Cassia's POV

Hermione stood in front of Harry and I, protecting us. "If you want to kill Harry and Cassia, you'll have to kill us, too!" she threatened.

"No," Sirius refused, "Only one will die tonight."

"Then it'll be you!" Harry yelled. He and I tackled Sirius to the ground. I took his hands and pinned them above his head with my legs, while also using one arm to keep them pinned down. My wand was in my other hand and I had it pointing at his temple. Harry, on the other hand, was basically straddling him. He also pointed his wand, but unlike me, he pointed it at the man's heart.

Sirius only chuckled. "Are you going to kill me, children?" He didn't look the least bit scared.

"Don't think we won't," I hissed.

But before either of us could say a single spell, the door burst open and Lupin came in. "Expelliarmus!" Mine and Harry's wands flew from our grasp. Lupin came closer to Sirius, taking in his appearance. "Well, well, Sirius, looking rather ragged, aren't we? Finally, the flesh reflects the madness within." He kept his wand pointed as he spoke.

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

Lupin lowered his wand and offered out a hand. Sirius took it, letting Lupin help him to his feet. What happened next left us all gobsmacked. The two men embraced like they were brothers.

"I've found them!" Sirius whispered, overjoyed.

Lupin nodded. "I know."

"Finally," Sirius whispered.

"I know," Lupin repeated.

"Let's kill him," Sirius said.

"NO!" Hermione shouted, "I trusted you! And all this time...you've been his friend." She pointed at Lupin. "He's a werewolf! That's why he's been missing classes!"

Lupin looked shocked. "How long have you known?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Since Professor Snape sent the essay," Hermione answered.

Surprisingly, Lupin wasn't mad. He seemed impressed by her figuring it out. "Well, Hermione, you really are the brightest witch of your age I've ever met."

"Enough talk, Remus! Come on, let's kill them!" Sirius butted in.

"Wait," Lupin ordered him.

"I did my waiting! 12 years of it, in Azkaban!" Sirius shouted.

Lupin eyed him for a moment before giving him his wand. "Very well. Kill him. But wait one more minute. Harry and Cassia have the right to know why."

"We do know why, we're not stupid!" I snapped, pointing my wand at Sirius. "You betrayed our parents!"

"You're the reason they're dead!" Harry added.

"No, it wasn't him. Somebody did betray your parents, but it was somebody who, until quite recently, I believed to be dead," Lupin corrected us.

"Who was it, then?" Harry asked.

"Peter Pettigrew!" Sirius answered. "And he's in this room right now! Come out, come out, Peter! Come out, come out and play!"

"Expelliarmus!" someone said, making Sirius' wand fly out of his hand. We all turned our heads to see Snape had just come in. He came closer to Sirius, aiming his wand at him.
"Ah yes, vengeance is sweet. How I hoped I'd be the one to catch you this time," he remarked, before glancing at Lupin. "I told Dumbledore you were helping an old friend into the castle. And now, here's the proof."

"Brilliant, Snape," Sirius commented, the sarcasm clear in his voice. "Once again, you've put your keen and penetrating mind to the task and, as usual, come to the wrong conclusion. Now, if you'll excuse us, Remus and I have some unfinished business to attend to."

"Give me a reason, I beg you," Snape challenged.

"Severus, don't be a fool," Lupin tried to reason with him.

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

"Sirius, be quiet!" Lupin snapped.

"Be quiet yourself, Remus!" Sirius snapped back.

"Listen to you two, quarreling like an old married couple," Snape taunted.

"Why don't you run along and play with your chemistry set?" Sirius retorted.

Snape dug the tip of his wand into Sirius' throat. "I could do it, you know. But why deny the Dementors? They're so longing to see you," he said.

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

"Do I detect a flicker of fear?" Snape questioned. "Ah, yes. The Dementor's Kiss. One can only imagine what that must be like to endure. It's said to be nearly unbearable to witness, but I'll do my best."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Harry pull out Hermione's wand.

"After you," Remus beckoned.

Harry pointed Hermione's wand at Snape. "Expelliarmus!" Snape went flying into the wall and was knocked unconscious from the force of the spell's impact. Ron, Hermione, and I looked at him with a shocked expression. No way were any of us expecting that.

"Harry, what did you just do?" Ron asked.

"You attacked a teacher!" Hermione exclaimed.

"That's not important right now!" I snapped at her. I pointed my wand at Lupin and Sirius. So did Harry.

"Tell us about Pettigrew," Harry demanded.

"He was at school with us. We thought he was our friend," Lupin replied.

Harry shook his head. "No, Pettigrew's dead."

"You killed him," I added, making eye contact with Sirius.

"No he didn't. I thought so, too, until you mentioned seeing Pettigrew on the map," Lupin denied.

