chapter nineteen / like trying to catch smoke

Pettigrew had gone ballistic.

   He threw himself at Ron's feet, crying about how good of a rat he'd been for him. Ron pulled his leg out of the man's reach.

   He hung onto Hermione's robes, begging and pleading her to testify for him. She pulled away and backed into the wall, looking utterly horrified.

   The man searched the room again his beady eyes landed on Cassie before he stumbled down to her. "Smart girl.. you're just like your father, you trust me–"

   "Get off of her!" Sirius shouted. "You dare address her? Though you're the reason she grew up an orphan? Lied to? You foul creature!"

Pettigrew fell back to the middle of the room. He finally reached out for Harry, crying his apologies.

   "Harry... Harry! You look just like your father, just like him.."

"How dare you speak to him!" Both Remus and Sirius rushed forward and seized Pettigrew by the shoulders. They threw him backward on the floor.

   "You sold Lily and James Potter to Voldemort. Do you deny it?"

   Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, he looked like an oversized and balding baby.

   "Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord, you have no idea... he has weapons you can't imagine... I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James and Addie–"

   "You'd been passing information to him for a year before Lily and James died! You were his spy!" bellowed Black.

   "He– he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "W-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

   "What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who's ever existed?" said Black, with terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

   "You don't understand! He would have killed me, Sirius!"

   "THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" The sheer volume of Black's voice startled Cassie. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

   "You should have realized, Peter," said Lupin, in a starkly contrasted quietness compared to Sirius's roaring, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter."

   "NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front of Pettigrew. "You can't kill him. You can't."

   "Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Black snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."

   "I know," Harry said quietly. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors.. he can go to Azkaban.. but don't kill him."

   "Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. Cassie threw herself forward and pulled Harry out of his grasp, holding onto the boy's shoulders.

   "Harry, what are you doing?" she hissed, glancing over her shoulder at the sobbing man. "He– he– you know what he did!"

  "I know. I– I don't think my parents would have wanted to become killers.." he said, and his face was set. "He needs to go to Azkaban, Cassie; if anyone deserves that place, it's him."

   "Very well," Remus said after a tense moment of silence. "Stand aside, you two."

   Cassie moved quickly, but Harry hesitated.

   "I'm just going to tie him up. That's all, I swear."

   As soon as Harry had stepped to the side, thin cords that had shot from Snape's wand erupted and bound Pettigrew.

   "But if you transform, Peter," growled Black, "we will kill you. You agree, Harry?"

   Harry gazed down at the pitiful figure on the floor, squirming and wriggling around, and nodded his head.

   "Right," said Remus, suddenly businesslike. "Ron, I can't mend leg bones nearly as well as I can ankles, so I think it's best if we just strap up your leg until we can get you to the hospital wing."

   He moved over to Ron's side and tapped his knee with his wand. "Ferula," he muttered. Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly in a splint. Ron gingerly stood, put his weight on both feet, and didn't since.

   "That's better," he said in the most coherent statement Cassie had heard from his mouth all night. "Thanks."

   "What about Professor Snape?" Hermione asked in a small voice.

   "Well.. there's nothing wrong with him," Remus said, bending over to check his pulse. "You were just a little.. over enthusiastic. Still out cold. Perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this.."

   He muttered, "Mobilicorpus." As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrists, neck, and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling. Remus picked up the Invisibility Cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket.

   "Two of us should be chained to this one," said Black, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to be sure."

   "I'll do it," Remus suggested.

   "And me," Ron limped forward.

   Black conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again; left arm chained to Lupin's right, right arm to Ron's left. Ron's face was set. He seemed to have taken Scabbers's true identity as a personal insult.

   Cassie had never been apart of a stranger group. Crookshanks took the lease all the way down the stairs; Remus, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like entrants in a six-legged ace. Next came Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by his own wand, which was pointed at him by Sirius from behind Harry and Hermione and in front of Cassie.

   Getting back into the tunnel was difficult. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it. Cassie could see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file.

