Meeting a "Murderer"
No one in Gryffindor slept that night. The castle was being searched again and the whole house stayed awake in the common room waiting to hear news about Black. Just as the sun was rising, McGonagall returned to give the expected, but still unfortunate, news that Black escaped again.
Security around the school tightened as a result.
Flitwick was seen teaching the front doors to recognize a large picture of Sirius Black. Filch was bustling up and down the corridors boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the wall to mouse holes. Sir Cadogan was fired and his portrait was taken back to its isolated landing on the seventh floor. The Fat Lady was back with her portrait expertly restored but she was still extremely nervous and only agreed to return on the condition that she was given extra protection. A handful of statues were transfigured and enchanted to guard her. They paced the corridor leading to the Gryffindor Tower endlessly.
Ron became an overnight celebrity. Though while he preened at the attention which, for once, had nothing to do with his brothers or his best friend, he didn’t like the fact that it came at the cost of him almost dying.
Students of all years were constantly coming up to him and asking what it was like to encounter Sirius Black and while he enthusiastically told the tale the first few times, once the number of approaches began to increase into double digits, he began scowling and waving curious students away.
“Go ask the others who’ve already heard it! I’m done talking about it.”
Those students would be very put out by his refusal until Seth helpfully chimed in to remind them how insensitive and rude they were being to ask someone who went through the traumatic experience of almost being killed to keep talking about their trauma when they don’t want to. Those students would then slink away, shamed faced and embarrassed.
And while the incident was indeed traumatic, it was also the kick needed for Ron to apologize.
“I’m really sorry for yelling at you Hermione, Seth, and for being really rude. I still don’t like your cat but I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you for what it did.”
Hermione frowned severely. Harry and Seth smacked their foreheads in exasperation.
“That last part was completely unnecessary,” Seth deadpanned.
“Well it’s true,” Ron grumbled, “I don’t like that cat but I won’t be rude to it anymore.”
“He’s not an it, Ron,” Hermione frowned, “But…thank you for apologizing. I’m sorry too for not taking you seriously about Scabbers. I’ll try to be a bit better about being sensitive towards your concerns.”
Ron nodded with an expression that said it was the least she could do. Harry elbowed him sharply before he could say those sentiments out loud though. He yelped softly and glared at the bespectacled boy who glared at him to behave.
Ron sighed but sincerely said, “And I’ll promise not to be so harsh to you off the bat and try to talk things out with you first.”
Hermione nodded and stuck her hand out for a shake. “Still friends?”
Ron took her hand without hesitation. “We never weren’t. I was just really mad. But yeah, still friends.”
Harry breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that one issue had managed to resolve itself.
Meanwhile Seth pointedly looked at Hermione, wordlessly asking if she was going to tell them about her fainting episode. She frowned and minutely shook her head to say that she would but not now and he better stop rushing her. He sighed and raised his hands in surrender, backing off but still looking pointedly to tell her to not dilly dally. She scoffed in response and shoved at him to which he shoved her back and the two engaged in a shoving match all while Harry and Ron looked between the two like they’d gone crazy but they simply shrugged and accepted it was something their friends did.
“You know, it’s strange isn’t it?” Ron suddenly said.
Hermione and Seth paused in their shoving match to look at him in question.
“What’s strange?” Hermione asked.
“Why did Black run? I mean, I woke up after he’d ripped through the hangings on my bed and saw him standing over me like a skeleton, holding this great long knife that must’ve been twelve inches long. He was just looking at me and I looked at him and then I yelled and he scampered off so why? Why did he run before doing anything?”
Harry, Hermione, and Seth shared looks as they’d also been wondering the same thing.
“Maybe once he realized he got the wrong bed, he ran?” Harry theorized.
“But if he really is a psycho serial killer, why didn’t he kill Ron and then you and then everyone else in the room who would’ve woken up from the commotion?” Seth pointed out, “I mean, six 12-year-old boys aren’t much of a defense against a man with a knife.”
“Maybe it’s because he realized he’d be outnumbered magic wise?” Hermione speculated, “You’re correct in that six boys wouldn’t normally stand a chance but you all had your wands and Black’s was snapped when he was imprisoned, remember? A knife against six wands, no matter how little magic you know, doesn’t stand a chance.”
“And even if he did kill us, he’d have woken up the whole house and would’ve had to fight the others to get out of there which would’ve alerted the professors which would’ve made escaping impossible,” Harry said.
“But he’s mad! Would a mad man care about escaping if he’d already killed his target?” Ron asked.
