A Pet?
July 1982
Percival Weasley, five years old, noticed a sickly rat near the entrance to his home. Worried for the animal, he went to look for either his parents or one of his older brothers. Charles would perhaps be best, he seemed to enjoy being around animals the most. His brother was found in his room, nose in a book about dragons. Percy himself hadn’t found the point, much rather enjoying stories about kings and great figures of history. Of course, being named for a knight lent itself to ideas of fame and renown, while also doing what was right. The boy walked into his brother’s room, nudging him gently on the shoulder. Charles made a slight noise of acknowledgement, which Percy took to mean that he had the other’s attention. “I found a rat outside the door. It doesn’t look well. What do you think we should do with it?”
Charlie looked up now, “A rat?” Percy nodded. Charlie meanwhile closed the book and stood up. “Well, we may as well talk to Father. I’m sure that Mother would want to chase it away. Rats do have a nasty habit of being nuisances. Maybe Father will let us keep it. Maybe you can take it to Hogwarts as a familiar!”
Percy brightened up at this, “You think I could do that?” Charlie chuckled at his younger brother’s eagerness.
“Yes, I do think you could, Hogwarts lets in all sorts really. Lets go grab this animal first, hows that?” Charlie now got off his bed and started scrounging around for something under his bed.
“What are you looking for?” Percy stood over his brother’s shoulder, watching him reach uncomfortably far beneath the bed. He hoped there weren’t spiders or something worse under there. Finally, Charlie extracted himself with a sound of victory.
“A box Percy, were you planning on handling the animal with your hands? You’ve no clue where its been!” Chastised somewhat and vowing to never forget such basics again, the brothers went down to where Percy had seen the animal. Thankfully, it was still there. “Right, Percy, grab some cheese and lettuce, we’ll lure it in with those.” Percival followed his brother’s instructions and grabbed the dairy and produce.
Slowly, the brothers were able to coax the sickly looking rat into the box. The animal itself seemed reluctant to enter, as if insulted to the idea that it could be tricked like the common animal it was. Exuberantly, the pair then went off looking for their father, the box in their hands. They also looked to avoid their mother who perhaps would not look so kindly on an animal that was known to carry disease being carted around her home. Eventually, they did find their father, and their elder brother at the same time. Arthur’s face welcomed the duo warmly. Him and William had been going over the machines Arthur kept in the shed. William for some time now had gotten interested in how things worked, and trying to piece together the mechanics of their father’s car thoroughly engaged him. “Hullo boys, what are you up to?”
Percy looked at his brother, suddenly unsure if he should speak about what had happened, finding the entire endeavor moronic. Charlie, seeking his moment of hesitation nudged him slightly in the ribs, “Come then Percy, lions don’t hesitate do we?”
Nodding and steeling his resolve, which on a five year old truly does look adorable and Arthur struggled not to laugh, Percy explained in a rushed manner that he had found a rat and would want to keep it as a pet. As he finished, he looked expectantly at his father who sat thinking for a moment. Each millisecond adding to Percy’s agony. “Alright, perhaps we can keep the rat. Percy, do you swear that you will be the one to take care of it? Your mother has enough on her plate now.”
Percy didn’t think he had nodded ever so vigorously. “The other issue is of course that we must make sure that rat is healthy. Don’t want disease coming into the house now do we? We’d all fall sick and no one would want that.” Arthur paused for a moment and looked at his eldest, “William and Charlie, would you mind sticking here while we go and get this settled away? Help your mother with anything she may need?” Arthur didn’t want to leave his wife all alone with the twins, that could prove calamitous. The two boys dutifully nodded, even as Charlie seemed somewhat put out, he wouldn’t get to go see more creatures.
Taking out his wand, he then put the rat to sleep. Animals seemed to get quite put out when taken anywhere near medical professionals. Ordinarily there was a particular animal healer he worked with in case the chickens acted up, however in the favor of discretion he decided for a house call this time. With Percy and the box in hand, Arthur spun away and landed in the field of Healer Sweeting’s home. He opened the door and was greeted by Miles, the latest in a line of Sweetings who dedicated themselves to the care of creatures, both magical and otherwise. “Arthur! Always good to see you. What brings you to our doorstep?”
“Ah, Miles, it is quite good to see you. Sorry to drop in unannounced. Percy here found a rat near our house and would perhaps want to keep it as a pet. I was wondering if you could do a quick check on it to make sure it was healthy and all?” Arthur showed his son and the shoe-box with the sleeping rat within.