   Sirius Black made conversation with Harry on the way back to the castle, but it wasn't as though Cassie particularly minded. What was one supposed to say to their father that they didn't know was their father until just recently and only found out ten minutes ago that he wasn't a mass murderer? At one point, Harry and Sirius exclaimed something to each other, and the two grinned. Cassie trudged along behind them wordlessly.

   The grounds were very dark by the time they emerged from the base of the Whomping Willow. The only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. They treaded through the grounds silently, the castle lights slowly growing larger. And then–

   A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight. Snape collided with the three at the front, who had stopped abruptly. Sirius froze. He flung out one arm to grab Harry and Hermione and the other arm to stop Cassie from walking any further.

   Cassie could see Remus's silhouette. He had gone rigid; then his limbs began to shake.

   "He forgot to take his potion tonight," she breathed.

   "Run," Sirius whispered. "Now. Run."

   But they couldn't. Ron was still chained to Pettigrew and Remus. Harry leapt forward, but Sirius caught him around the chest and threw him back. "Leave it to me – RUN!"

   There was a terrible snarling noise. Remus's head was lengthening. His shoulders were hunching, hair was sprouting on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks was even backing away slowly.

   As the werewolf reared, snapping its jaws, Sirius dropped to the floor – Cassie realized he'd fully transformed. The enormous dog leapt from their sides and bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself from the chains binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from Ron and Pettigrew.

   Cassie watched, frozen in fear. It was Hermione's scream that snapped her back to reality. Pettigrew had dived for Remus's dropped wand. Ron, unsteady on his leg, fell. There was a bang, and Ron laid motionless on the ground. Another bang – Crookshanks flew into the air and back to the earth in a heap.

   "Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted, pointing his own wand at Pettigrew. "Stay where you are!"

   It was too late; Pettigrew had transformed. His bald tail whipped through the chains on Ron's outstretched arm and Cassie watched it whip through the grass.

   "Sirius! He's gone! He transformed!" Harry yelled to the dog, who laid with a gash on his head. He snapped up in an instant and bounded off. Harry, Hermione, and Cassie dashed over to Ron.

   "What did he do?" Hermione whispered. Ron's eyes were only half closed, his mouth hung open. He was definitely alive, they could hear him breathing.

   "I don't know.." Harry said, glancing around. "We– we'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone. Come–"

   But then, from beyond the range of their vision, they heard a yelping, a whining; a dog in pain.

   "Sirius," Harry muttered, staring into the darkness. It barely took him a moment to decide; and in the blink of an eye, him and Hermione had bounded off to the lakeshore. Cassie stayed, kneeling by Ron's unconscious figure.

   When Snape first awoke, she didn't notice. She'd laid down next to Ron, holding her head in her hands. How had her life gone from perfectly normal to majorly f–

   "LUPIN!"

   If she thought she'd heard Snape mad before, this was an entirely different level. Quickly, she pretended she was passed out next to Ron, shutting her eyes and breathing evenly when Snape approached. He muttered something to himself, and there was a pause, before Cassie felt herself being lifted into the air and onto a stretcher.

   Apparently, Cassie's adrenaline had finally run out, as she actually did pass out on that stretcher.

    "...Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape... they obviously thought they were going to catch him single-handed. And of course Potter has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster–"

   "Ah, well, Snape.. Harry Potter, you know... we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned."

   "And yet – is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat him like any other student. And any other student would be suspended, at the very least, for leading his friends into such danger. Consider, Minister – against all school rules – after all the precarious cautions put into place for his protection – out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer – and I have reason to believe he's been illegally visiting Hogsmeade–"

   "Ah, well, we shall see, Snape, we shall see. The boy has been undoubtedly foolish..."

   Cassie, who laid awake, with her back facing the door where Snape and the Minister stood, watched Harry's sleeping figure closely. She looked for any sign he was awake, any unnatural twitch... and then, she got one. His shoulder moved to the side, as though he was trying to move closer to the conversation.