The quartet ruminated and speculated for a bit. Then they saw Neville pass by. He had an air of doom and gloom about him, most likely still kicking himself over losing the passwords that led to Black breaking into the house so easily and almost killing one of his friends.
“Alright there, Neville? Where’re you off too?” Harry asked in concern.
“I’m off to detention with Pince in the library,” Neville glumly said, “She’s got me sorting books for the rest of the week.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Hermione tried to say reassuringly.
Neville sighed. “I know but…”
“You know no one holds what happened against you right?” Seth said.
Ron nodded. “Yeah. It could’ve happened to anyone, Nev. Sir Cadogan was a complete nightmare so we all wrote the passwords down. You were just the unlucky sod who’s paper was lost and found.”
Neville smiled weakly. “Thanks Ron but still, you could’ve been killed. I…I can’t let my bumbling put any of my friends in danger. I need to do better. I need to be better.”
“That’s very admirable, Neville,” Hermione complimented.
Seth raised a fist up in encouragement. “We’re rooting for you, Neville! And if you ever need help, don’t forget you can rely on the rest of us, yeah?”
Harry and Ron nodded in agreement.
Neville’s smile widened a bit. “Thanks guys. I’ll see you later then.”
“So,” Ron casually said while the quartet were in the middle of studying and doing homework in the library, “Hogsmeade visit is coming up.”
The others looked up from their books and parchment, wondering where Ron was going with this.
“Are you going to?” He directed the unspoken question to Harry.
Harry looked thoughtful. “Filch hasn’t done anything about the passage to Honeydukes yet.”
Hermione frowned. “No, absolutely not.”
“Hermione…”
“I said no, Harry. Black could be even more desperate now that he’s failed again, especially since he was so close last time.”
“But what’s Black going to do in the middle of Hogsmeade during a visiting day? Security’s bound to be excessive,” Ron remarked.
“Well considering his past history of murdering innocent bystanders just to get to his target and the fact that you yourself said Azkaban drove him crazy, Black might not care about sneaking around anymore and could just show up in broad daylight to murder Harry if he saw him,” Seth countered.
Ron surprisingly, but not really, backed down easily. “Yeah, you’re right. Who knows what he could do now after-” He cut himself off and shuddered.
Hermione patted him on the back and Ron nodded gratefully to her.
Harry frowned, not liking the idea that he couldn’t sneak off to Hogsmeade but understanding the severity of the situation. “Alright, then how about we all stay at Hogwarts instead of going out?”
“Huh? Why?” Ron asked in confusion.
“It’s just like Seth said, if Black really is desperate enough he might show up at Hogsmeade in broad daylight, I don’t want you all in danger because of me. I mean, Black almost murdered Ron even if it was by mistake, and he may attack Seth because he cut him, and I don’t know about Hermione but I don’t want to risk it.”
“Better to be safe than sorry,” Seth said.
Harry nodded. “Exactly.”
“Alright then,” Ron reluctantly agreed, “Next visit, we won’t go.”
“Thanks Ron,” Harry said in relief. Then he perked up as if he suddenly got an idea. He started digging through his bag until he pulled out the blank form of the Marauder’s Map. “Here.” He held the map out to Seth who took it albeit confusedly.
“What’s this for?”
“I want you or Hermione to hold onto it so I won’t be tempted to sneak out,” Harry explained, “I’ll go to Lupin’s for my next anti-dementor lesson that day so I won’t have to think about it either.”
“Can I join you?” Ron asked, “I don’t want to be thinking about Hogsmeade either.”
“Sure. Lupin won’t mind but Snape might be there just so you know.”
Ron grimaced. “Well I guess I can put up with him if it’s to help you out.”
“Thanks Ron.”
“And Seth and I will stay in the library or the common room to get work done so you don’t need to worry about us,” Hermione added.
“Sounds good.”
Hermione nodded with a smile. “Thanks for trusting us with the map, Harry.”
“Of course I trust you,” Harry said, “Even if we’re going through a rough patch, you’re still my friends. I wouldn't trade you all for the world.”
Hermione beamed and Ron grinned. “Same to you, Harry.”
A few days before the Hogsmeade visit, Seth and Hermione were once again studying in the library. Harry was off to Quidditch practice with Ron joining him due to the twins’ suggestion to get Ron involved in strategizing with Oliver as a way to help get his mind off of what happened with Black.
As Hermione scribbled down some equations for Arithmancy, Seth suddenly looked up from his charms textbook and said, “We should use the Marauder’s Map to find and capture Sirius Black.”
