ONLY LIGHT. harry potter

╰➢ the marauder's tale

— "NICOLE, DEAR. LET THEM EXPLA—"

"For Merlin's sake, dad!" It was Aurora who screamed. "What are you doing here?"

"Have you been helping him too?" Nicole asked, her eyes darting between Sirus and her father. She couldn't comprehend the absurdity of the situation, why was her father, who knew very well she was friends with Harry, trying to help a murderer kill him?

"I have not been helping Sirius," said her father. "And frankly, I've only been here since this morning. If you'll give Remus a chance, he'll explain."

"Look—" Lupin started, separating Harry's, Nicole's, Ron's and Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner.

"There," said Lupin, sticking his own wand back into his belt "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

"If you haven't been helping him," he said, with a furious glance at Black, "how did you know he was here?"

"The map," said Lupin. "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it —"

"You know how to work it?" Nicole said suspiciously.

"Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin, waving his hand impatiently. "I helped write it. I'm Moony — that was my friends' nickname for me at school. Your dad is Crowsfeet."

Nicole looked at her dad in shock, while Aurora had no idea what they were talking about.

The younger twin rose a hand and pointed it at her father. "You wrote —?"

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron, Nicole and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his Hippogriff was executed. To my surprise, Aurora was there too. And I was right, wasn't I?"

They nodded furiously.

"But here's the thing, you were accompanied by someone else."

"Yeah!" Nicole exclaimed, pointing at Sirus. "Him!"

"Sirus came after, it wasn't him." Lupin stated. "But it was somebody who, until quite recently, I believed to be dead!"

"Who was it, then?"

They were only met with silence. Aurora was still staring at her father in disbelief.

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he said evenly.

"What?" said Ron. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything," said Lupin. "Could I see him, please?"

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping.

"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly.

"What d'you mean — of course he's a rat —"

"No, he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," said Black, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

"You're mental!" Nicole exclaimed, placing an arm around Ron and Scabbers once again.

"Ridiculous!" said Hermione faintly.

"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" said Harry, pointing at Sirus. "He killed him twelve years ago!"

"I meant to!" Sirus growled. "but little Peter got the better of me... not this time, though—" the man lunged forward and tried to grab Scabbers from Ron, but Nicole kicked his face away before he could do anything.