The Girl who Survived (Fred Weasley)

CH 18. The Truth about Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail

~Elodie's POV~

​His eyes were glued to Harry and me. Eyeing us up and down. Studying us. Probably thinking of a million ways to torture and kill us. Oh God we've served ourselves on a silver platter. And what's worse. I've been helping him build his strength all the time. The man who betrayed our parents. The reason Harry and I have been separated all these years.
Hermione moved to stand in front of me and Harry to shield us from him, and I wrapped my arms behind me to further cover Harry.
"If you want to Kill Harry and Elodie you'll have to kill us too," Hermione said through her shaking voice.
"No. Only one will die tonight," He told us with a grim smile on his face. Absolutely terrifying.
I felt Harry Push past me, "Then it'll be you," He said and lunged Black to the ground.
"Harry no!" I shouted at him. I began to reach for him, but Hermione pulled me back.
She pulled her lips to my ear and said, "You don't have your wand, if you do anything, you risk hitting Harry."
Harry pulled Black to the ground and pressed his wand to his face. They were close enough that I could focus in on Black but with Harry being so close it'd still be too much of a risk.
"Are you going to kill me Harry?" He snickered looking at Harry. "And you're just going to watch?" He moved his head up so he could lock eyes with me.
With a sudden slam the door thrust open and professor Lupin burst through yelling "Expelliarmus!" Causing Harry Wand to fly somewhere in the hallway. He nudged his head to signal to Harry to move. He had the situation under control. Harry moved over to me and Hermione and I grabbed onto him
"Well, well, Sirius. Looking a bit ragged, aren't we? Finally, the skin reflects the madness within," Professor Lupin Said as he approached him.
"Well, you'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you, Remus?" Black told him.
Staring at each other Lupin dropped his wand and reached out a hand to help black up, and they quickly embraced. We looked at them in disbelief. Lupin was holing onto him like they were once again old friends, ignoring the fact his friend was a traitor, a murder. They were mumbling something to each other too low for us to hear. I felt the anger quickly building inside me, it was on my fingertips ready for destruction. I pushed Harry closer to Hermione and then stepped closer to the grown men.
"No! I trusted you! And all this time you've been his friend!" I shouted at Lupin, angry that I had let Harry get close to him. I turned to Harry, Hermione and Ron, "He's a werewolf! That's why he's been missing classes!" I said.
"How long have you known?" Lupin asked me as he eyed me suspiciously.
"Since the night in the library, but I suspected when Professor Snape set the essay," I answered him. I felt myself tense as he began walking towards me.
"Well, well, Elodie, you really are the brightest witch I have ever met, your parents really would be so proud," He told me.
Behind him Black looked like he was having a full-blown panic attack. "Enough talk Remus come on. Let's kill 'em," He said. There it was. I know I either heard him say him or them. But behind his hysterics it was hard to make out.
"Wait!" Lupin shouted at him.
"I did my waiting! Twelve years of it! In Azkaban!" Black shouted.
It sent chills down my spine and stumbled back into Harry who quickly grabbed onto me defensively. We were in this together. Like we weren't before. My little brother and me.
Lupin stared at Black, as if he were seeing reason. As if he agreed with him. He turned to look at Harry and me and agreed. Handing over his wand to black, "Very well," He said.
Like a bolt of lightning I felt reassurance run through my body, a different type of warming feeling. I quickly grabbed Harry's hand and whispered, "It's going to be okay." Though I wasn't sure I believed it.
"But wait one more minute, Harry and Elodie have the right to know why," Lupin told him.
"I know why," I said looking Black dead in the eye.
"You betrayed our parents. You're the reason they're dead," Harry said.
"No, it wasn't him. Somebody did betray your parents, but it was somebody who until quite recently I believed to be dead," Lupin explained.
"Who was it then?" I shouted stepping forward.
"Peter Pettigrew," Black cried out. "And he's in this room, right now," He continued gesturing around the room. "Come out, come out, Peter...Come out, come out and play," He sang.
"Expelliarmus!" Professor Snape says as he disarms Black and steps into the room.
Hermione moved closer to Ron, and in doing so I felt her tug gently on my shirt to follow. Instead I moved Harry over. If anything happened to me Hermione would be able to help him since she still had her wand.
"Ah, vengeance is sweet. How I hoped I'd be the one to catch you," Snape said to Black. "I told Dumbledore you were helping your old friend into the castle. And here's the proof," He said to Lupin.
"Brilliant snape! Once again, you've put your keen and penetrative mind to the task, and as usual come to the wrong conclusion. Now if you'll excuse us, Remus and I have a bit of unfinished business to tend to," Black said and then got a throat full of wand from Snape.
"Give me a reason. I beg you," Snape told him.
Lupin and black start going back and forth trying to get Snape to back down, but they end up sounding like a bickering married couple.
I see Harry reach for Hermione's wand, and I nudge his hand gently, "After Me", I mouth to him and he nod's back at me slightly.