She jerked violently at that. Her quill tore across her parchment and ruined her formulas. She looked up at him with wide unblinking eyes. “I’m sorry. What did you just say?”
“We should use the Marauder’s Map to find and capture Sirius Black.”
She gaped at him. “Are you joking?”
Unfortunately for her, there was no trace of joking on Seth’s face. “I’m serious, Hermione. If the Ministry can’t even do their job of finding one criminal, we should do it ourselves. We have the map, my abilities, and your smarts, Black won’t stand a chance.”
“I thought you were supposed to be the more logical and mature of us, Seth. That is a terrible idea!”
“Then what do you propose we do? Keep waiting for the Ministry to get good and finally catch Sirius Black?” he asked sarcastically.
She looked at him as if it were obvious. “Yes!”
“And what if they don’t?” He shot back, “That night when Black managed to break in and almost stab Ron, it was too close for comfort. We were just lucky he was mad enough to get the wrong bed. But what if next time, he doesn’t? You said it yourself. He’s probably getting desperate now. And desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“Oh, I don’t know…”
“If it’ll make you feel better, I can go do it myself. You don’t need to join me. I’ve got enough of my powers back to take Black on.”
Hermione pursed her lips before sighing and reluctantly agreeing, “No, I’ll help you. I won’t let you confront him alone.”
“Thanks Hermione,” Seth said, “I promise, we’ll be okay. Black will be thrown back in prison where he belongs and Harry’ll be safe again.”
She reluctantly nodded before going back to her work.
On the day of the Hogsmeade trip, after Ron and Harry went off to meet with Lupin and the common room was void of anyone else, Hermione and Seth brought out the Marauder’s Map. They unfolded and spread it out across the table by the fireplace.
“I solemnly swear I am up to no good,” Seth said as he tapped the map with his wand.
Ink slowly filled the blank pages and they immediately began searching every inch of it for Sirius Black.
Seth combed over the section encompassing the greenhouses and Hagrid’s hut. He grinned when he saw Draco’s icon at the pumpkin patch. “Seems Draco’s off to visit Buckbeak again. Wonder if he’s gonna ask his parents to get him a hippogriff for his birthday or something.”
Hermione giggled and observed Draco’s icon thoughtfully. “It seems that creatures and animals aren’t registered on the map.”
“That’s interesting,” Seth remarked. Then he looked over to the section covering Hogsmeade and jabbed a finger at it. “There!” He pointed at Sirius Black’s icon that showed he was pacing back and forth in some underground passage beneath the Shrieking Shack. “And look!” He traced his finger across the passage on the map until he reached the end. “It goes all the way back to the Whomping Willow!”
“No wonder Black was able to get so close to Hogwarts and escape so easily. No one would even think to look for a secret passage there,” Hermione remarked.
Seth thought back to the conversation he overheard during the school sleepover when Black attacked the Fat Lady but didn’t say anything about it.
“So what do we do now?”
“Let’s go over there now, while no one’s around,” he said, “We don’t need to worry about the dementors either since they know to make themselves scarce when I’m near.”
“Alright then but how do we get to the passage?” Hermione nervously asked, “The Whomping Willow’s guarding it.”
“Don’t worry about that either. As long as there are shadows around, I’ll be able to stop its movements.” He folded up the map but didn’t wipe it yet. “Shall we?”
Hermione nodded and shadows engulfed them before sinking into the floor and leaving no trace they were ever there to begin with.
Hermione and Seth carefully walked through the underground passageway, steps muffled by the shadows under Seth’s command. They paused when they heard someone muttering at the end of the passage and carefully crept their way forward until they saw Sirius Black, still dressed in his fraying and torn prison wear. He was covered in dirt and grime with his black hair, tangled and in dire need of a wash, hanging loosely around his head. He was pacing erratically and mumbling to himself as if in a trance.
As the pair crept closer, they could hear what he was saying.
“I have to get him. I have to get him. I have to get him. Before it’s too late, too late, too late…”
Seth and Hermione exchanged glances. She mouthed ‘Are you sure?’ He nodded firmly and held up three fingers to indicate that they’d move on the count of three. She nodded tentatively and took out her wand.
He tapped her shoulder - one, two, three.
“Stupefy!”
The charm flew true and smacked harshly against Black, stunning him as he went flying into the wall. Seth rushed over and set his foot on Black’s shadow before he could recover.
Black looked at them with a crazed expression when he realized he couldn’t move.
