IN WHICH the truth is unveiled

"He bit me..." Ron's eyes shift and see Scabbers streaking away. 

"Ron! No!" Hermione yells. 

As Ron pelts after Scabbers, Harry, Hermione, and Aubery give chase. Ron reaches the summit and disappears over the top. 

"Harry. You do realize what tree this is..." Aubery stops in her tracks.

Ron nabs Scabbers, cradling him in his bloody palm. "Now behave yourself." Ron is kneeling under the Whomping Willow. 

"That's not good," Harry says. "Ron! Run!"

Ron spins and looks toward Harry. "Harry! Run!"

Harry's eyes shift. Bounding toward him in the gathering loom is an enormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog. Harry shields himself when the dog leaps clear over him. 

"Aaaahhh!" The dog's teeth flash and close on Ron's foot, dragging him towards the trunk like a rag doll. Instantly, Harry dashes forward, leaping out and grabs Ron's hands but he and Ron just keep skidding along the ground. 

"I've got you-" Hermione pitches herself onto Harry's feet... and the three of them go skidding along.

"Harry!" 

Harry raises his chin. The dog vanishes into the gap at the base of the tree, and begins to pull Ron through.

"Hold on, Ron!" Aubery shrieks, as she grabs Hermione's ankles, and began to pull the 3 towards her.

But it's no use. The dog is too powerful. Harry glances around desperately, then finds himself looking directly in Ron's eyes. "No, Ron..."

One by one, Ron releases his fingers from Harry's forearm, sacrificing himself. 

"Nooooo!!!" 

But Ron closes his eyes, releases his hands fully, and disappears. As his voice echoes deep into the earth, Harry, Aubery, and Hermione rise, and peer into the hole. The Whomping Willow sweeps first Hermione, Harry, then Aubery into the air and drops them on their backsides. Swaying beautifully against the dusky sky, swishing softly. 

As one, they rise and run back toward the gap in the tree. A branch swoops down. Hermione ducks. Harry doesn't. He's is flung one way, his glasses the other. Hermione HOPS over another branch looking briefly pleased with herself only to find herself swept high in the air by a second branch. She looks down seeing Harry searching the ground for his glasses. 

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!" 

Aubery turns into the familiar white fox, dashing around the tree, chasing crazily after Hermione.

Harry squints up, seeing a pile-driving fist of a branch screaming straight down for his head. He rolls away just as the branch pulverizes the ground. Hermione whips around, still clinging on for dear life, and Harry rises and he's promptly knocked to the ground again. Hermione goes crashing through the high branches, Aubery spies Harry's glasses and grabs them. She grabs them, bounding over to Harry. He fits them to his face and he looks just in time to see Hermione flying madly toward him. 

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Hermione screams.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Harry yells. 

Hermione reaches out, grabs Harry's shirt, and Aubery grabs unto Harry's ankle, back into a human. She grabs her wand, and the 3 ride the branch in tandem, the three boomerang back, hurtling toward the trunk of the tree, through the gap, and into the darkness below. Harry hits the ground and Hermione falls on top of him. Aubery lands on the ground next to them.

"Thanks." Hermione sighs.

"Don't mention it. Lumos." As the tip of Harry's wand glows, revealing a long, snaking tunnel. 

"Where do you suppose this goes?" Aubery asks.

"I have a hunch. I just hope I'm wrong..." Harry shakes his head.

Harry, Aubery, and Hermione make their way through the primitive passageway, ducking the roots that dangle overhead. Then, abruptly, the tunnel ends. Confused, Harry, Hermione, and Aubery glance about, then as one peer up. A small opening. Harry reaches up, and hoists himself through. Harry pulls Hermione up, then Aubery, they look about. Paper peels from the walls. Stains suspiciously similar to dried blood blot the floorboards messily. Shattered furniture lies strewn everywhere. 

"We're in the Shrieking Shack, aren't we?" Hermione questions.

Harry doesn't answer, staring at the dog prints in the dust on the floor. The ceiling creaks. They dash to the stairs and come out, looking down. A wide, shiny stripe cuts through the dust-laden floor as if something has been dragged to the end of the hallway, where a light seeps from a door. 

