Crookshanks | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 46

There was another blinding flash of light and the next moment, in a blink of an eye, the rat started transforming and growing into a human. A second later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands.

      Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed, the hair on her back standing up. This was the man who had betrayed Lily and James. He was the reason they were dead. He was the reason Sirius was stuck in Azkaban for twelve miserable years.

     "Well, hello, Peter," said Remus pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."

     "S — Sirius... R — Remus..." Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friends... my old friends..."

Sirius's wand arm rose the moment Pettigrew made a move, but Remus seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning look.

"I should kill you without blinking an eye," Sirius snarled, but Pettigrew fell to his knees before him, whimpering.

"Sirius — it's me... it's Peter... your friend... you wouldn't..." Sirius kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," said Sirius coldly.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Remus instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this... wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Remus. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus," said Sirius.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Remus, who was now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course," said Sirius, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," said Remus grimly.

"You wouldn't... you won't...," gasped Pettigrew. And he scrambled around to Harry. "Harry... Harry... you look just like your father... just like him..."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" Sirius roared. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands out-stretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed... James would have understood, Harry... he would have shown me mercy..."

Both Sirius and Remus strode forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said Sirius, who was shaking too, but with anger. "Do you deny it?"

Jenna's yellow eyes were fixed on the man, feeling a hatred in her chest that she had never felt before. One wrong move, and I'll kill him myself...

Pettigrew burst into tears, cowering on the floor. "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. I never meant it to happen... He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me —"

"DON'T LIE!" Sirius bellowed. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"

Jenna couldn't believe how blind they had been. Back then, they had all been approached by Death Eaters, who told them that they either joined the Dark Lord, or died. They had all put up a fight, but Pettigrew had easily lied and said he had not yet been approached by Death Eaters. Little did they know that he'd already joined their force.