Hermione flicked her wand sharply. “Incarcerous!”
Rope flew out from the tip of her wand and wound itself around Black, immobilizing him further.
“Nice spell work, Hermione,” Seth complimented as he shifted his foot off Black’s shadow to allow him the ability to speak, but kept a toe on the edge of it just in case.
“Thanks Seth.” She looked to Black who was struggling against his bonds. “What should we do now?”
Seth hummed. “Well, we could go straight to Dumbledore and have the Ministry take over.” Black inhaled sharply. “But I want to ask him some questions first.” He moved over to crouch down within arms reach of Black.
“Careful,” Hermione cautioned.
“Don’t worry, I still got him,” Seth assured. He turned his focus to Black. “Alright, I’m not gonna beat around the bush here. You’re completely at our mercy and if you want even a little leeway from us, you’re gonna cooperate, yeah?”
Black remained silent but nodded, eyeing him warily.
“Good,” Seth grinned sharply, “Now, why are you trying to kill Harry?”
Black looked taken aback. “Kill Harry?” He said, his voice sounded rough but held a charming quality to it that would’ve been pleasant to hear if not for the circumstances, “You want to ask why I’m…trying to kill Harry?” He started laughing hysterically as if Seth just told the world’s funniest joke.
“Seth,” Hermione nervously said, “Let’s just turn him in now. He’s clearly gone mad.”
“I’m not mad!” Black said in between laughs, “You’re the ones who’re mad! Kill Harry? Haha! Why would I do that?”
“Because you’re a Death Eater and you’re trying to get revenge on Harry for killing You Know Who!” Hermione argued.
Black guffawed. “A Death Eater?! Oh stop! Please! You’re killing me! I’d rather die than be a Death Eater,” he viciously spat out that last part.
Seth nodded to himself. “Alright, seems I was right. There is more to the story here than people have been led to believe.”
“Of course there’s more to the story!” Black angrily shouted, “I’m innocent! I would never betray James and Lily!”
“And how do we know that’s true? You could just be a really good liar!” Hermione retorted.
“Because I’m Harry’s godfather and I’d rather die than harm a single hair on his head!” Black roared in outrage.
Hermione and Seth were stunned by the bomb he dropped.
“You- You’re Harry’s godfather?!” Hermione screeched.
“Well damn. Didn’t see that coming,” Seth said at a much calmer volume.
“If you’re his godfather, then why did you break into the boy’s dorm with a knife?!” Hermione demanded, “You almost killed Ron!”
Black squinted at her. “Who?” Then in dawning realization, “Oh! You mean the Weasley. That was an accident. I wasn’t aiming for him.”
“Then who were you aiming for?!”
“The rat! The dirty, filthy, traitorous rat,” he spat with such vitriol it was a surprise to see he wasn’t spitting actual venom out of his mouth.
“Rat?” Seth said, confused. Then things that had always seemed strange to him finally clicked. “Scabbers! You were trying to kill Scabbers?”
“Is that what he’s being called now?” Black sneered, “How fitting for a rat.”
Hermione frantically waved her hands about. “Wait, wait, wait. Time out. Pause. Hold on. Can we rewind a bit? What are we talking about? Why do you want to kill Scabbers?”
“Because Scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew. That’s why,” Black explained.
Seth inhaled sharply while Hermione scoffed. “Peter Pettigrew? There’s no way! He was killed by you with witnesses in broad daylight! How can he still be alive? All they found left of him was-”
“His right index finger,” Seth finished, “Scabbers is missing a toe on his front right paw in the same spot where an index finger would be…”
Black nodded. “That’s right. He’s a sly little bugger, Peter is. Had everyone fooled into thinking I was the traitor when it was him all along.”
“Hold on, if Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew, that means he’s an animagus,” Hermione said incredulously, “But that was never mentioned or even theorized!”
“Unless we never told anyone,” Black cryptically said.
Hermione gasped. “You’re an animagus too?”
“Yes. Can turn into a rather handsome shaggy dog. Only reason I was able to stay as sane as I could in Azkaban. Dementors don’t bother with animals.” He looked at Seth. “Thanks for the biscuits by the way. Much better than what people throw out in the garbage at Hogsmeade.”
Seth was taken aback. “You’re the dog I saw in Hogsmeade? Then, are you also the ‘grim’ Harry saw back at the Dursley’s?”