"Nox." Harry's wand-light dies. Slowly, they step to the door and exchange a look. Hermione and Aubery nod, wand ready, and Harry kicks the door aside. Ron sits upon a sagging bed, clutching his bloody foot. 

"Ron! You're okay-" Hermione gasps.

"The dog, where's the-" Harry interrupts. 

"It's a trap, Harry. He's the dog. He's an Animagus..." Ron moans.

Harry looks down, following the paw prints on the floor to a pair of filthy human feet. Harry looks up slowly at the man standing in the shadows. Filthy, matted hair hangs to his shoulders. His skin like a corpse. Sirius Black. He studies Harry's face keenly, then Aubery's. Harry draws his wand. 

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us, too!" Ron yells, throwing himself as best as he could in front of Harry.

"Don't move the leg. It'll worsen it." Sirius replies, staring at Ron.

"Did you hear me? You'll have to kill us to get to Harry." Ron retorts as Hermione and Aubery stand in front of Harry. 

"No. Only one will die tonight." Sirius replies.

"Then it'll be you!" Harry yells, wedging himself past Hermione and Ron. Ron falls on the ground painfully.

"Harry! No!" Hermione yells.

Just then, footsteps sound. Black wheels toward the door, edgy. Harry eyes Black, wand hand shaking violently. As Black turns back, he stops, regarding Harry cautiously. 

"Going to kill me, Harry?" Sirius asks.

"Yes." Harry raises his wand. The door crashes open. Professor Remus Lupin. 

"Professor Lupin!" Harry, Hermione, Aubery, and Ron gasp.

Lupin ignores them, eying Black intensely. "Looking a bit ragged, aren't we, Sirius? Finally, the skin reflects the madness within." 

"You'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you, Remus?" Sirius smiles.

The two regards each other, the moment taut with tension, then Lupin steps forward and... embraces Sirius like a brother. 

"No! I trusted you! I covered up for you. And all this time you've been his friend!" Hermione points at Lupin. "He's a werewolf! That's why he's been missing classes!"

Harry and Ron stare, dumbfounded, at Lupin. 

Black howls then, bitterly amused. Lupin eyes him, then turns back. 

"How long have you known?" Remus asks patiently.

"Since Professor Snape set the essay." Hermione answers.

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

"Yes, you glow like the sun. And you howl at the moon. Enough talk! He dies. Now. If you won't do it with me, Remus, I'll do it alone." Sirius sighs.

"Wait, Sirius-" Remus stops.

"I did my waiting! Twelve years of it! In Azkaban! Trust me, you wouldn't have lasted a week!" Sirius snarls. 

Lupin eyes Black then nods. "All right then. As you wish..."

"No!" Aubery screams.

Harry raises his wand when Lupin wheels and, with a flick of his own, disarms him. Furious, Harry eyes Black murderously.  "You betrayed my parents! You sold them to Voldemort! 

"It's a lie! I never would've betrayed James and Lily!" Sirius Black yells. 

"Harry! You've got to listen-" Remus puts his hands up in surrender.  

"Did he listen! When my mother was dying! Did he hear her screaming!" Harry roars.

"No! I wasn't there! And I'll regret it the rest of my life!" Harry's eyes flash to Black's, glittering with pain. 

"Someone else betrayed your parents, Harry. Someone in this room right now. Someone who, until quite recently, I believed to be dead." Remus patiently explains.

"He's as good as dead." Sirius scoffs.

"What're you talking about? There's nobody here." Aubery answers.

"Oh yes there is..." Black turns then, to Ron, and croons in a cruel singsong: 

"Come out, come out, Peter Come out, come out and play..." Sirius sings.

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

Harry's eyes shift from Ron's face to his hands, where Scabbers twists violently. As a curious expression befalls Harry, Lupin, and Black, as one, raise their hands, when. 

"Expelliarmus!"

The wands fly from their hands. The others turn, find Snape standing in the doorway, smiling smugly. 

Snape eyes Black. "Ah, vengeance is sweet. How I hoped I'd be the one to catch you."

"Severus-" Remus starts. 

Snape cuts him off. "I told Dumbledore you were helping your old friend into the castle. And here's the proof."