“Of course, of course, come in, shouldn’t take long at all.” The trio entered the farmhouse and Arthur handed the box over to Miles as their host gathered some tea for the Weasleys. “Where’d you see the rat then Percy?”
“Oh, uh, near the front door of our house Healer Sweeting. I had not really thought of getting a pet, but then my brother Charles said it. He likes animals a lot too, especially Dragons.” Percy animatedly explained. He had met Healer Sweeting many times as he had come by the Burrow.
“I am not at all surprised this was Charlie’s idea. I may have to keep an eye on what he does as he goes through Hogwarts. Arthur, if he ever needs an introductions, please, let me know.” Miles picked up the box with the sleeping rat and started waving his wand over the animal. Suddenly, he stopped and frowned.
“Yes Miles, I will certainly let you know.” Arthur caught Miles’ frown and sent him one of his own. “Everything alright?”
“Yes, I think so.” Miles brought over a piece of parchment and charmed a quill to write out, ‘This is an Animagus’. Miles watched Arthur’s face and saw it transform to shock.
The other wizard similarly enchanted the quill to write, ‘Strange, can you shift them back to a human form?’.
Miles nodded, but then wrote, ‘I will call an auror for security. Make sure the rat stays asleep.” Arthur motioned affirmatively; Miles meanwhile was calling Percy outside under the guise of showing the child animals. As the pair stepped past the room, Miles cast a patronus requesting the presence of an auror on his estate. presence. While they waited for someone to show up, Miles showed Percy the various beasts that were kept on the Sweeting estate. His great-grandmother, Poppy, had established this estate using rewards gained stopping Poachers. A popping noise distracts the pair and they turn to see Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alastor Moody approaching from the edge of the field.
Healer Sweeting approaches them, “Hello, hello welcome. I don’t know if we needed you both here, but thank you for coming. Arthur Weasley came by with a rat that had found in the garden that Percy here would want to keep as a pet. Doing their due diligence, the rat was brought here where I discovered it was an Animagus. In the name of safety, I thought it best to call you here when the person was reverted to their human form.”
The pair nodded, “Good to see you Miles, and smart of you to call us. We never know what can happen when an Animagus is forced to transform. Shall we head in?” Kingsley took the lead, with Moody observing, his eye spinning around the estate watching for anything out of the ordinary. The quartet entered the home where the aurors silently greeted Arthur who was still standing vigil. In an unspoken accord, the four adults positioned themselves around the room, ready to act should anything go awry.
Miles levitated the rat and positioned it on the floor, the other’s wands aimed at the animal the entire time. Once it was resting there, he raised his left hand, counting down from three. At the termination of the countdown, he sent a finite at the creature and watched as it morphed into a man, somewhat sickly in nature. When the transformation finished, Kingsley let out a gasp of surprise, his wand arm drooping just slightly. “Peter?”
The man slowly seemed to wake up, the sleeping spell only meant for animals and no longer effective on him. He blinked as he became adjusted to his new surroundings. “King? Where am I?”
Miles cut in, not trusting enough to say where they were, something about this situation seemed wrong. And why did the name Peter ring alarm bells in his head? “You’re in Wales. When was the last time you were out of your animal form?”
The man swiveled to face Miles, “Oh, I know you. You’re that doctor. To answer your question, its been a year perhaps? I know it was cold for a while and now its summertime. Did you all capture Sirius? I barely escaped with my life.”
It came back to Miles then, of course, this was Peter Pettigrew, the reason Regulus and Remus’ brother was rotting in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit. Kingsley spoke up before Miles could respond, “Yes, caught him the very same night. Abominable what he did to the Potters.”
Peter’s eyes seems to fill with tears at the idea of the Potters, “James. Lily. Poor little Harry, all alone in the world.” He stopped talking then, as if to mourn in silence.
Miles thought otherwise, “Why didn’t you come in from the cold earlier? I’m sure you knew about Sirius’ arrest. You were even awarded an Order of Merlin. By the way, I hope you don’t mind, I will conduct a few tests to make sure you are alright before we send you on your way.” Miles started to wave his wand, not really caring for Peter’s acceptance. He wasn’t really looking for vital statistics, more like a certain aura of dark magic emanating from his arms.
As Miles ran his tests, Peter replied, “I wasn’t sure it was safe yet. I heard about the Longbottoms and didn’t want that to happen to me or my mother. Sick as she already was.”
