he put too much power into the spell he could do permanent damage. It required someone with more skill. “I don't know,” he lied, “...but I think we should tell Professor Snape,” he said.
“Why him?” Hermione demanded.
Harry rolled his eyes, “Do you really think Professor McGonagall will want to hear about a possible prophecy?” he asked.
The Transfiguration teacher had been scathing of Trelawney’s predictions when they had come up in class. Hermione bit her bottom lip and considered that. “No,” she said slowly.
“Snape will at least hear us out,” Harry pressed.
“Oh alright then,” the girl said with clear resignation.
The two quickly made their way to the dungeons. They were just crossing the Entrance Hall headed towards the dungeons when it happened; a small brown garden variety rat past them chased by a ginger cat and a large black dog. The animals were out the door and headed towards the forest when Ron Weasely came running along behind yelling at the cat and dog to leave Scabbers alone.
Harry closed his eyes and sighed as Hermione watched the strange procession disappear out the door and down the steps. Harry knew he should run for Severus but he also needed to catch the rat and stop it from going back to Tom.
By silent mutual agreement, the two, third years took off running. When they got within sight of the Whomping Willow, they saw the tree freeze and the three animals all disappear into a tunnel at the base of the tree; Ron hesitated and then went after them. Hermione moved to follow but Harry grabbed her arm. “How have you been getting to all your classes all year Hermione?” he asked.
“You want to talk about that now?” she yelled waving her arms. “Ron has just gone after that huge dog.”
“Yes,” Harry yelled back. “I need to know now, do you have a time turner?”
“Why,” Hermione asked in a much lower voice.
“Because Ron just ran into a world of trouble and we need to go after him but we also need help. We need Severus and Lupin,” Harry told her.
Hermione looked into Harry's eyes for what seemed a very long time then she pulled out a gold chain with an hourglass inside a circle which was inscribed with runes Harry didn't recognise. “How long do we need?” the girl asked.
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Remus had been contemplating his continuing employment at Hogwarts. Severus’ lesson earlier in the year had alerted most of Slytherin House and quite a few Ravenclaws to his condition. Albus had said it would not be a problem that he would handle the parents who complained but Lupin was not sure.
There were things he should do, he should go looking for Sirius and find out what on earth the man thought he was doing. He wanted to get to know Harry if the boy would allow it. Perhaps he would be more willing away from the scrutiny of other students.
Lupin had just begun writing his resignation when his office door crashed open and Harry stood there his eyes wide open. “Professor,” he gasped, "you have to come please, Ron has just run into the Shrieking Shack with Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Hermione’s cat.”
Remus had dropped his quill and stared “Peter is dead,” he said dumbly.
“Not according to the Marauders Map,” Harry said holding out the parchment.
Remus was out of his seat faster than Harry could blink; he took the offered parchment and turned it over in his hand. “Where did you get this Harry?” he asked.
Professor please, I will explain everything after we save Ron. Please just open the map and look for yourself,” Harry begged.
Lupin pressed his lips together but he turned the parchment over and tapped it as he spoke the pass phrase. The map spread across the parchment and Remus studied it for several minutes Harry knew when he had seen it because he gasped and stiffened.
“Don’t ask me how I know,” Harry said slowly. “...but Black wasn’t the secret keeper, Pettigrew was, I don't know why, that's all I know. Hermione and I came across Ron chasing after his rat, which is Peter, Sirius Black, he’s the dog, and Hermione’s cat. Hermione used her time turner so we could come back to get you and Severus. We saw Ron chase the three animals down a tunnel under the Whomping Willow. The tunnel that goes to the Shrieking Shack,” Harry said tapping the tree on the map for emphasis.
“I see, how long do we have?” Lupin asked.
Harry cast a Tempus charm. “Almost ten minutes,” Harry told him.
“Right, I expect a full explanation after this,” Lupin said sternly. “Do we need to get Severus?”
“No, Hermione’s gone to get him. He won't argue,” Harry said sounding sure.
Lupin nodded and indicated that Harry should lead the way.
Severus Snape was in his office when Hermione tried to break down his door. He waved the door open expecting it to be an emergency in the Slytherin Common room. He was standing ready to follow whichever panicked student had come to fetch him when the bushy-haired Gryffindor tumbled through his door.
“Please sir, Harry sent me to get you, he said I should say Peter is here and you would come,” the wide-eyed girl clearly had no clue what that phrase meant. Severus however, did know and he did not argue.
“Where?” he asked.
“The Entrance Hall,” Harry’s gone to get Professor Lupin,” she told him.
Severus looked like he wanted to ask questions but he thought better of it. “Lead the way, Miss Granger.”
The second time the strange procession ran through the Entrance Hall, Harry had just come skidding along the hallway with a frowning Professor Lupin. As Hermione lead a shell-shocked Severus through the door leading down to the dungeons. They quickly followed the strange group towards the door and headed to the Whomping Willow.