"Brilliant! And as usual dead wrong. Now give us our wands back. Remus and I have a bit of unfinished business to tend to." As Black approaches, Snape puts his wand to Black's neck. 

"Give me a reason. I beg you." Snape drawls.

"Don't be a fool, Severus!" Remus pleads. 

"He can't help it. It's habit by now." Sirius chuckles.

"Quiet, Sirius!" Lupin scolds.

"Listen to you two. Quarreling like an old married couple. The creature and the criminal. Oh, how Rosie would feel." Snape laughs.

"Piss off. You don't get to call Roselie Rosie." Sirius snarls.

"Witty as ever I see. Tell me, will you be so irreverent when I turn you over to the Dementors?" Snape smiles, as Black reacts. "Do I detect a flicker of fear? One can only imagine what it must be like to endure the Dementor'sKiss. It's said to be unbearable to witness. But I'll do my best."

Snape's eyes harden and gesture to the door.  "After you."

As the others start to go, Harry glances at the table where Lupin has left Harry's wand. In a flash, it's in his hand. "Expelliarmus!"

Snape soars into the air, hits the wall with a thud, and slides down. Ron, Hermione, and Aubery stare in shock. 

"Harry. You attacked a teacher." Hermione whimpers. Harry looks a bit shocked himself, then turns to Black. 

"He definitely deserved it." Aubery whispers. 

"You said Peter before. Peter who?" Harry asks.

"Pettigrew. He was at school with us. We thought he was a friend." Remus answers.

"No. Pettigrew's dead. He killed him." As Harry points at Black, he laughs mirthlessly. 

"I thought so, too. Until you mentioned seeing Pettigrew on the map." Remus answers.

"The Map was lying then-" Harry answers.

"The Map never lies. Pettigrew's alive. And he's right there." Sirius points at Ron. 

Ron goes white with fear. "M-me? It's lunatic..."

"Not you, you idiot. Your rat." Sirius sighs.

"Scabbers? Scabbers has been in my family for-" Ron starts.

"Twelve years." Sirius bitterly says. "A curiously long life for a common garden rat. He's missing a toe, isn't he?" Sirius unfolds a dog-eared clipping from The Daily Prophet: it shows Ron in Egypt with his family, Scabbers on his shoulder. 

"So what?" Ron questions.

"All they could find of Pettigrew was his-" Harry starts.

"Finger. Dirty coward cut it off so everyone would think he was dead. Then he transformed into a rat." Sirius spat.

Harry stares into Sirius' sunken eyes. Wanting to believe. Desperate to believe. Glancing at Ron, his agonized face. Scabbers squirms violently.  "Show me."

Lupin and Black turn to Ron, holding Scabbers protectively. "What are you going to do to him?"

"It won't hurt him if he's really a rat." Lupin answers. Ron set Scabbers gently on the floor.

Sirius and Remus exchange a glance. "Together."

With that, Remus takes out his wand and, as one, he and Sirius cast a stream of blue-white light. Scabbers twists madly in midair, then transforms into a very short man with thinning hair and grubby hands. Peter Pettigrew. 

"S-Sirius... R-Remus. My old friends." Neither speaks. Pettigrew's small, watery eyes dart toward the windows and door. Suddenly, he makes a break for it, but Sirius merely shoves him back. Pettigrew's nose twitches, his gaze finding Harry and Aubery's. His hands flutter nervously, revealing a missing index finger. "Harry! Look at you! Y-you look just like your father. like James. We were the best of friends, he and I-"

"Shut up!" Sirius barks, as Harry pushes Aubery behind him. 

"I didn't mean to! The Dark Lord, you have no idea the weapons he possesses! Ask yourself what you would have done, Sirius. What would you have done!" Pettigrew asks.

"Died! Died rather than betray my friends! And you should have realized, Peter, if Voldemort didn't kill you..." Sirius says.

"We would," Remus answers, looking up into Aubery's fearful eyes. He looks away, trying with all his might to not cry and hug his daughter. His daughter, who would have to see her father and godfather become murderers right in front of her. 

