Pettigrew's Daughter

Pettigrew's Daughter

By Anda

Two women sat in a room.

One of them was heavily pregnant, her figure swollen as though she had a soccer-ball under her shirt. She had long brown hair and bright blue eyes that were filled with tears. "Damn him!" she hissed, smacking the desk with a fisted hand. "Damn that man! Damn him!"

"What are you going to do now?" the other woman asked, offering no comfort to the crying woman, "Iris, you're welcome to come and stay with me-"

"No, no, Professor, I couldn't do that. You've done so much for me already, Minerva-" Iris sniffled, wiping her eyes with a ragged blue handkerchief.

"It's no trouble, really," Professor Minerva said as Iris shook her head, "Come and stay with me.. Well, at least until the baby comes."

"Th- The baby was due three d-days ago. Be-Before the P-Potters d-died," Iris stuttered. She blew her reddened nose. "Damn that man! Damn Sirius Black! Azkaban is too good for him - He should be k-killed for what he has done! Morgiana will have no father thanks to that bas-!"

"Morgiana?"

"That's what I'm going to call my baby. Morgiana. Morgiana Pettigrew after a brave and honourable man, whose only mistake was trying to outsmart the smart.."

***

14 years later...

Ginny Weasley and her friend Colin Creevey climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express on Platform Nine and three quarters. They were bound for Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry where they were Fourth year students.

After passing through three full carriages, they finally arrived in an almost empty one. One girl with curly brown hair and pale skin sat reading in one corner. She looked about fourteen or fifteen.

"Hi!" Ginny exclaimed, holding out her hand in a friendly gesture, "I'm Ginny Weasley and the is my friend Colin Creevey." The girl shook both hands, not giving a name.

"Do you mind if we sit here?" Colin asked.

"No not at all. There's plenty of room for more in here," the girl said and kept reading.

"... Dad says if he wasn't mental when he went in there, he will be now," Ginny said as the girl shut her book.

"Are you talking about Sirius Black?" the girl asked. Colin nodded. "He is a bad, bad man.." she continued, looking at Ginny, "You're related to that Ronald Weasley, aren't you? The one that had his leg broken by Black... I read that in the Daily Prophet, a year or so ago. That Black - he is really dangerous. I don't know why Dumbledore didn't keep the dementors, what with Voldemort being back and all-"

"Don't say his name," Colin shivered, "It's bad luck."

"Oh," the girl said, "I'm sorry, that must have been a rude thing to say. In future I will call him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, just like everybody else. But Ginny, Ron Weasley is your brother, isn't he?"

"Yeah..." Ginny said, watching the girl's dark eyes.

"He's a Gryffindor Fifth year, isn't he?"

"Yes.." Ginny replied.

"Then hopefully we'll be in the same class. You see, I've only just been transferred here from my old school, and I've got to use the sorting hat and all.. Tell me, does it hurt? The sorting?"

"No, not at all. You just hear this voice in your head talking to you and then it yells what house you're in," Colin said.

"So what are the houses? There's Gryffindor, I know that much, because my parents were in Gryffindor-"

"Then there's Slytherin, which is where all the kind of evil people go, and there's Hufflepuff, they're a bit stupid, and Ravenclaw, which is where all the intellects usually end up," Ginny told the girl. "What school did you used to go to?"

"One by L-London," the girl stuttered.

"Which one? There are like five near London-" Ginny was interrupted as a large crowd of people rushed into the carriage. Somehow the girl managed to disappear. "Where'd she go?"

"Who?" asked Ginny's brother, Ron.

"This girl. She was sitting with us and I'd just got her talking.. and she vanished when you came in."

"What was she like?" Hermione Granger asked.

"Not very talkative. We introduced ourselves, but she didn't give a name. Then she just kept reading this fat book of Potions. But when we started talking about Sirius Black, she interrupted. She seemed really interested in Ron, actually, you know the attack two years ago and all. She said she'd transferred from a school near London, but she didn't name it when I asked her."

****

"There she is!" Ginny exclaimed as a group of first years lined up to be sorted. They saw a rather tall girl with pale skin and long dark-coloured hair. Her eyes were deep-brown.

"Well, I guess you can find out her name now," Harry said, watching the girl. She looked vaguely familiar. He was sure he'd seen that face somewhere before.

Finally the girl's name was called, "Pettigrew, Morgiana!" She came and sat on the stool, her face covered by the Sorting Hat. For more than a minute she sat there, before the hat finally bellowed, "Gryffindor!!!"