"I could do it you know. But why deny the dementor's? They're so longing to see you. The dementors kiss, one can only imagine what that must be like to endure. It's said to be unbearable to witness. But I'll do my best. After you" Snape said and gestured with his head for us to lead the way out.
I raise a hand slightly and see Black flinch away. I release an Expelliarmus from my finger and watched Professor Snape go flying back taking the bed and a staircase with him.
"How did she do that?" Black asked Lupin panicked.
"Elodie you missed!" Ron yells at me.
"You attacked a teacher," Hermione cries.
Quickly Harry is at my side holding up a wand if either man tried to come too close. "Tell us more about Peter Pettigrew," he demanded.
"He was at school with us. We thought he was a friend," Lupin explained.
"No. Pettigrew's dead. He killed him," Harry said as he gestured to black with the wand.
"No, he didn't," Lupin said and jumped to stand in front of Black to shield him from harry. "I thought so, too. Until you mentioned seeing Pettigrew on the Map."
"That tattered old thing? The map was lying then-" I said.
"The Map never lies. Pettigrew's alive. And he's right there," Black said pointing a skinny finger at Ron. All the color dropped from Ron's face as he went white with fear.
"M-Me? He's mental-" Ron said stuttering.
"Not you, y- Your rat!" Black explained.
"Scabbers has been in my family for –" Ron began.
"Twelve years. A curiously long life for a common garden rat. He's missing a toe, isn't he?" Black said bitterly as he slowly moved over to Ron.
"All they could find of Pettigrew was his–" Harry began quietly.
"Finger. The dirty coward cut it off so everyone would think he was dead. Then he transformed into a rat," Black explained. In a world of magic I's hard not to believe it. I needed to know if it was true. And Harry did too.
"Show me," I demanded. Black reached to grab scabbers, but Ron wouldn't release him from his grasp. "Give it to him Ron," I said.
Hermione was holding Ron back who was trying to stand on his town leg. Meanwhile Lupin and black were trying to transform the rat. After missing a few times, the terrible creature transformed into a round, grubby handed, short mad who wouldn't stop sniffing like a rat.
The pulled him from the door and into the middle of the room. "S-Sirius... R-Remus. My old friends," He said and tried to make a run for the door, but they threw them back. He turned to look at Harry and me. Both of us still in disbelief.
"Elodie? Harry! Look at the two of you, you look just like your parents. Like Lily and James. We were the best of friends the three of us—" Peter said as he approached us.
Black jumped in front of us which made Peter move back to hide behind the piano, "How dare you speak to Harry and Elodie! How dare you talk about Lily and James in front of them!"
"You sold James and Lily out to Voldemort, didn't you?" Lupin accused. Wand pointed ready to take fire should Peter make a wrong move.
"I didn't mean to!" Peter Cried. "The Dark Lord, you have no idea the weapons he possesses! Ask yourself what you would have done, Sirius. What would you have done!"
"I would have died! Died rather than betray my friends!" Black said to him as Peter crawled under the piano like the rat that he is. I pulled Harry over with me to stand in the doorway and block any path of escape.
"Harry! James wouldn't have wanted me killed. Elodie, your mom, your mom would spare me," Peter said, holding us and wafting his vile breath over our faces. "They would have shown me mercy!" He yelled as Black and Lupin pulled him away.
"You should have realized, Peter, if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would! Together!" Black said and then lunged slightly.
"No!" I shouted. Harry looked at me and, in that instant, I knew we shared a thought.
​"Elodie, this man is—" Lupin began.
​"We know what he is. But we'll take him to the castle," Harry said for me. Peter fell to his knees and looked like he wanted to begin praying.
​"Oh, bless you dear children, Bless you—"
​"Get off! I said we'd take you to the castle," Harry told him.
"After that, the Dementors can have you," I said, and I felt a cloud over my eyes, but I could still see. It was like looking through a morning mist. Without thinking I flicked my forefinger up to control his body and raise him to his feet as he whimpered the whole time. I felt Harry touch my hand and I blinked my eyes clear and released Peter from my hold.
I walked out in front of everyone else so I could coax the Whomping willow to calm down into a gentle sleep. Harry helped Sirius carry Ron's weakened body and rest him just outside with Hermione while we wait for Lupin.
I tugged Harry's sleeve and gestured to Sirius who was gazing up at the castle. "Come on," I said, and he begins walking behind me.
"Beautiful, isn't it? I'll never forget the first time I walked through those doors. It'll be nice to do it again as a free man," Sirius said, not breaking his gaze. "My best days back have been the ones you came to visit me," He said looking at me from the corner of his eye.
"You knew," Harry asked, glaring at me.
"I thought it— I thought he was just a black dog living out on the grounds. I didn't know it was you," I said looking up at Sirius. "Now that I think about it, I guess it makes sense. The way you would smell my hair and look at me when I talked. I thought I had finally gone mental."