"The map was lying, then," Harry assumed.

"The map never lies!" Sirius said, "Pettigrew's alive! And he's right there!" He pointed at Scabbers, making mine and Harry's eyes widen in surprise.

"Me? That's mental!" Ron exclaimed.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Not you! Your rat!"

Ron looked just as shocked as we did. "But Scabbers has been in my family for-"

Sirius cut him off. "12 years! Curiously long life for a common garden rat! He's missing a toe, isn't he?" He pointed at Scabbers again. When I looked closely, I saw that, sure enough, there was a toe missing on one of his feet.

"So what?" Ron said.

It started to click in my mind. I looked over at Harry. "Remember what they said about Pettigrew?"

"All they could find was his --" Harry started to say, realizing it as well.

"-- finger!" Sirius finished his sentence, "The dally coward cut it off so that everyone would think he was dead! And then he transformed into a rat!" How fitting. The man who ratted us out to Voldemort is a rat Animagus.

"Show us," Harry demanded.

Sirius tried to grab Scabbers, but Ron wouldn't let go of him.

"Will you just give it to him already, Ron?!" I snapped.

After an almost-tug-of-war over Scabbers, Sirius finally managed to wrestle him out of Ron's grasp.

"What are you trying to do with him? Scabbers! Leave him alone!" Ron protested.

Sirius set Scabbers down on a nearby piano, only to have him run away. Both Remus and Sirius tried to turn Scabbers human, but to no avail. But finally, as Scabbers jumped into a hole, Sirius shot a spell at him, turning him into a human. As Lupin and Sirius pulled Pettigrew out of the hole, Harry and I got a good look at him.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than either of us. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who had lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers' fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at us, his breathing fast and shallow. I saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.

Pettigrew looked at Sirius and Lupin for a moment, and his eyes seemed to light up. "R-Remus? S-Sirius? My old friends!" he exclaimed. He tried to run, but Lupin and Sirius blocked him. With no way of escaping now, he staggered over to us and got really close to Harry. "Harry...look at you! You look so much like your father, like James!" he said, practically gushing over my brother. Sirius tried to yank him back, but failed. Pettigrew then came over to me. "And Cassia, how lovely you've become! It's as though I'm seeing Lily again!" he said, stroking the side of my face and running a hand through my hair. I instantly felt really uncomfortable.

Thankfully, that feeling didn't last long, because Sirius yanked Pettigrew into a corner of the room, away from me. "How dare you speak to Harry and Cassia! How dare you talk about James and Lily in front of them!" he snapped.

"You sold James and Lily to Voldemort, didn't you?" Lupin chimed in.

"I didn't mean to," Pettigrew wailed, "The Dark Lord...you have no idea of the weapons he possesses." He looked at Sirius. "What would you have done, Sirius? What would you have done?"

"I would've died! I would've died rather than betray my friends, as we would've done for you!" Sirius yelled.

Pettigrew rushed over to Harry and I again. "Harry, Cassia, your dad wouldn't have wanted me killed! Your dad -- your dad would've spared me. He would've shown me mercy!" Once again, he was yanked away from us. Remus and Sirius aimed their wands at him.

"Peter, you should have realized, if Voldemort didn't kill you, then we would! Together!" Sirius snapped.

This wasn't how it should end. Call me crazy, but we needed Pettigrew alive...for now.

"No!" Harry and I shouted at the same time. All eyes were on us now.

Black and Lupin both looked staggered.

"Harry, Cassia, this man --" Lupin started to protest.

"We know what he is," Harry said, cutting him off.

"But we've got a better idea," I added, "Let's take him back up to the castle."

"Bless you, children. Bless you," Pettigrew whimpered, holding onto my leg.

I kicked him in the chest. "Don't touch me, you little rat-faced creep!"

"She said we'll take you to the castle. After that, the Dementors can have you," Harry said.

Pettigrew looked genuinely horrified at this news, but none of us felt any remorse for him. Not even Harry and I. He betrayed our parents and framed an innocent man. He needed to pay.

<><><><><>

"Sorry about the bite. Reckon that it twinges a bit," Sirius apologized as we made our way out of the Shrieking Shack. He and Harry were helping Ron, while Lupin was right behind them, holding Pettigrew roughly by the arm. Hermione and I brought up the rear.

"A bit? A bit?! You almost tore my leg off!" Ron exclaimed.

"I was going for the rat," Sirius defended himself. "Normally, I have a very sweet disposition as a dog. In fact, more than once, James suggested that I make the change permanent. The tail, I could live with. But the fleas...they're murder."

We came out right by the Whomping Willow. Thankfully, we weren't within hitting distance of the branches. While Hermione was looking at Ron's bite mark, Harry and I went to check with Sirius, who was looking up at the castle in wonder.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he remarked, "I'll never forget the first time I walked through those doors. It'll be nice to do it again as a free man," He faced us. "That was a very noble thing you both did back there. He doesn't deserve it."