"She's cute," Fred Weasley said, as Morgiana walked slowly toward the Gryffindor table.

"Not as cute as Angelina," George said.

"That's debatable... Hey, Pettigrew, Come and sit with us!!"

Morgiana looked startled and her lower lip trembled as she looked around to see who had called her name. When she did, it took forever for her to get to their end of the Gryffindor table. She bumped between two rows of seated students, (Slytherin on one side, Gryffindor on the other) with exclamations like "Sorry!" "Excuse me!" "I'm terribly sorry!" as she stood on robes and shunted seats. Finally, she sank into a seat between Hermione and Ron.

"Hello," she said in a pensive voice, then exclaimed, "Blazes! I got under that hat and I was so scared it was going to just sit on my head and say nothing to me. Then eventually it decides to talk to me, it was probably only a few seconds but it seemed like forever, and it wanted to put me in Slytherin House of all places! I don't know why-"

"I do," Hermione whispered in Harry's ear, "She's Peter Pettigrew's daughter."

"Well," Fred was saying, "I'm Fred Weasley, and this is my twin brother George, and my sister Ginny-"

"I know Ginny, we met on the train," Morgiana said.

"Yes, you were just about to tell me what school you used to go to," Ginny frowned, "And you just disappeared."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Morgiana smiled, "I hope you didn't take it personally or anything, I just, um.. n-needed to g-go to the bathroom..."

"So what school did you go to?" Hermione asked.

"One in London.. you- you wouldn't, um, kn-kn-know it.." she stuttered, her dark eyes filled with tears.

"Try me," Hermione snapped.

"You- you- wouldn't know it-" stammered Morgiana.

"What's the big deal about this school you used to go to?" asked Ron, "Why can't you tell us?"

"It doesn't matter, does it?" Morgiana snarled.

"Okay, okay, we won't ask again," Hermione said, hurriedly, as the other girl prepared to leave.

"I know what school she went to," a nasty voice said from behind them. They swivelled to see Draco Malfoy, flanked by his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

Before anyone else could speak, Morgiana snapped, "Shut up, Malfoy! You don't want to incur my wrath-!"

"Ooooh, I'm so scared..." Malfoy muttered sarcastically.

"Damn it, you better be! Or I will make your life at this school a living purgatory before you can even begin to speak-"

"You wouldn't do it. You don't want to get expelled from this school too, do you?" Draco sneered.

"Expelled?!" Fred exclaimed.

"Yes, Weasley, expelled. My last school was Storax Institution for Difficult Students in London. I was expelled for performing an illegal curse on Draco's cousin, the annoying Quintus Malfoy. Don't even begin to ask what he did to deserve what happened to him - he had it coming to him, okay?" Morgiana snapped, her face glowing red.

"You got expelled from Storax?" Ginny asked, "That's not possible is it? I mean, they take the worst magic students and they handle a lot of crap. Mum's always threatening to send Fred and George there-"

"Just drop the subject, okay?" Morgiana said, "I don't want to talk about it anymore..." She looked at Harry, "You're Harry Potter, aren't you?"

"Yeah.." Harry said, hoping she wasn't going to ask for an autograph.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask to see your scar. I presume you get heartily sick of showing it off and answering tonnes of questions." Morgiana said, as if reading his mind. She turned to Hermione, "And you are Hermione Granger, I read a lot about you in the Witch's Weekly last year-"

"It was lies," Hermione breathed through bared teeth.

"Yeah, I thought that - I mean how would someone like you end up going out with Viktor Krum? Lies, all of it-"

"I am dating Viktor," Hermione snapped, "What do you mean 'someone like me'?"

Morgiana bit her lip, "Ohh. Sorry, I can see I should keep my mouth shut in future."

"You do that." Hermione replied.

"Are you Peter Pettigrew's daughter?" Ron asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yes," Morgiana said, "Yes I am. Until two years ago, my mother told me that he was working in another country, but then when Sirius Black escaped she- she started to tell the truth. I don't know why she didn't tell me that he was dead- murdered, in the first place. I suppose it must have been really h-hard for her.."

Silence followed this statement, until Hermione spoke, "It would probably have been one of the most difficult things your mother will ever have to deal with, but maybe she was right in concealing the truth; how would you have felt going to school and talking about your father with other kids?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Morgiana said, "I think that Mum was scared when Si-Sirius Black escaped, I think she thought he'd c-come and murder the rest of the family or something. Turns out he had a better target, Harry Potter. Mum needn't have worried."

"Hello, you must be the new Fifth year student," a voice said from behind Morgiana.