Black grimaced. “Grim, eh? Hope I didn’t scare Harry too much. I just wanted to check up on him, see how he’s grown after all these years.” He began tearing up. “He looks so much like James did at that age, but he’s got Lily’s eyes.” He sobbed. “Oh James, Lily, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t able to save you and I couldn’t protect Harry either.”
Hermione and Seth looked at each other, uncomfortable at the pitiful display before them.
“You don’t think he’s telling the truth, do you?” Hermione whispered.
“I don’t know. If this is an act, then he’s a really good actor,” Seth whispered back.
“Er, sorry to interrupt,” Hermione awkwardly spoke up, “But if you’re truly innocent-”
“I am!” Black snarled.
“Then perhaps we really should go to Dumbledore. Maybe he can help?” She tentatively suggested.
“No, you can’t. Not yet,” Black rejected.
“Why not?” Hermione asked.
“Because I need to get Peter. I need to kill him before he can do any more harm. His dead body will be proof of my innocence.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble but Scabbers, I mean Peter, was apparently killed by Hermione’s cat,” Seth said.
Hermione scowled. “Crookshanks didn’t kill him!”
Seth raised his hands up in surrender. “I said ‘apparently’.”
“She’s right. Crookshanks didn’t kill Peter,” Black said matter of fact.
“How?” "Seth asked at the same time as Hermione who asked, “You know Crookshanks?”
Black nodded. “He’s been helping me, Crookshanks. Smart cat you got there. Let me borrow the map to see where Peter was and even got me a list of passwords for the week for the common room.”
“Wait, wait, hold on, you know about the Marauder’s Map?” Seth asked.
“Well of course,” Black smugly replied, “I helped make it.”
Hermione and Seth gaped at him as he proudly puffed his chest out.
“Monsieur Padfoot at your service. I’d tip my hat to you but I have neither a hat nor the ability to tip it seeing as my hands are tied up at the moment.”
Seth snorted. “Wow, really? Your nickname is a dog pun?”
“Well we can’t all be stuck up enough arseholes to be well spoken thespians,” Black retorted.
“Okay, I think I need to take a moment to think,” Hermione interjected, looking as if she was about to collapse from how much her head was spinning from all the twists that’ve just occurred, “There’s too much information being given at once and we also don’t even know if you’re telling the truth or not.”
“I am. I swear on my life that I am,” Black insisted.
“I’m sorry. I’d like to believe you but we need a way to verify your story,” Hermione said apologetically, “If you’re truly innocent, the word of two third year students isn’t going to mean much against the Ministry.”
“What if we went to get Lupin and Snape?” Seth suggested, “Lupin’s his friend and Snape was in school at the same time as them, right?”
Black made a disgusted face. “You want to get Snivellus involved?”
Seth rolled his eyes. “What are you? Five? Snape’s actually not that bad. He and Lupin are friends now.”
Black looked as if someone killed his dog. “They’re friends?!”
“Or acquaintances if you wanna nitpick. The point is they’re civil now and they can help,” Seth said, “Lupin was one of your best friends so he’ll know best if you’re lying. And Snape’s the potions professor so he’s probably got some truth serum he can use to verify your story too.”
Black still had a disgusted face on. “I agree that Moony should be involved but Snivellus? Can’t you just liberate some veritaserum without getting him involved?”
“Because we’re trying to keep everything as above board and legal as we possibly can, that’s why,” Seth argued. “You want to help Harry don’t you? Finally do your duty as his godfather?” Black nodded. “Then suck it up and deal with it. And stop it with the playground insults. You’re an adult. Act like one.”
Black looked as if he swallowed a lemon but conceded nonetheless. “Fine. Get Snivellus involved but Moony better be here too.”
“Hold on,” Hermione said, “If we leave, how do we know you’re not going to try and escape?”
“I can’t even move an inch right now,” Black dryly said, looking pointedly at Seth, “Which by the way, how are you doing that?”
“American secret,” Seth bluntly said.
“Ah, explains the yankee accent,” Black said in understanding. To Hermione, “I won’t shift to get out of my bonds. You’re just going to have to trust that I’ll stay put.”
Hermione looked as if she wanted to do anything but. “We don’t have much of a choice, do we? Not if we want to know the truth.”
“Nope!” Black said, popping the word at the end with a grin.
She sighed harshly. “Fine. But we’ll only be able to return at night after dinner. That’s the only way we’ll be able to get out with Professor Lupin and Snape without attracting unnecessary attention.”
“Sounds like a brilliant plan!” Black enthusiastically agreed, “Now off you go. I’ve got nowhere else to be.”