   Snape and Fudge continued their ridiculously thick banter, Snape occasionally throwing in a remark about how reckless Harry was, but Cassie zoned in and out. Her mind was still racing from the moments before as she finally peeled her eyes all the way open.

    Harry had already sat up a tad. Hermione shifted in her bed on the other side of Harry, and Cassie realized she was awake too.

   "Ah, you're up!" the voice of Madam Pomfrey said, though it was difficult to tell who she was talking to. The only one who still seemed to be asleep was Ron. She set a giant boulder of chocolate on Harry's bedside.

   "How's Ron?" Hermione and Harry asked at the same time.

   "He'll live," Madam Pomfrey said, though the tone of her voice was grim. "As for you two.. you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're – Potter, what do you think you're doing?"

   Harry had been standing up, putting his glasses back on, and picking up his wand. Cassie sat up, reaching slowly for the glass of water on her bedside table.

   "I need to see the headmaster."

   "Potter," said Madam Pomfrey soothingly, "it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs, the dementors will be performing the Kiss any moment now–"

   "What?" Cassie asked with a raspy voice, suddenly forgetting about the glass of water in her hand and spilling it on her sheets. Madam Pomfrey sighed, but walked over and dried her bed with her wand.

   "Harry, Harry, what's this?" Fudge and Snape had entered the hospital wing. "You should be in bed – has he had any chocolate?"

    "Minister, listen!" Harry said. "Sirius Black is innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death, we saw him! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's–"

   Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile on his face. "Harry, Harry. You're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal. Lie back down, we've got everything under control...."

    "YOU HAVEN'T!" Harry shouted. "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"

   "Minister, he's telling the truth," Hermione said quickly, rushing to Harry's side. "Ron's rat – he was an Animagus, it's really Peter Pettigrew–"

   "You see?" Snape said dully. "Black's Confunded the lot of them."

   "WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry shouted.

   "Minister! Professor! I must insist that you leave. Potter is my patient, and he should not be distressed!"

   "I'm not distressed, if they'd just listen–" Madam Pomfrey cut Harry off by shoving a chunk of chocolate into his mouth, which he proceeded to choke on for a moment.

   "Now, please, Minister, these children need care. Please leave–"

   The door opened again and Dumbledore walked in. Harry hastily sat up again.

   "Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black–"

   "For heaven's sake! Is this a hospital wing or not?" cried Madam Pomfrey. "Headmaster, I must insist–"

   "My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with these three," said Dumbledore calmly. "I have just been talking with Sirius Black–"

   "I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" spat Snape. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive–"

   "That, indeed, is Black's story," said Dumbledore, nodding his head slowly.

   "And does my evidence count for nothing? Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds."

   "Because you were in knocked out, Professor, you didn't arrive in time–"

   "Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"

   "Now, Snape," said Fudge, looking startled, "the young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances–"

   "I would like to speak with Harry, Hermione, and Cassie alone," Dumbledore said abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy – please leave us."

   "Headmaster!" sputtered Madam Pomfrey. "They need treatment, they need rest–"

   "This cannot wait. I must insist."

   Madam Pomfrey reluctantly strode back into her office at the end of the ward. Fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.

   "The dementors should have arrived by now. I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs."

   "You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered to Dumbledore once Fudge had walked off.

   "I wish to speak with my students alone," Dumbledore repeated. Snape took a step towards the headmaster.

   "Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen. You haven't forgotten that? You haven't forgotten he once tried to kill me?"

   "My memory is good as ever, Severus," Dumbledore's tone suggested he did not want to take this further. Snape pursed his lips and turned on his heel, marching after the Minister.

   Once the door had closed, Harry and Hermione burst into speech at the same time.

   "Professor, Black's telling the truth, we saw Pettigrew–"

   "He escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf–"

   "– he's a rat –"

   "– Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off –"

   "Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius!"

   But Dumbledore had turned to face Cassie, who had pulled her knees to her chest and rested her cheek on her knee, watching the scene play out wordlessly.