"Yeah, so?" Morgiana said.

"Well I'm Lavender Brown and this is Parvati Patil - We'll be in your dormitory."

"Lucky me," Morgiana snapped, looking the two girls up and down, "Munchkins.."

Lavender frowned, "Th- that's not very nice."

"I'm not a very nice person. Hello Lavender, hello Parvati - I'm Morgiana Pettigrew and I'm having a bad day. Goodbye. Go and talk to someone else," Morgiana turned her back on them once more, indicating an end to the conversation.

"They were just being nice-" Hermione began.

"No they weren't. They were checking me out to see if I am 'cool' enough to be considered their friend. I severely dislike people like that," Morgiana said, sullenly.

"Well, if you continue behaving the way you have been, you might not have any friends," snapped Hermione.

"Someone's in a good mood," Morgiana said in a sarcastic voice.

"Hello students. Well, here we are again, at the start of a fresh new year. You'll be pleased to know that the Quidditch Pitch has been returned to normal and there will be House Quidditch this year-" a cheer rose through the hall, largely from Fred and George Weasley's end of the Gryffindor table, "Yes, I knew you would all be excited about that, but can you celebrate quietly? A smile would be good gratitude... Anyway, as you know Mad-eye Moody is not returning this year to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts; Instead we have an old favourite, Professor Lupin-!"

A few people cheered, but there was a large silence from the Slytherin table, "As you all know, Professor Lupin is a werewolf, but I assure you, he will be kept under control. You see, Professor Snape will be preparing a special potion which will keep Lupin from hurting anybody when he transforms..." Dumbledore droned on another couple of minutes before finally letting the students go.

"This Professor Lupin, is he really a werewolf?" Morgiana asked Hermione as they climbed up to the Gryffindor entrance way.

"Yes," Hermione snapped, "He is not dangerous and is an excellent teacher."

"What are your favourite subjects? Mine are Herbology, Potions and Transfiguration," Morgiana said, smiling. She looked very pretty when she smiled, revealing her perfect white teeth. Her dark eyes seemed animated and friendly, with a twinkle of mischief.

"Transfiguration is one of my favourite subjects, too. Professor McGonagall takes Transfiguration, she's our house leader," Hermione said.

"Yes, I know Professor McGonagall, she's an old friend of my mother's. It was her suggestion that brought me here in the first place, otherwise I'd probably be at another of the second-rate schools in London. How do we get through there?" they had stopped in front of a big portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress.

"Well, when one of the Gryffindor prefects comes up, they'll tell us the password. Then all we have to do is tell the portrait and it'll swing open," Hermione said, "The password changes every week, ask if you get confused."

"The password's 'Slytherin-sucks'," someone shouted from the back.

"Okay," Hermione said. The fat lady looked down on the crowd, and asked, "Password?" as Hermione and Morgiana clambered through.

"Slytherin sucks!" Morgiana exclaimed, as she came into the big Gryffindor common-room, "Hey, Hermione, who comes up with these passwords?"

"I think the fat-lady or one of the head prefects does," Hermione said.

Morgiana suddenly saw the little silver badge on Hermione's cloak, "Are you a prefect?"

"Yes," Hermione said, "So are Harry, Ron, Lavender and some of the others."

"Oh, okay. At Storax they don't have prefects, that's probably because they don't have any good students. They have a head girl and boy, though. Who's this school's head girl and boy?"

"I know Angelina Johnson is head girl and I think someone in Ravenclaw is head boy." The prefect said.

"Angelina's the one George was talking about, right? She's a Quidditch player, a Chaser. Hey, how do you get into the Quidditch team? I was a Beater at my old school, so I was going to try out here..."

"Professor McGonagall organises it. You'll have to speak to her or to Harry, he's been named Gryffindor Quidditch Captain," Hermione said.

"Blazes! He must be busy. A prefect and Quidditch captain. I couldn't handle a work-load like that."

"Yes," Hermione said, "Here, I'll take you up to our dormitory, it's really neat."

"Okay," said Morgiana.

****

"What are you doing?" Ron asked Morgiana the following morning.

"Well, currently I'm getting devoured by this stupid door, after that I've got Divination," she muttered as she finally released herself from the big doors that had been installed in all the entrances to keep out, or at least slow down, intruders.

"I've got that too. I'll show you where to go," he didn't ask her why she had been outside or how she had managed to tear a huge hole in her robes. If she was not going to tell him, he wouldn't ask.

