Towers - Fred Weasley

15

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EBONY STARES AT THE RAT IN RON'S HANDS FOR A MOMENT. Silence follows Black's words until Ron decides to speak up again. 

"You're both mental."

"Ridiculous!" adds Hermione faintly.

"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" Harry says. "He killed him twelve years ago!" He points at Black, whose face twitches convulsively.

"I meant to," he growls, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me ... not this time, though!"

And Crookshanks is thrown to the floor as Black lunges at Scabbers; Ron yells with pain as Black's weight falls on his broken leg.

"Sirius, NO!" Lupin yells, launching himself forwards and dragging Black away from Ron again. "WAIT! You can't do it just like that — they need to understand — we've got to explain —"

"We can explain afterwards!" snarls Black, trying to throw Lupin off. One hand is still clawing the air as it tries to reach Scabbers, who is squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tries to escape.

"They've — got — a — right — to — know — everything!" Lupin pants, still trying to restrain Black. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand! And Harry — you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!" Yet the man continues to trash. "Alright! You owe your daughter the truth!" 

Black stops struggling, though his hollowed eyes are still fixed on Scabbers, who is clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, and bleeding hands.

"All right, then," Black says, without taking his eyes off the rat. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for. . . ."

"You're nutters, both of you," says Ron shakily, looking round at Harry and Hermione for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off."

He tries to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin raises his wand again, pointing it at Scabbers.

"You're going to hear me out, Ron," he says quietly. "Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."

"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yells, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket, but Scabbers is fighting too hard; Ron sways and overbalances, and Harry catches him and pushes him back down to the bed. Then, ignoring Black, Harry turns to Lupin.

"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," he says. "A whole street full of them . . ."

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" replies Black savagely, still watching Scabbers struggling in Ron's hands.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," Lupin says, nodding. "I believed it myself — until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's Map never lies . . . Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."

A moment of silence follows. Ebony sighs and leans her back against the wall, trying to make sense of all of this. Then Hermione speaks up. 

"But Professor Lupin . . . Scabbers can't be Pettigrew . . . it just can't be true, you know it can't . . ."

"Why can't it be true?" Lupin asks calmly, as though they are in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with grindylows.

"Because . . . because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework — the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things . . . and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list —"