FORTY-THREE

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— 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 —

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𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

' *•.¸.•** . **•.¸.•*'


"S-SIRIUS...R-REMUS..." Pettigrew squeaked. "My old friends..."

Black's raised his wand but Lupin quickly seized him round the wrist, giving him a warning look, then turned back to Pettigrew.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed—"

"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, "you don't believe him, do you? He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too!"

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin.

"Sorted things out?" Pettigrew squealed. He began muttering distractedly, Cassiopeia paying attention to how his eyes kept darting towards the windows and door. She held her wand tightly in case he would try something.

"Er — Mr Black — Sirius?" said Hermione timidly.

Black jumped at being addressed that way, as though being spoken to politely was something he'd forgotten.

"If you don't mind me asking, how — how did you get out of Azkaban?"

Black frowned slightly, seeming to be pondering his answer.

"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me... but it kept me sane and knowing who I am... helped me keep my powers... so when it all became... too much... I could transform in my cell... become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know..." He swallowed.

"They feel their way towards people by sensing their emotions... they could tell that my feelings were less — less human, less complex when I was a dog... but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand...

"But then I saw Peter in that picture... I realised he was at Hogwarts with Harry... perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again..."

Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though hypnotised.

"... ready to strike the moment he could be sure of allies... to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honours... So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive..."It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the Dementors couldn't destroy it... it wasn't a happy feeling... it was an obsession... but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog... it's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused... I was thin, very thin... thin enough to slip through the bars... I swam as a dog back to the mainland... I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog... I've been living in the Forest ever since... except when I come to watch the quidditch, of course... you fly as well as your father did, Harry..."

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