"Good. Yeah, I was a bit lost," Morgiana admitted, as if answering an unasked question, "Lavender told me it was down at that big puddle-"

"You mean the Lake? Why did Lavender tell you that?" Ron asked, holding the door for her as they climbed the flight of stairs to the Divination classroom.

"I dunno- Oh, yeah I do, I guess- she's a bit miffed at me still for snubbing her last night-" Morgiana huffed, "If I had known that they take things that seriously here I would never have dreamed of calling her a munchkin-"

"A munchkin?! What's that?"

"Don't ask, it's kind of stupid really- oh, I'll tell you anyway. Mum used to read me these books- I think they were written by a Muggle- when I was little and there were these little pixie folk in the books that always smiled and were real nice and stuff. For some reason it just came out when I saw her at the meal last night. Hey, who else is in this class?"

"Well, normally Harry is, but he got out of class today to go to some sort of Quidditch meeting with McGonagall," Ron said, muttering in an undertone, "Lucky pig."

"Is Divination really that bad? I only chose it 'cos it was the easiest looking option on the list. There is no way I'm ending up in some brain-numbing Arithmancy class or anything like that - I couldn't stand it, all that talk about numbers of all things. Numbers belong with the Muggles. We don't need them," Morgiana growled, noticing for the first time the tear in her robe.

"Just don't say that around Hermione," Ron said, "I think it's her favourite class or something. She's always telling us - me and Harry - to drop Divination and join her. I can't think of anything more boring, besides perhaps a History of Magic lesson."

"Yeah," Morgiana mumbled, pulling out her wand in a handful of scrawled notepapers. Hurriedly she stuffed the notes back in her pocket, turning red as Ron bent down to pick one up. "Give me that!" her voice sounded a tad too harsh as she ripped it from his hand. She hadn't meant to sound like that, but then, there were so many things she hadn't meant to do.

Ron quickly stored what was left of the torn note in the sleeve of his robe. Luckily, she hadn't noticed that it was ripped, leaving him with the larger part, "Why'd you pull out your wand?"

"Duh," said Morgiana, rolling her eyes, "I have to make myself look presentable before I arrive in class," she motioned to the tear which ran from her knee up to her thigh, revealing stark white flesh.

"I don't think anyone would care," Ron said, staring a little too long at her leg.

Morgiana noticed this and pulled the tear open more, "Here, have a closer look. You act as though you've never seen a girl's leg before."

As Ron glowed red Morgiana snapped, "Well, there you go, have a good gape-"

"Just what exactly is going on here?" a voice boomed from above them.

"N-nothing, Pr-Professor S-s-" Ron began as Pettigrew interrupted with, "What does it look like? I'm showing him my leg - here, Professor, do you want a look too?"

"Do not be insolent, girl, I can see very well what you are doing. Weasley, ten points from Gryffindor. You on the other hand, girl, have a detention. I will not have that kind of behaviour in this school. Now, give me your name and house."

"What kind of teacher are you? You've probably been at this school for hundreds of years, judging by your appearance, and you still can't remember students names. Maybe you're senile-" Morgiana bellowed as the teacher climbed down the stairs to meet them.

"I will not be spoken to in that matter, thank you very much. I can see very well who you are. You're his daughter aren't you? Well, that's twenty points from Gryffindor for what you were up to plus ten for being a brazen little brat. PLUS a detention with Mister Filch after school. Not bad for a first day now is it, Pettigrew?"

Morgiana's voice became small and she gazed at her feet, "No, sir. I'm sorry, I was way out of line."

"I don't want your apologies, they're not going to get you out of this detention, so don't try coaxing me into dropping your punishment. Now, GET TO CLASS!" Snape yelled and continued down the steps.

"I guess I owe you an apology too," Morgiana said after a few minutes of silence, "I'm sorry I did that. I promised myself when I came here that I would stop behaving badly, but I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks. You're probably thinking at the moment that I'm just saying all this stuff so that I will actually manage to keep some friends, but that's not the case. Well, actually it is, but I really do like the people I've met so far, they were a bit cold at first, but even ice can melt, I suppose."

"Yeah, okay," Ron said, quietly, "Weren't you going to fix your robes?"

"That too," she pointed her wand at her robes and said some quiet words. In a few moments, the fabric re-knitted itself and sank back onto her leg. "Great. My first day and I've already gotten someone in trouble, lost forty house points and got a detention. Who was that teacher anyway?"

"Snape," Ron murmured, "He teaches Potions."