Remus then looked at Harry. Harry's eyes remained stone cold, as he held Aubery's hand like a brother. 

"No... please... you can't... Ron! Haven't I been a good friend? A good pet? You won't let them kill me, will you? I was your rat..." Pettigrew asks. Ron draws back in disgust. Pettigrew turns to Hermione. "Sweet girl. Clever girl. Surely you won't let them..." 

Hermione steps back, tugging away her robes, and helping Ron away from Pettigrew.

"Aubery! Sweet girl, you look like both of your parents! So pretty and lovely." Pettigrew's watery smile grew panicked.

As one, Lupin and Black raise their wands, pointing them directly into Pettigrew's face. He shrinks back trembling, closing his eyes in fear.

"Don't ever speak to my daughter like that. Ever." Remus snarls. Pettigrew's breath became labored, as Aubery hides her face in Harry's shoulder.

"No."

Pettigrew's eyelids lift. Lupin and Black turn. 

"Harry, this man..." Lupin explains.

"I know what he is. But we'll take him to the castle." Harry answers.

"Bless you, boy! Bless you-" Pettigrew kneels in front of Harry. 

"Get off! I said we'd take you to the castle. After that, the Dementors can have you." Harry spat.

They tie up Pettigrew and walk through the tunnel. As Pettigrew emerges from the gap, he starts prattling desperately. "Turn me into a maggot. A dung beetle. A Flobberworm! Anything but the Dementors..." As Ron emerges from the hole. "Ron! Haven't I been a good friend? A good pet? You won't let them kill me, will you? I was your rat..."

As Ron draws back in disgust, a sleepwalking Snape bumps his head against a low limb. Hermione turns to Harry and Aubery. "Don't worry. He's under the Somnambulist Charm. It's primarily used to transport the seriously deranged."

As Harry nods, Pettigrew's pleading eyes find Hermione. "Sweet girl. Clever girl. Surely you won't let them..."

Hermione tugs her robes from Pettigrew's sweaty grasp. Harry turns, sees Black staring in wonder at the castle,shining radiantly under the bright bowl of the night sky. 

"So, your dad was Professor Lupin!" Ron says. "I knew it."

"Yes, but just don't spread it around. No one expect Harry knew, for a reason." Aubery answers.

"Of course." Hermione nods. 

"Yup." Ron nods.

Remus stares at Pettigrew, before turning around and hugging Aubery.

"I'm so sorry honey." Remus' eyes start tearing up.

"It's fine dad," Aubery replies, hugging him back. 

"Beautiful, isn't it? I'll never forget the first time I walked through those doors. It'll be nice to do it again. Freely." Sirius turns to Harry. "That was a noble thing you did back there. He doesn't deserve it."

Harry studies Pettigrew briefly, looking away. Lost in thought. "I don't reckon my father'd want his best friends to become killers for a worthless piece of vermin like Pettigrew. Besides: Dead, the truth dies with him. Alive...you're free."

Sirius studies Harry's profile, moved by this.  "I don't know if you know, Harry, but when you were born, James and Lily made me your guardian..."

"I know. And Aubery does." Harry nods.

"And, well, I'll understand if you choose to stay with your Muggle aunt and uncle, but, so you know, you could-" Sirius continues.

"Come live with you? When!" Harry asks, ecstatic. "Although, you'd have to get in line. Aunt Rosie's been trying for 3 years."

Sirius grins, reminded of his best friend. "Soon as my name's cleared, I'll help Rosie get you over here. Then we can live with Aubery, Remus, and Rosie."

Harry looks at Hogwarts and grins. Sirius does the same.

Okay, so if you want, you can request something like a oneshot, or dare with all the mentioned people, or people you request.

It's just like an activity, to get my creative juices flowing since it was kinda a chaotic week, and I'm a little unmotivated. 

So like, if you want to see something here's like a format:

(Year and which time ((before Christmas, after Easter)).) and then (students), (oneshot, truth or dares, reacting, etc.), (topic)

so like, for example:

3rd year, after Boggart class, golden squad (aubery, hermione, ron, and harry.) truth or dare, Truth: Who do you like, Dare: Climb to the highest tower, and scream.

so yeah

you don't have to do it though.