That night, Hermione and Seth returned to the Shrieking Shack with Lupin and Snape in tow. When they stepped into the room, Black was still sitting tied up where they left him. Lupin and Snape gaped at Black who cheekily waved back as best he could while still tied up.
“And here I hoped that Mister Sorenson and Miss Granger were merely suffering from a bout of madness and yet here I see evidence stating otherwise,” Snape dryly remarked.
“Hello to you too, Snivellus,” Black sneered at him. His expression softened when he looked at Lupin who was still gaping in shock. “Hello Moony. Nice to see you still look as much of a nerd as you did back in school.”
Lupin had an expression of absolute devastation. “Sirius, I-” He struggled to speak due to the tumultuous emotions he was feeling. “How can you still sit there? Looking so nonchalant after everything that’s happened. How can you still claim to be innocent?”
“That’s because I am innocent,” Black said, pleading with his friend, “I swear Moony. I wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
But Lupin didn’t look as if he believed Black even though he desperately wanted to. Black noticed this and wilted slightly. “Alright, I can tell you’re not going to believe a word out of my mouth. That’s why Snivellus is here, right?”
Snape sneered at him. “I didn’t have to come here, you know. But Harry deserves answers that I unfortunately cannot give.”
“There is no way you care about Harry, you snake,” Black barked at him.
Snape scoffed. “Believe me or don’t. I’m not the one who’s a criminal on the run. Harry is all I have left of Lily and I won't throw away my only chance to do right by her.”
Black was silent, not quite believing him but not having much of a choice in the matter. “Well get on with it then, will you? You’ve got the veritaserum, no?”
Snape looked as if he wanted to shove the entire potion down Black’s throat but managed to restrain himself into administering the few drops needed for it to work. They waited a few minutes before asking a few basic questions to make sure the potion had taken effect.
Once they were sure the veritaserum was working, Lupin stepped forward to ask, “Did you, Sirius Black, betray James and Lily Potter?”
Without having to think about it, Black firmly said, “No.”
Lupin looked both shocked and relieved. “Did you kill Peter Pettigrew?”
Black scowled. “I thought I did and I was fine with spending the rest of my life locked up in Azkaban after getting my revenge. But then I saw him in his rat form in the newspaper about the Weasley’s winning the lottery and going to Egypt. I realized I’d failed, that the backlash when our spells clashed was just a smokescreen for him to escape with his life and pin the blame of traitor and mass murderer on me.”
“I don’t understand though, why did you want to kill Peter?” Lupin asked, confused.
“Because Peter was the one who betrayed us! He sold out James and Lily! Gave their location away to You Know Who!”
Lupin was dumbfounded. “But, I thought…weren’t you the secret keeper?”
“I wasn’t. James and I decided to change it at the last minute and didn’t tell anyone,” Black explained, “I was too obvious of a choice and I refused to go into hiding during the war so we chose to trust Peter, the most unassuming of us all, and look what happened. That’s why I went to kill him. I need him to pay for what he did.”
Seth took that as his opportunity to jump in. “Sorry to burst your bubble but, I really hope you’re not gonna try and kill him again cause if you do, without anyone from the Ministry seeing him alive for themselves and getting the chance to interrogate him, they’ll only have the word of a criminal, two professors, and two students and how do they know you didn’t alter our memories or control us to say certain things?”
“You don’t understand! He needs to pay for what he did!” Black growled viciously.
“And he will. That’s what the judicial system is for,” Seth rebuked.
Black jumped to his feet, veins bulging from the intense anger he was feeling. “No! I need to kill him with my two hands! I need-”
“What you need is to get a hold of yourself!” Snape impatiently snapped, “Merlin’s sake, you’re Harry’s only legal chance of getting out of Petunia Dursley’s horrid house! If you want to do right by Potter and Lily, you’ll let go of your idiotic revenge and keep everything as legal as possible!”
Black was taken aback by his tirade but seemed to calm down. He plopped back down onto the floor. “Alright, fine. I won’t kill him.”
Snape nodded sharply. “Good.”
“...Thanks…Snape…”
Snape was startled by the gratitude but covered it with a scoff. “You can keep your thanks.”
“Alright, fair enough. Then how about taking my sorry?”
Snape did a double take. “What?”
“I’m sorry,” Black sincerely said, “I’m sorry for what I did to you back in school. For bullying you and jinxing you and doing all sorts of dumb, idiotic things at your expense. I’m sorry for putting your life at risk during fifth year. And I’m sorry to you too, Moony, for getting you involved the way I did. It wasn’t right and I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for everything.”