"Potions?!" Morgiana asked, a startled look on her face. "Oh, no. Mama warned me about the Potions teacher. She said once you got on his bad side there was no hope for you. He'd mark you down unfairly and give you detentions for nothing."

"Yeah, that's sounds like Snape," Ron said.

****

"Welcome, Welcome," an breezy voice said as Morgiana nearly choked on the heavy air in the Divination classroom, "Look class, we have a new student - Morgiana Pettigrew." Morgiana shrugged and sank into a seat next to Ron and Neville. The voice continued in an airy tone, "You know, on second thoughts, dear, it might be a good idea if you came and sat with me for the first few lessons, just until you get the hang of this."

So Morgiana stood up and stumbled through the classroom to reach the butterfly-like Professor Trelawney.

"Well, actually today, we are going to start doing some revision of your last two years in my classroom, starting with Palmistry. Everyone choose a partner and we'll begin. Morgiana! Morgiana-! How about we be partners? I'll start."

"Okay.." Pettigrew said, smiling in an insecure way. She held out her hand as she saw the people around her doing and looked at the ceiling. Professor Trelawney took her hand in her psychic fingers and looked.

"Oh. Oooooohhh. This is not good. You are walking a tight-rope my dear, a ridge between life and death. There is a journey ahead - something that will change your life forever. And- and- oh, nooo!-"

"What's the matter?"

"You have the grim-"

"The what!?" Morgiana snarled, snatching her hand back from Trelawney's cold fingers.

"The grim. Thhhhheee GRIM," the Professor explained mysteriously, "You, or someone close to you, is going to die."

"No I'm not, that's just a load of crap," Morgiana frowned.

"That's exactly what Peter Pettigrew told me when I informed him of his... unfortunate passing."

"Oh, come off it," the student snapped, "everyone knows that Divination is just a big hoax to get gullible people's money."

"It is not," Professor Trelawney's airy voice vanished, giving way to a much harder and harsher tone, "If you think that then you have no place in my classroom. It would be best if you left and found yourself another class. I am not going to have my room filled with the bad vibes of someone who does not believe."

"Okay fine. Fine. I'm going. I'm the sure the room will feel a lot breezier once I'm gone anyway, what with all the airheads in here," Morgiana picked up her bag and ran back down the stairs.

"Oh, don't you just feel the negativity lifting?" Professor Trelawney said, staring at the chair on which Morgiana had been sitting. It was burnt. Billows of smoke flew from it as the whole thing disintegrated and fell to dust.

****

Once down the stairs, Morgiana did not know what to do. So she went to the library as Professor McGonagall had instructed her to do if she got lost. It was deserted, save for Madam Pince, the librarian, and a tattishly dressed teacher.

"Sorry, if I'm interrupting anything. I've just removed myself from a Divination class and I will find another class to do but not at the moment because it will just be a nuisance to the teacher and class if I barge in now," Morgiana told Madam Pince in a breathless tone.

"Are you a new student?" the librarian asked.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm Morgiana Pettigrew, I've just come to Hogwarts. I'm a Fifth year Gryffindor. I should actually be a Fourth year, but Professor McGonagall put me up a class. I don't know why," She held out her hand in a welcoming gesture.

Madam Pince shot a look to the pale teacher, "Well, I'm Madam Pince, Hogwarts's librarian, and this is-"

"What class are you going to take now that you've dropped Divination? I can run through them with you and tell you a bit more about what they're like," the teacher offered, motioning Morgiana to sit at a table.

"Oh, that's- that's very nice of you," Morgiana stammered. There was something about the way the teacher was looking at her face, almost as if he was trying to figure something out. "What?!" she snapped.

"You look a lot like your father-" the teacher began.

"No- No, I don't," Morgiana said, "I just behave like him - totally irresponsible, way out of line, rude, obnoxious and a lot smarter than the work I put out."

"Did Iris tell you that?" the Professor asked with a glint in his eye.

"Are you a friend of my mother's?" Morgiana queried.

"Yes," the teacher replied.

Morgiana's voice rose suddenly, like a boiling kettle whistling, "If you're a friend of my mother's, how come I've never seen you before? You can't be that good a friend if you never visit her!"

Madam Pince shot her a look that would turn boiling water to ice, "Shhh!" she stepped over, as if to escort Morgiana from the room.

The Professor shook his head at the librarian and said, very softly, to Morgiana, "The reason you've never seen me is because your mother won't talk to me."

"Why?" Morgiana said fiercely, "If you're her friend how come she won't talk to you? That doesn't sound very friendly."