   "Miss Black, is there anything you would like to add?" he asked calmly. Harry and Hermione turned to Cassie with wide and curious eyes.

   Cassie inhaled deeply and sat up, turning in her bed to face Harry and Hermione. She glanced at Dumbledore for encouragement and he nodded, his eyes sparkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

   "Remember, Harry, Hermione, we've not got much time, so please save your reactions until all is well and this is over," he said. "Continue, Cassie."

   "I'm... I'm Sirius Black's daughter," she said, slowly and very carefully. She glanced at Dumbledore again, and he had a faint smile on his lips.

   When she looked back at Harry and Hermione, they had matching expressions on their faces. Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Dumbledore cut him off.

   "Now, I believe it's my turn," he said, blocking the reactions from the other two teenagers. "I beg you will not interrupt me, as there is very little time. There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story except your word – and the word of three thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody, I'm afraid. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius Black murder Peter Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper."

   "Professor Lupin can tell you–"

   "Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone anything. By the time he is human again, it will be too late, Sirius will be worse than dead. I might add that werewolves are so mistrusted by our kind that his support will count for very little – and the fact that he and Sirius are old friends–"

   "But–"

   "Listen to me, Harry, it is too late. You must see that Professor Snape's version of events is far more convincing than yours."

   "He hates Sirius! All because of some stupid trick Sirius played on him–"

   "Sirius has not acted like an innocent man. The attack on the Fat Lady, entering the Gryffindor common room.. without Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence."

   "But you believe us?"

   "I do," said Dumbledore quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic.. what we need," he looked to Hermione, the twinkle back in his eyes, "is more time."

   "But–" Hermione began. And then, her eyes became very wide. "Oh!"

   "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this; you must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law – you know what is at stake. You must not be seen."

   Cassie hadn't a clue what was going on. Dumbledore had turned on his heel and was walking out.

   "I am going to lock you in. It is–" he consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

   "Good luck?" Harry repeated as the door closed and the lock clicked. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do?"

   Hermione was fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling from beneath them a very long gold chain. "Harry, come here. Quick!"

   She threw the chain around their necks.

   "Cassie, I'm sorry, but your ankle..." Hermione said apologetically, and all Cass remembered was Hermione turning the gold hourglass on the chain once, twice, three times, and then her friends evaporated from the center of the hospital wing. Not even a moment later, the doors were pushed open, and Harry and Hermione were there again, breathless.

   Cassie hadn't a moment to react, as Madam Pomfrey entered the room again, fussing about chocolate and 'not being allowed to take care of her patients'. Cassie accepted the chocolate quietly. When Pomfrey returned to her office, she turned to face her friends, eager to ask what the bloody hell just happened, when a roar of fury sounded from above.

   "HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE! YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH POTTER!"

   "Severus, be reasonable, Harry's been locked in the–"

"What did you do?" she hissed to her friends. Just as Harry swallowed his chocolate to reply, the door of the hospital wing barged open. Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward.

Dumbledore looked quite calm. Actually, he seemed he was quite enjoying himself. Fudge seemed angry, but Snape was beside himself.

   "OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

   "Professor Snape!" shrieked Madam Pomfrey. "Control yourself!"

   "See here, Snape, be reasonable," Fudge said. "This door's been locked, we just saw–"

   "THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at Harry in particular. It was a wonder his shouting hadn't awoken Ron.

   "Calm down, man!" barked Fudge. "You're talking nonsense!"

   "YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!" shrieked Snape. "HE DID IT! I KNOW HE DID IT–"

   "That will do, Severus," Dumbledore said quietly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?"

   "Of course not! I would have heard them!"

   "Well, there you have it, Severus. Unless you are suggesting that these students are capable of being in two places at once – which, I remind you, is quite impossible – I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

   Snape and Dumbledore had a stare off, but the headmaster kept his ground. Finally, Fudge and a Snape exited the hospital wing, Fudge muttering about the Hippogriff and Sirius Black getting loose, all in one night..

   Cassie fell asleep right as she heard Ron wake with a low moan.