“You heard about Alice? Damn shame, she was one of our best. Frank’s diagnosis is hopeful, though it may take some time. Alice meanwhile has been proclaimed fully incapacitated. It seemed that Lestrange and Crouch wanted to make Frank watch them torture her first. We should count ourselves lucky they didn’t find the child.” Kingsley helpfully supplied information about the Longbottom family to someone he still considered a fellow veteran. Miles hated to disabuse him of the idea, however his test did come back positive.
Knowing that he would have some explaining to do, Miles came up behind Peter, clasping him on the shoulder, “Well, welcome back Peter. I hope you get everything you deserve now that we know you’re awake.” Silently, he cast a petrification and the man became completely stiff in his hand.
Moody and Kingsley immediately had their wands pointed at him, “Sweeting! Explain yourself.” The grizzled auror yelled.
“I need to show you something, and then you can decide for yourselves how to proceed.” He brought Peter to the ground and then tore open the man’s right pant leg. There on his leg was a faded tattoo of a snake emerging out of a skull. The Dark Mark.
“Is that real?” Kingsley hung back as Moody squatted low and examined the mark.
“Aye. The magic is there. It must be on his leg so we would not have noticed it on his arms or upper body. He was the bloody spy.” Moody’s volume increased as he stood up in anger. A silent incarcerous was thrown at Peter, leaving him bound on the floor. The senior Auror turned to Kingsley. “We will watch him. Go back, fetch Zhou, some veritaserum, and anti-animagus bonds.” He then turned to Arthur who had been watching all this unfold in silent shock, “I know you are not an Order member nor an Auror, but I am calling upon you as a member of the DMLE to help Sweeting help this man.”
Arthur nodded, but looked at Miles, “Is there anywhere Percy can go while all this happens? He doesn’t need to see this.”
Miles nodded, “Of course. Before you leave however Percy, you have been incredibly brave today.” He then called for his mother and told her what was happening and suggested that Percy would perhaps enjoy the library instead of the drawing room. With that, he was shuffled off. Miles was sure that his mother and father would be quite glad to entertain the child. The pair did truly enjoy children, and this was perhaps what the child also needed after today.
As Percy left, Kingsley returned with Mei Zhou in tow. The tall man carried a bag clinking with vials of what Miles assumed was veritaserum. Miles made to renverate Peter, before being stopped by Moody, “Let Kingsley apply the anti-animagus bond before we bring him back.”
Miles nodded, chastened. Once Kingsley had applied the bracelet on Peter’s wrist, as well as one on his leg, the traitor was brought to and made to sit in the chair. Moody forced Peter’s mouth open and forced the potion into him. The senior auror then sat in front of Peter and looked at Mei, seemingly waiting for something.
The woman nodded back at Moody and began to speak, her quill recording everything dutifully, “Senior Prosecutor for the British Ministry for Magic, Mei Zhou presiding over debrief of Peter Pettigrew, Order of Merlin, First Class. Lead investigator is Senior Auror Alastor Moody, with junior representative Kingsley Shacklebolt. Witnesses are Arthur Weasley and Miles Sweeting. Location is a private residence and is thus struck from the record. Conversation is being done with subject having consumed veritaserum due to acting as a hostile witness.”
For the benefit of the record, “This is Senior Auror Alastor Moody.” Then, turning towards Pettigrew, “What is your name?”
“Peter Pettigrew.”
“Did you support Lord Voldemort?”
“He was going to win, anyone could see that.” Moody didn’t like that answer and sent a stinging hex towards Peter and was rewarded with a hiss.
“Do you have the Dark Mark on your body.” The Auror attempted to come at the question from a different angle.
“Yes.”
“When were you marked?”
“September 19, 1979.”
“Where were you marked?”
“My right shin.” Another stinging hex.
“Where geographically were you marked?” Moody’s frustration sharpened the words.
“Nott Manor.” Moody and Kingsley looked at each other, unfortunately this was not someone new they could indict.
“Who else was there.” Everyone assembled knew that this question was pointless due to the masks, but Moody had to ask.
“Everyone wore masks.” Moody grimaced, but accepted the answer.
“Were you at any point during the process under the Imperius?” Moody hadn’t gotten to ask questions of the idiots who went in front of the Judiciary and proclaim their innocence.
“No.” It was a single word, but it was damning.
“Did you know of anyone who was under the effects of the curse?”
“Yes.” The senior Auror grimaced again, unfortunately not the answer he wanted.
“Who was under the effect of the Imperius?” Moody may as well try and see if any of them were telling the truth. Though he still highly doubted it.