As Lupin and Snape struggled to take in the fact that Sirius Black was genuinely apologizing to them, Hermione and Seth were confused by the exchange but were simply glad that mature reconciliation was happening.
“So what do we do about Peter?” Lupin asked once he finally finished processing everything.
“Well Black made it sound like he staged his death to try and make his escape but he couldn’t have gone far could he? Not with Black still on the loose,” Seth said.
Black shook his head. “No, he wouldn’t. He’s most likely hiding somewhere on school grounds.”
“Should we use the Marauder’s Map to find and trap him like we did with Black then?” Hermione asked.
Lupin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It’s a sound idea. The map will still show animagi even if they’re transformed.”
“I’m sorry. What map?” Snape interjected with a confused frown.
Black snorted in amusement. “I’m surprised that’s what you’re asking about and not the animagi thing.”
Snape rolled his eyes. “You were all troublemakers and rulebreakers back then. It’s not surprising you all became illegal animagi. And I saw Potter turn into a stag. Now tell me about this map.”
Black and Lupin seemed reluctant to do as he said. So Hermione and Seth had to step in and explain what map they were talking about.
Snape didn’t look as surprised as they thought he would. Instead he looked rather smug, as if some theory of his was proven right. “I knew it. I knew you had something helping you get around the castle.”
“Look, that’s not important right now,” Black said, trying to get them back on track, “Let’s look through the map right now and find that rat before it’s too late.”
“Or we can save that for another day. It’s too late in the night and Hermione and I need to get back before curfew,” Seth said.
“But he could escape at any time!” Black protested.
“You said it yourself that he’s most likely just hanging around the school, waiting for you to get caught before he can either make his grand escape or great reappearance. Plus we have to make sure we have a solid plan on how to catch him or else he’ll escape and the whole thing would’ve been for nothing,” Seth argued back.
Black scowled. “Fine then. When do you propose we go after Peter?”
“We should do it after exams,” Hermione suggested, “It’s a short window of time before the year ends but it should give us enough time and leeway to do our search without anyone suspecting anything since they’ll just assume we’re exploring the castle with our newly found free time before we leave for the summer.”
“That’s a good idea,” Lupin agreed, “But, what about Harry? Should we tell him about-”
“No,” Snape cut in, “We shouldn’t tell him anything nor should we bring him into this until all is said and done.”
Seth nodded. “Yeah, we wouldn’t want to rearrange his world view and then shatter it to pieces when there’s the chance it could all be for nothing.”
Black frowned. “I don’t like him not knowing but fine.”
“Hold on, what about the dementors?” Lupin brought up, “They’ve been given permission to give you the kiss, Sirius.”
Black paled at that but Seth waved dismissively at Lupin’s concern. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got them under control.”
The three adults looked at him in skeptical disbelief.
“Are you suffering from a sickness of the mind, Mister Sorenson?” Snape asked in the same tone he used whenever Neville did something wrong with his potion, “There is no ‘controlling’ the dementors. Not even the Ministry can truly control them.”
“It’s an American thing. Don’t worry about it,” Seth said in a wishy-washy manner that definitely did not convince them to buy what he was selling.
“I promise, professors, he’s not lying,” Hermione said, jumping in to the rescue, “He really can control the dementors.”
Lupin and Snape faltered in their disbelief since they both knew it was completely out of character for Hermione to lie about something where someone’s life was at risk.
“I suppose we have no choice then do we?” Lupin said reluctantly, “We’ll just have to accept and believe that a 13-year-old student can somehow control dementors?”
“For the sake of simplicity and your sanity, the answer’s yes,” Seth said with utmost seriousness.
Lupin sighed in resignation. “Alright then. Is there anything else we’re missing?”
“Yes, actually,” Black said, “If you all could do me one favor, that’d be brilliant.”
Lupin looked at him curiously. “If it’s within our power to do so legally and without implicating ourselves, then sure. What is it, Sirius?”
Black then proceeded to tell them exactly what the favor was and they all, barring Snape who’s lips twitched minutely, smiled and agreed to help him.
Easter holiday soon arrived and it was not as relaxing as the third years hoped it would be. Until then, they’d never had as much homework as they did now. Neville especially seemed close to a nervous breakdown and he wasn’t the only one.
“You call this a holiday!” Seamus roared in the common room one afternoon, close to flipping the table where all his work was spread across like a disaster zone. “Exams are ages away! What’re they playing at?”
