Harry was abruptly pulled back from unconsciousness, jolted into awareness by someone's magic. Before opening his eyes, he instinctively assessed his condition. He was intact, save for a few bruises that suggested he had been dragged rather than levitated. His wand remained secured in its holster, but he knew he wouldn't be able to use it—his body was ensnared in magical ropes that rendered him immobile.
At last, he opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. He found himself in a disheveled, dust-laden room with peeling wallpaper and dark stains on the floor, some unmistakably resembling old blood. The furniture was in tatters, much of it practically destroyed. The boarded windows admitted only a sliver of light, making it difficult to gauge the time of day. In fact, he thought, with the claw marks and strands of torn fur strewn about, this place would fit right into a horror film.
Shaking his head, Harry tried to piece together where he might be. The faint light suggested it was early afternoon. However, that didn't help much in identifying his location. Taking a wild guess, he speculated that he was somewhere in the Shrieking Shack; knowing the chaotic nature of the wizarding world, his kidnapper likely wouldn't have dragged him far from where the attack had taken place.
Then his gaze shifted, and he finally spotted the man responsible for his abduction from Hogwarts. The figure looked unhealthy and unkempt, with matted hair hanging to his elbows and pallid skin that indicated he hadn't seen the sun in years. The man was gaunt, his bone structure painfully visible, but his eyes glimmered with an unsettling brightness from the deep sockets of his skeletal face.
"I'm sorry, Harry," he rasped, revealing himself to be Sirius Black. His smile was lackluster, marred by yellowing teeth that would horrify even the most forgiving dentist. "But this was the only way I could think of to make you listen." Harry, unsure of how to respond to the escaped convict, remained silent. "Anyway," Sirius continued, gesturing toward a cage perched on a battered table, "this rat is the source of this entire fiasco." Inside the cage, a rat was frantically attempting to escape, its movements almost human.
"So… this is Peter Pettigrew?" Harry asked, locking his gaze on the rat and stunning both Sirius and the creature into silence. The rat froze, its attempts at liberation forgotten. After a moment, Sirius regained his composure.
"H-How did you know that?" Smith's eyes bore into Harry's, as if trying to unravel the secrets of his mind. Harry shrugged within the constraints of his bonds. Although to an outsider it appeared he was resigned, he was actually diverting Sirius's attention from his own efforts to loosen the magical ropes.
"A couple of students I know have a rather detailed map of Hogwarts that shows everyone's location." He hoped his truthful answer wouldn't land the Weasley twins in trouble. Sirius paused, then erupted into laughter, sounding somewhat unhinged.
"Maybe our little map wasn't as misplaced in Filch's office as we thought! I'll have to meet these new Marauders after we sort this mess out!" Harry hadn't anticipated that reaction. "But we're digressing," Sirius continued, recovering from his mirth. "Yes, this rat is indeed Peter Pettigrew in his animagus form. And this little bastard is the reason you don't live with your parents, Harry… although I share a significant portion of the blame for their deaths."
Harry, still restrained but managing to loosen the bindings more than a little, growled at Sirius.
"Explain." It was an authoritative command, no matter how peculiar it might sound. Surprisingly, Sirius complied.
"Um…" Sirius hesitated, unsure of where to begin. "When you were born, You-Know-Who was terrorizing the wizarding world, and your parents, along with many others, were actively fighting against him. They were skilled and quickly rose to the top of his hit list. Once you were born, James and Lily went into hiding. Initially, their wards were sufficient, but as the Dark Lord grew stronger, by the time you turned one, those wards couldn't guarantee your safety anymore." Harry focused intently on Sirius, waiting for him to admit his connection to the tragedy.
"Dumbledore suggested using the Fidelius Charm to conceal them… You're familiar with it, I presume?"
"Yes, go on." Harry glare could have burned. Meanwhile, he was finishing the task of loosening the ropes; in a minute or two, he would be free. What came next depended on Sirius's explanation.
"I was James's best friend, so I was the obvious choice for secret keeper. However, since so many knew how close we were, I suggested they pick someone else while I acted as a decoy. After hours of argument, I convinced them to make Peter the secret keeper. We had no idea he was a Death Eater. In essence, I was responsible for your parents' deaths, Harry."
Sirius's voice cracked, the weight of guilt evident. "What sort of godfather can I be if I couldn't keep my godson's parents safe?" Harry found himself momentarily disarmed by the man's sorrow. Although Sirius had played a role in the tragedy, he hadn't known Peter's allegiance. Unlike Harry, who had lived with compromise in judgment for years, perhaps he should temper his judgment of Black, who had endured a dozen years in Azkaban.
"Enough about that," Sirius said. "We have a rat to deal with." At his words, Peter redoubled his efforts to escape his cage. Sirius opened it, grabbing the terrified rat by its tail and preventing any attempt to bite. He pointed his wand at Peter and mumbled an incantation, unleashing a whitish-blue beam of magic.