They arrived just in time to see Hermione put a gold chain over Harry’s head and turn her hourglass. As the two students disappeared, the now party of four followed Ron and the animals into the tunnel. When they were all standing inside the tunnel Severus stepped in front of the other three. “What exactly are we walking into up here Harry?” he asked.
Harry swallowed and looked at Hermione then he turned back to his betrothed. “Sirius Black and Crookshanks chased Peter Pettigrew down here and Ron ran after them. I don't know what Black will do to Pettigrew but I know Ron will try to stop him,” Harry told them.
Hermione drew in a breath and Harry turned to her, “I am sorry Hermione, I didn't want you to get mixed up in this; after Trewlawney’s prediction I was going to take you to Severus, so he could…I was going to ask him to obliviate you,” he said sadly.
Hermione glared at the boy. “Harry Potter, how dare you! Crookshanks is my cat and if he…”
“Hermione,” Lupin interrupted mildly. “I think we should argue about this later right now we need to get to Ron.”
“Fine,” the girl said crossly. “...but we are not done here, Potter.”
“Prediction Harry?” Snape asked.
“Yeah we need to get to Pettigrew before the moon rises otherwise the bastard will get away and go back to Tom,” Harry said.
Lupin and Hermione stared at the two Slytherins.
Severus however only nodded “Right then we should hurry,” he said looking at Lupin. “We don't have much time.”
Lupin led the way down the tunnel, Harry stayed close to Severus having remembered too late what had happened the last time the man had entered this tunnel.
They walked in silence for several minutes until they reached a trap door. Lupin lifted the door an inch and voices floated down. “...he’s not Peter Petty…whatever, he’s my rat.” Ron Weasely screamed furiously.
“How long have you had your rat, Ron,” an unknown male voice said and Lupin flinched as if he had been struck.
“Lupin?” Severus said softly. “Would you prefer that we…?”
“No, thank you, Severus. I need to go with you,” the man said in a determined tone.
Severus inclined his head and stepped back. “You will wait and follow us though,” Severus told the two students who both nodded.
Lupin pushed the door open and burst forward into the room followed by immediately by Severus.
Sirius Black was not just thin he was gaunt, his grey prison robes were hanging loosely on his thin frame his dark hair was dirty and mattered. “Remus,” the man said in surprise. Then he saw Severus “Snape,” he spat.
Then his eyes fell on Harry and he fell to his knees “Harry,” he whispered. “Harry I am so sorry…”
“Save it, Black,” Harry said crossly, "where's the rat?”
Ron looked at Harry, “Oh not you too!” he exclaimed. “Mione, tell them…tell them Scabbers is just a rat,”
“I…I can’t Ron, I am not sure,” she whispered. “... just let Professor Lupin check. The spell won't hurt him if he really is a rat,” she told the redhead.
Ron gaped at the girl but finally, he nodded. “Alright, but only Professor Lupin can do it.”
Scabbers gave a high-pitched squeak then and wriggled out of Ron's grasp. Three wands followed the rat's movement but Harry was fastest casting a freezing charm on the rat. It fell heavily to the ground right in front of the dark-haired boy. Harry reached down and picked up the frozen rat.
Ron started yelling, “What did you do to my rat!”
“Nothing,” Harry said shortly. “He’s fine, Professor Lupin,” he said placing the rat back on the floor and stepping back towards Severus who put a protective hand on Harry’s shoulder.
Black seeing the gesture growled and raised Ron’s wand at Snape. Harry replied by raising his wand and hissing. “Don’t even think about it, Black! I know who you are and if you don't do anything stupid you'll get your chance to explain yourself,” Harry told him. “...but not until we are done here.”
Sirius lowered the wand but did not take his eyes off Severus.
Lupin pointed his wand at the frozen rat and said “Animus revelio,”
The rat rose in the air and began to spin, as it spun it got bigger and changed shape it happened so fast that Harry almost missed it. Peter Pettigrew was a small man with non-descript blond brown hair and big blue eyes his teeth were quite big and he looked like a rat even in his human form.
The man cowered on the floor as he eyed his two former friends.
Sirius, Remus,” the man squeaked his nose twitching. “How wonderful to see you both.”
“Don’t Peter, just tell me why? Why did you betray them?” Black demanded in a dangerous tone.
Peter Pettigrew squeaked and moved away from Black, he looked as if he was scurrying; his eyes focused on the wand in Black’s hand.
“You switched,” Remus said pain in his tone. “You switched and you didn't tell me,”
“I am sorry Remus,” Black said. “I am so sorry. You disappeared and this rat here told us you’d run because…because you were...” Black struggled to finish his sentence he looked truly devastated.
Lupin nodded and turned to Peter. “You obliviated me,” he said quietly. “You made me think Albus wanted me to go on the mission early. You made me forget about Lily’s plan, you made me forget what she did.” he accused the man.