“Low level Ministry employees. I do not know of specific names.” Moody was surprised, taking the answer in. The Death Eaters apparently had much greater reach than the Order had suspected. Troublesome indeed, but now it was the time for more pertinent information.
“Where were you on the night of October 31st, 1981?” Silence as Peter seemed to be fighting with himself to not speak. He was rewarded with a stinging hex for his troubles, this time to his knee.
As his mouth opened to gasp for air, the answer tumbled out, “Godric’s Hollow.”
“Were you alone?”
Silence again, this time he was assailed by a cut on his arm. Miles inwardly cringed at the idea of cleaning the carpet. “No.”
“Who were you with?” Silence. Moody waved his wand, seemingly aimed at Pettigrew’s hand. Nothing could be seen, however Peter’s face contorted in pain.
Finally, “Lord Voldemort.” Moody eased off and Peter’s face relaxed, a slight sheen of sweat covering his forehead.
“Did you take him to the Potter Cottage?”
Peter took a moment and then looked straight at Moody, “Yes.” Miles wanted to poke Moody and tell him to ask Peter about Sirius but restrained himself. He was sure that the Auror knew what he was doing.
As if Moody had read his mind, which was entirely possible for the man, “Who was the Secret Keeper for the Potters?” Peter wrestled in his chair, attempting to break free of his fetters. The bracelets on his wrist and leg glowed a deep blue, negating his attempts to turn into a rat and run. Moody aimed his wand at Peter’s leg in response and Peter let out a growl.
“I….was.” Peter panted in his seat.
“Why did Sirius Black attack you the day after the murder of the Potters?”
Peter resisted, but physical pressure made him eventually open his mouth, “He knew I had betrayed Prongs, Lily, and Prongslet to the Dark Lord.”
“Who attacked the muggles on that night?”
The traitor hung his head, knowing there was no way out of the question, “I did.”
Finally, the most important question, “Is Sirius Black innocent of betraying the Potters and murdering 12 muggles on November 1st, 1981?”
“Yes.” Miles let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Once this was shown to the ministry, Sirius had to be free. Remus and Regulus could have their brother back. Ananya her husband, and Diana her father.
“In my capacity as Senior Auror, I now place you under arrest for the ensnarement of Sirius Orion Black, premeditated murder of 12 muggles in London, destruction of property, and status as an unregistered Animagus.” The Auror got up from his chair and looked towards Mei.
Mei used her wand to pack in her materials and looked at the Aurors, “I will take this back to the Ministry immediately and begin drafting paperwork for the vindication of Sirius Black as well. The minister may not be a fan of this. It seems like a political explosive.”
Moody grunted, “That is not my concern. We will get this done however we need to. This man belongs in Azkaban for the rest of his pitiful life and Black should be free.” He looked now to Miles and Arthur, “Thank you for your service today. Wizarding Britain thanks you. I’m sure the Potters thank you, and I thank you. You may be subpoenaed for further questions through the course of the investigation.”
Peter piped up, “Yes, yes, thank you. If I ever see your children again Arthur, I will-“ He was cut off as Kingsley petrified him.
Kingsley looked at everyone gathered, “It seems we should add Intimidation to the list of charges.” Arthur only nodded, now worried about his sons and Molly. He would need to strengthen the wards around the Burrow, perhaps even adding in anti-animagus charms. The party left the home, the Aurors and Mei heading to the Ministry with their prisoner.
Arthur found Percy in the Library, deeply engrossed in some book. The book seemed to be bigger than the child’s head, and yet, he had it open and was studying every word. Of all his children, Percival seemed the most likely to break the trend of Gryffindors from their family. Perhaps a Ravenclaw, but Arthur knew he would love him always, no matter what. Esmerelda Sweeting came up at his side, “Enchanting aren’t they? Children.”
“Yes, they are. Thank you for minding him while we dealt with that situation.” Arthur turned towards the older lady.
“Of course, Arthur, don’t you worry about it.” She patted him on the arm gently and called to Percy. The child looked up slowly and looked at his father.
Percy put the book down and walked over to the entrance, “I will not be receiving a rat for a pet today will I?”
Arthur laughed without humor, “No, unfortunately dear Perce, you will not. Don’t worry, we’ll find you something before you get to Hogwarts.”
Percy scrunched up his face for a second, “Okay. Maybe I don’t want a rat anyways.”
Arthur laughed genuinely now, “That’s great Perce, we’ll find the right pet for you when we get there.” Arthur patted the boy’s head as they headed out and back home.