In a grotesque transformation, the rat morphed into a human. Peter Pettigrew, standing barely taller than Harry, looked frail and disheveled, with a large bald patch on top of his scraggly hair. He had the sunken appearance of a man who had lost considerable weight in a short period, and his skin was grimy, reminiscent of Scabbers's fur. His tiny, watery eyes darted around, clearly panicked as he assessed his situation.
Peter opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word, Sirius hit him with a spell that summoned shackles and lengthy chains around his arms and legs. Before Peter could react, Sirius tapped the cuffs with his wand.
"I may be a bit rusty, but I can still cast anti-animagus wards long enough to hand you over to the DMLE." Black's voice was low and ominous. "I'm sure they'll be keen to hear your story about how you sold your best friends to Voldemort to save your own skin."
Peter squirmed, looking desperately for an escape route, his gaze landing on Harry. "Harry… you look just like your father…"
The young Potter was prepared to voice his disdain for the traitor when Sirius interjected.
"How dare you speak to Harry?" he roared. "How dare you face him? How dare you invoke James's name in his presence?"
Peter recoiled, shrinking back in terror, yet he continued inching closer to Harry, hands outstretched, ignoring Harry's fiery glare. "You sold Lily and James to Voldemort!" Sirius thundered. "Do you deny it?"
In an unnerving display, Peter burst into tears, resembling an oversized, balding infant pleading on the floor. "Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord… you don't understand… he has weapons beyond your wildest dreams… I was scared, Sirius! I was never brave like you or James. I never meant for this to happen… He forced me…"
Sirius's temper flared, and he struck Peter with a punishing jinx. "Shut your mouth, traitor!" he growled, trembling with fury. "You were his spy. You willingly sold Lily and James to him! I don't know what I'll do with you… Be thankful I need you alive; otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate."
"But Sirius, old friend…" Peter whimpered, only to be silenced by another spell from Black.
"I have no desire to hear you, traitor." With a flick of his wand, he unraveled Harry's ropes, freeing him. Originally, Harry intended to stun both men and let the DMLE handle the situation. However, given the current dynamics, he decided it was better to let them remain conscious. For now, at least, they would be preoccupied with each other, and Harry wouldn't have to exert himself removing them.
"Let's take this bastard to Hogwarts, where Dumbledore can hand him over to the aurors," Sirius ordered, tossing one end of Peter's chain to Harry, who caught it reflexively.
"I'll take the rear," Harry insisted. "I don't trust either of you." Sirius hesitated, but ultimately acquiesced.
"Very well. Let's move." Sirius tugged on the chain, prompting Peter to stumble forward as they left the dark room behind. Harry followed cautiously, his wand poised at their backs, ready for any betrayal.
~/ *** \~
Peter's day had started poorly, thrust into a warded cage in the Shrieking Shack—seemingly a predator was stalking him. Just hours later, after the drama unfolded, he found himself shackled, led by two who held the key to his destiny. With nothing but tension mounting, he sought a means to escape.
As Sirius led them through the underground tunnel, Harry sensed something was amiss. Peter had become alarmingly quiet, and suddenly Harry noticed he was gaining ground on Sirius.
"Watch out!" Harry shouted, but it was too late.
Peter yanked the chain connecting him to Sirius with a force that caught the man off guard. The end of the chain slipped from Sirius's grip, and Peter raced towards Harry, who prepared to use his basilisk eye against the foe. However, as Peter closed in, eyes tightly shut, Harry hesitated, unsure if the risk would put them both in danger.
With a swift shoulder tackle, Peter collided with Harry, knocking him off balance and sending him sprawling. The young wizard dropped his chain, and with a loud crack, Peter disapparated, disappearing with alarming speed.
"Damn it!" Sirius cursed as his chance for a swift resolution vanished. He knew that if caught, the truth would eventually surface, but with the rampant corruption in the Ministry of Magic, the likelihood of a fair trial was thin.
Harry's condition, however, was paramount, and prioritizing his safety over revenge, Sirius decided healing his godson took precedence. He levitated the immobilized Harry and moved deeper into the tunnel.
~/ *** \~
Unfortunately for Sirius, Harry's disappearance did not go unnoticed. When a Hogwarts student goes missing, it raises alarms. As Sirius and his burden emerged from the tunnel's mouth beneath the Whomping Willow, they were met by a throng of professors and aurors, led by Madam Bones.
Before Sirius could even utter a word, a torrent of spells struck him. Although most were harmless stunners, some, particularly from Severus Snape, were far darker, motivated by a relentless need for vengeance. The professors, fueled by panic and concern, launched spells without restraint. In their zeal, some spells hit Harry as well, causing enough damage to render him unconscious alongside Sirius.