Thankfully, the upcoming Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin helped distract many from the mind numbing, nerve inducing stress of homework.
The entire Gryffindor House was obsessed with it as it was the final match that would determine who would win the Quidditch Cup. Gryffindor hadn’t won the cup since Charlie Weasley was seeker.
Never in anyone’s memory had a match approached with such a highly charged atmosphere. By the time Easter Holidays were over, tensions between the two teams and their houses had returned to what they were like back in first year and it was rapidly reaching a breaking point.
A number of small scuffles already broke out in the corridors, culminating in a nasty incident where a Gryffindor fourth year and Slytherin sixth year ended up in the hospital wing with leeks sprouting out of their ears.
It got so bad that McGonagall and Snape had to intervene and sternly remind their houses that rivalries were only good as long as no one was getting hurt or jinxed and if there was another spell thrown around then both houses would be disqualified from the match. After that ultimatum, the members of both teams threatened their respective houses into docile obedience and everyone earned a healthy respect for the Quidditch teams that day.
Things quieted down after that but the underlying tension remained.
The night before the match, all usual pursuits were abandoned in the Gryffindor common room. Even Hermione had to put down her books.
“I can’t work! I can’t concentrate!” She said in nervous frustration.
Seth rolled his eyes. He was the only one still able to be productive. “I still don’t get why everyone’s getting their pants in a twist. It’s just Quidditch.”
Ron and Harry looked at him as if he just said something utterly sacrilegious but Seth ignored them in favor of finishing up his Ancient Runes translation while trying to block out the great deal of noise being made by the rest of the Quidditch team. Harry then made the mistake of glancing over at Oliver who was prodding and poking at figures on a miniature Quidditch field and felt as if his meager dinner was going to make a reappearance.
“You’re going to be fine, Harry,” Hermione said soothingly but she looked as nervous as Harry felt.
“You’ve got a Firebolt!” Ron said, trying to sound encouraging but falling flat.
Harry grimaced. “Yeah.”
Seth sighed in exasperation. “It’s not the end of the world if you don’t win, Harry. It’s just an empty metal cup.”
While Ron looked affronted again by Seth’s audacity, Harry’s nerves did lighten a bit so he didn’t feel as if he was going to hurl with every passing second.
However, it was a great relief when Oliver suddenly stood up and yelled, “Team, bed!”
The next day, the Gryffindor team went to breakfast. However, they were too full of tension and anticipation to eat anything substantial and quickly left to make their way to the locker room.
Ginny smiled at Harry as he passed. “Good luck, Harry! I know you can do it.”
Harry blushed. “Th-Thanks Ginny.” And he scurried off.
It wasn’t long before what seemed like the entire student population settled down in the stadium stands, screaming and shouting their heads off from the desire to see Slytherin finally knocked off their pedestal and for Gryffindor to take home the cup.
Madam Hooch blew the whistle and the teams were off.
The match was intense all around - from the screaming audience to the Gryffindors and Slytherins ruthlessly scoring on each other.
At one point, Slytherin committed a foul when the beaters targeted Oliver despite the quaffle being nowhere near the Gryffindor goal posts. The entire stadium, except for a small section of the Slytherins, burst into a chorus of boos. Even half of the Slytherin team had sour faces at the blatant foul one of their own committed.
After Angelina successfully scored a penalty goal, the game picked up even more. Gryffindor and Slytherin kept scoring back and forth, one upping each other but with no true lead held that would make it easy to determine the winner. It was all coming down to who caught the snitch first.
After Slytherin managed to take the lead for the twentieth time, Draco spotted the snitch and dived for it. Everyone in the stands held their breath as Harry raced after him, easily catching up with his Firebolt, and snatched the snitch away from his reaching grasp.
The stadium exploded as Harry soared above the crowd. The tiny snitch held up tight in his fist in triumph. The team surrounded him in a tangled hug, crying and screaming about how they’d won the cup as they descended towards the ground.
Everyone poured over the barrier onto the field. Hands were raining down the Gryffindor teams’ backs before they were hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd.
Harry could see Hagrid cheering and whistling, Percy jumping up and down with all dignity forgotten, McGonagall sobbing harder than Oliver, and Ron and Hermione beaming up at him as he was carried towards the stands where Dumbledore stood waiting with the enormous gold Quidditch Cup.
He was so caught up in the moment that he didn’t notice Seth and Lupin hanging back in the shadows of the stands with a black shaggy dog who was smiling proudly as Harry lifted up the cup with an elated shout.