"Well, I don't think Dad would have wanted his two best friends to become killers," Harry replied.

I nodded in agreement. "Besides, if you're dead, the truth dies with you. Alive, you're free."

Sirius sighed. "Harry, I can understand if you choose to stay with your aunt and uncle. And if you wish to stay with Ted and Andromeda, Cassia. But if you ever wanted a different home..." he trailed off.

"What? Come and live with you?" Harry questioned.

"Well...I can understand if you don't want to," Sirius replied.

"Harry, Cassia!" Hermione shouted, preventing us from answering our godfather. We all looked at her and saw she was pointing to the moon. It was a full moon. Oh, no. Lupin began to transform.

Sirius rushed over to him. "Have you taken your potion, Remus?" he asked. I knew immediately he was referring to the Wolfsbane Potion. During that one DADA class where Snape filled in for Lupin, he told us how Wolfsbane Potion helps with the werewolf transformation. It allows the werewolf to maintain their human mind. And apparently, Remus hadn't taken it tonight. Sirius kept trying to comfort him, but it was no use. Lupin was becoming more beast-like by the second. I felt so bad for him, watching him transform. I can only imagine how painful it must've been.

Pettigrew raised his wand, ready to kill both men, but Harry disarmed him. Unfortunately, Pettigrew turned back into a rat and ran away.

Sirius shouted at us to run, but none of us could move. We were frozen in shock. The pain in my head grew worse. Soon enough, the transformation finished and Lupin was whimpering, with his paws over his face.

"Wait..." Hermione whispered. She slowly edged closer to Lupin.

Ron looked even more scared than Harry and I did, especially because he kept whispering "Bad idea".

"Professor? Professor Lupin?" Hermione addressed the werewolf.

Lupin took one look at her and then howled. This was definitely not good.

"Nice doggy...nice doggy," Ron whimpered as Lupin started to advance on us.

Just then, Snape showed up. "There you are, Potters!" A loud roar from Lupin cut him off. He turned to face him, only to receive a claw to the face. Hermione screamed.

Only moments before we were attacked, a black dog attacked Lupin. Harry and I Knew immediately that it was Sirius. The two circled each other before Sirius went for it and jumped on Lupin. They wrestled each other, Sirius sustaining more damage than Lupin, much to our shock.

"Sirius!" Harry and I said at the same time. We broke away from Ron and Hermione, ignoring Snape snapping at us to come back, and raced over to Lupin. Harry threw a rock at the werewolf, who turned to us and roared. I squeezed Harry's hand and shut my eyes tight, bracing myself for the oncoming blow, but it never came. Someone howled in the distance, twice. It sounded almost too human to be a werewolf, but Lupin believed it was one. He took off in the direction of the sound.

Sirius turned back into his human form, staggering off. Harry and I rushed into the forest after him and found him unconscious at the edge of a lake.

"Sirius! No...Sirius!" Harry begged, shaking him lightly.

I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. "Sirius, speak to us!"

Sirius' eyes suddenly snapped open and he gasped in fear at the sight above him.

Harry and I looked up to see countless Dementors circling up above us. My head started hurting again, the worst of it right where my scar was. One of the Dementors swooped down and attacked Sirius. I gasped, the pain in my head growing worse.

Harry whipped out his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" A bright light in the form of a shield came out of the tip of his wand. It only repelled the Dementors for a second, though. Two Dementors fed on it and the shield vanished. I ducked my head for cover just as I heard another Dementor dive towards us.

This time, Harry screamed in pain. I bit my lip to keep from screaming as well. The pain in my head was awful! It felt like a bludger had just cracked my skull.

More Dementors converged and attacked all three of us. Sirius lost consciousness entirely after they stopped feeding. I checked his neck for a pulse. Luckily, I found one, but it was weakening. He was dying.

Looking up, I could see the Dementors surrounding us, starting to close in for the final kill. This was it, this was where we would all die. Harry put an arm around me, supporting me. The pain in my head had decreased a bit, but it was still strong.

Before it all ended, a bright light -- no, two bright lights -- coming from the other side of the lake caught my eye. Somehow I knew Harry could see them as well. Slowly, the lights started to take shape. They weren't just lights anymore. They were deer. One was a stag, and the other was a doe. Both deer emitted a bright light, sending all the Dementors far away from us. Harry and I were both in shock. Just as the bright light subsided, Sirius gasped and his eyes shot open. His breathing was labored, but he was alive. He closed his eyes again, losing consciousness.

As the stag and doe faded away, Harry and I could just barely make out the outline of a man and a woman -- maybe Mum and Dad -- before we both passed out cold.