“I thought it was you…that you were the spy,” Peter squeaked.
Sirius was staring open-mouthed at Lupin. “Lily had a plan?”
Remus nodded. “I don't know what she did, I can't remember, but when the dementors come near Harry he hears her. Lily chose to die. He told her to step aside she refused.” Lupin told Black.
“What? Why? Why would he do that?” Black demanded.
“Because of Severus,” Harry said softly.
Black and Lupin both turned to look at Harry and Harry turned to look at the man standing behind him. “You asked him to spare her and he would have done so, she chose to die, to save me,” Harry whispered.
Severus pulled Harry in and wrapped his arms around him. “She loved you so much,” the man told him softly but the whole room heard.
Peter took his chance before anyone could react he turned on the spot and vanished.
“Fuck,” Harry swore. The damn prophecy, the moon is nearly up,” Then he paled and turned to Lupin. “Professor, you did take your potion, didn't you?”
Lupin froze as did Sirius and Severus. “Lupin?” Severus asked carefully.
“Get out. Get out now, all of you, NOW!” Lupin whispered urgently.
Harry did not hesitate he ran toward Hermione and pushed her towards the trap door then he went back for Ron and dragged the redhead over and pushed him out too. Then he turned to the adults.
“Severus, Please take him home,” He whispered.
“Sirius, I want to talk to you, I really do. Please go with Severus to my parent's house. Please don't argue, just go. We were going to get you out of Azkaban anyway. Severus was going to get you out. Please go with him,” Harry begged.
Lupin snarled and Black looked at the man he still loved. “Let me stay with Remus. I swear I will go with Sniv…Snape tomorrow.” he told Harry. “Please Harry.”
“Sirius there's dementors out there,” Harry told him.
“I know, but if I stay with Remus he will be safer. He will stay in here and Snape can go with you and keep you safe,” Black said looking at the man standing behind Harry.
Harry looked at his betrothed.
Severus ran his hand through Harry’s hair and looked at the boy he had become so very fond of and he could not deny him his simple request.
“Very well Black, I will be back at daybreak. You will come with me to Malfoy Manor though I warn you Lucius is not pleased; you made a fool of him by escaping.” Severus said sternly.
There was a low growl behind them and the sound of snapping bones.
Sirius pushed Harry and Severus through the trapdoor. “Go," he yelled as he transformed into a huge black dog and slammed the trap door with his tail.
Harry and Severus ran away from the trap door as fast as they could; behind them, they heard the howl of a wolf and a dog barking. When they arrived back on the school grounds Severus took all three students to his office where he stunned two of the students and carefully modified their memories.
The two Gryffindors would remember going after Ron’s rat, they would remember being in the Shrieking Shack with Sirius Black and seeing the rat turn into a man, they would also remember Lupin turning into a werewolf because Severus was still a bitter, snarky bastard. They would also remember Crookshanks bringing Severus to rescue them.
They would remember nothing about Harry being there or him inviting Sirius Black to Malfoy Manor. In the morning Severus would go back to the Shrieking Shack and retrieve the mutt. He would take him to Malfoy Manor as promised. It was likely he would end up taking the wolf too; he didn't think Harry would mind.
How Lucius would react was a whole other question.
🐀🐕🐺
On the edge of the forest, a small brown rat was running for his life. He was terrified and had no idea of where he was going. Pettigrew had transformed as soon as he hit the ground after apparating out the Shack and he had run for his life.
Pausing for breath among the roots of an ancient tree he tried to assess his situation. He had to find his master but he had no idea how. If only Harry Potter had not had a snake for a familiar he would be safely hidden in the boy's trunk; he would have travelled home with him to Malfoy Manor where he was certain he would find his Lord. Now he had to try and make his way back to England on his own.
The quickest way would be to apparate but where would he go to? He had never been in the Malfoy's circle and he had no idea how to find their house. His Lord had a house in Little Hangleton perhaps he could try and apparate there. It was a long way to apparate but he did not have much choice.
Creeping out from among the tree roots he sniffed the air; slowly and cautiously he moved out further. The net was entirely unexpected and the voice even more so.
“Gotcha ya sneaky little rat,” Rookwood hissed.
Peter squeaked, wriggled and did his best to bite but the net was made of magic he was not familiar with; it was probably something only unspeakables could use.
Augustus Rookwood tipped his prisoner into a cage made of steel and spelled it to prevent the animagus from transforming. “Now, now little rat. Don't fuss so,” he said nastily. “I am taking you to see your Master. You’d better have a good story for him. He is most displeased with you little rat,” the Death Eater cooed mercilessly.
The rat trembled in his cage, the Dark Lord blamed him for his downfall. Peter had not considered that possibility but it made a scary kind of sense. He could only hope his information about Harry Potter and Severus Snape would be enough for his Lord to spare his life.