"That was a noble thing you two did back there. He doesn't deserve it," Sirius said.
"Well I just think my dad wouldn't want his two best friends to become killers," Harry told him. I didn't correct him, I just let this one slide.
"Besides, dead, the truth dies with him. Alive...you're free," I explain.
"I don't know if you two know this, but when you were both born, James and Lily made me your godfather," Sirius said.
"We know," Harry and I answered in unison, a bit sadly.
"And, well, I'll understand if Harry, you choose to stay with your aunt and uncle, and Elodie you choose to stay with Minerva...but if you two ever wanted a different home..." Sirius said before trailing off. Harry and I looked away from him and back at each other, then back at him.
"What? Come and live with you?" Harry asked.
"Well, it's just a thought, I can understand if you don't want to..." Sirius began saying, I'm sure he felt embarrassed slightly .
"When?" I asked and felt his head snap to look at me as I wore a smile on my face.
"Harry!" Hermione called loudly.
It was a full moon tonight. And we were out here with Moony. A werewolf. Who as soon as he gazed at the full moon looked like he had begun shifting forms. Sirius ran over to him and began speaking words of encouragement to him to try and stop the shift, but it wasn't working. Losing control of his limbs Lupin dropped his wand which Peter quickly picked up and turned himself back into a rat and ran away.
"Run!" Sirius yelled at us. Lupin had fully changed into a werewolf and flung Sirius out of the way.
"Come on," I whispered to them so we could try and quietly sneak away.
"Wait! Wait," Hermione said and began walking to Lupin.
"Hermione, bad idea" Ron whimpered after her.
"Professor?" Hermione said to the whimpering werewolf. "Professor Lupin?" She said again and was met by a large howl that made her stumble back into us. The werewolf began approaching us slowly with a growl growing in its chest.
"Nice doggy, nice doggy," Ron said as we tried to slowly step back.
From the tunnel we saw Professor Snape emerge and angrily approach us putting him in the way of the werewolf. "There you are Potters," he said. Lupin let out a growl and Professor Snape turned to cover us, taking a scratch in the process, but threw Harry and I away. The werewolf began approaching us. Harry pulled me closer and as I heard four paws steps approaching, I raised my hands to produce a shielding wall which allowed Sirius to drag Lupin across and away from us.
"Nice aim," Harry said.
"I have no idea how I did that," I told him honestly. Now was not the time to lie.
The Werewolf and the Animagus began fighting in front of us. One trying to inch closer the other trying to pull him away. Snape stood and put Harry and I protectively behind him again. And just before the werewolf got too close Sirius bit his arm and dragged him to follow him away.
"Sirius!" I said after them. Harry took off instantly, I delayed a moment and was caught by the collar by snape which caused me to fall back into him.
"Come back here Potter!" Snape yelled out to Harry.
"Let me go, I need to help them!" I said to Snape.
"Elodie, if there are dementors out here they'll go after you too!" Hermione told me cautiously.
"Why me?" I asked her, confused as my eyes started shifting feeling the anger boiling in me. Snape put a finger under my chin to lift my head and watch as my eyes shifted back and forth. "I can't see," I told him.
"So, it's true," Snape said. "They'll feed off you because you are a breeding ground for dark magic," Snape said, releasing me. I took a step back staring at him not sure of what to do. In a split decision, I began running to Harry.
"Harry!" I said behind him just as he had knocked the werewolf in the head with a rock. It began approaching him, arm raised ready to attack, and we heard another in the distance. There was a pause for a moment while it decided weather of not to find its mate or to go for the kill. A second howl sounded off and the werewolf left to go find it.
I walked down to harry and put a hand on his face, "Are you alright?" I asked.
"Fine, but Sirius," He said and looked over.
We looked over to a bit of tall gras and heard a how turn into a grunt. The dog fell and Sirius stood. Then he tumbled down. We went running down to try and find him to bring him back up. But he kept getting closer into the forest nearing the Black lake. We found him laying at the edge of a creek that led from the Black lake
"Sirius?" I said approaching his limp body on the floor.
"Sirius!" Harry said louder to wake him.
The lake began to freeze over. Like it would in the middle of winter to allow people to ice skate on it. It became solid ice.
"Harry, we have a problem," I said as I looked around.
"What's that?" he asked.
Sirius began screaming terrified as he had seen the Dementors approaching. One at a time they began swooping in taking a bit of Sirius along with them. Before I could stand to cast a Patronus I felt one swoop in sideways and take a bit of me too. I felt like my head was exploding. Like if I was being ripped in half. Like if death would seem better.
I felt lightheaded. I looked over and saw Harry raise to his feet. And cast his Patronus. But it only lasted a minute before they began taking bits of him as well, causing him to let out toe curling screams.
They were feasting on us.
Relishing In our pain.
I looked up and saw they had taken everything from Sirius. His last bit of energy fading away. And then I saw him. My dad. Prongs.
And then I fell asleep.