"We had an argument a long time ago and she hasn't spoken to me since," the Professor replied.

"What about?" the girl asked.

The Professor shut his eyes, as if thinking of something to say, "She- She was lying to you..."

"About what?"

"Your father..." the Professor said, meeting Morgiana's eyes.

"Oh," Morgiana said, "Oh. If you mean that he is actually dead, that he was murdered, that he isn't overseas working - I know that. She admitted it."

The Professor looked away for a moment and then said, "Yes. I'm glad that she finally told the truth."

"Now that we've cleared that up," Morgiana said, in a business-like tone, "You can tell me what your name is."

"Lupin," the Professor said, "Professor Remus Lupin."

Morgiana gasped, "The werewolf?" then she smiled, "My mother warned me about you... But you seem safe enough... you were one of my father's friends, weren't you?"

"Yes," Lupin replied, "do you want to talk about subjects now?"

"Okay," Morgiana grinned, "and I can write to Mum and tell her that she had nothing to worry about."

**

Morgiana met Ron on her way down to Potions class, "How was Divination?" she said in a mocking voice. "Did you feel the Negativity liffffff-ting when I left?"

"Yeah," Ron said, "Took the roof off. Where did you go anyway?"

"Up to the library," Morgiana replied, "I met Professor Lupin and he's going to try and get me into another class."

"What sort of class?"

"I don't know yet. As long as it's not Divination or Arithmancy I'll be happy."

"Happy about what?" Harry asked as he and Hermione joined them.

"Dropping Divination," Morgiana said, "Professor Trelawney kicked me out."

"You can come and take Arithmancy with me," Hermione said, "It's always interesting."

Morgiana's face went stiff, then she smiled, "I'm sure it is, but I'm not really a numbers person."

They were joined by Neville who had just tripped and fallen down the staircase and was stumbling, slightly, "Hey Morgiana, how did you incinerate Professor Trelawney's chair?"

"I didn't, did I?" Morgiana asked.

"You did," Ron said.

Morgiana took a deep breath, "Then I suppose she'll want a new chair. I'll write home to Mum about it and get her to send some cash for a new one."

"But how did you do it?" Neville queried, "I didn't see you use a wand or anything."

"I'd rather not talk about it," Morgiana replied. She was silent for the rest of the journey, as if thinking about something.

**

They assembled at the door and were soon accompanied by some Slytherins, including Draco Malfoy. Morgiana looked on the boy with a mixture of contempt and rage that shone in her eyes like the hottest furnace. She didn't say anything, just stared at him with what seemed to Harry to be a growing hatred. Snape arrived and they were let in.

Professor Snape regarded Morgiana with a dark glare before introducing her to the class, "This girl is Morgiana Pettigrew. She is a new student. I hope you'll make her stay at Hogwarts... pleasant."

"With teachers like you," Morgiana snapped, "I'm sure it will be."

Nobody dared titter as Snape turned an angry red. He stood with his teeth clenched and his eyes burning. "I would be careful with my tongue if I were you, Pettigrew. Some people do not take kindly to sarcasm. People with a mouth like yours sometimes end up dead."

"Can I have that in writing, Prof-ess-aarr, just in case I do end up dead. Then my mother can sue you. And I'm sure your character will not sit well in the Court of Law, especially in times of these. I mean you were a death-eater, weren't you?" Morgiana said in an equally icy voice.

"Sit down!" Professor Snape growled. Morgiana took a seat beside Ron. "Not there, you stupid girl," Snape snapped, "there!" He pointed to a seat beside Draco Malfoy, "You'll be working with Draco today."

"I will not!" Morgiana shouted. "I am not going anywhere near him! His family is-"

"I could say some things about your family too, young lady! A few home truths perhaps, like your father-" Snape stopped suddenly as a snarl echoed from behind his desk. A huge black dog appeared, bristling with aggression, the skin around its mouth curled back to reveal huge white teeth.

Lavender screamed, followed by a couple of Slytherin girls. Morgiana regarded the dog with a look of terror in her glazed eyes. She slowly stood up, as if in a trance, held her wand above her head and shouted three words, "Magus pyra incineratus!" just as she did so, Harry pushed her, causing the flame emitted by her wand to burn a huge hole in the wall beside the door.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" Morgiana snapped.

"Pettigrew! Pettigrew!" Snape yelled, "What have you done to my wall?"

"Professor - the dog- it- it's going to eat... someone," Morgiana stopped, as if realising how stupid she sounded. The dog was now sitting, scratching its ear with its back foot, and surveying the damage she had caused. "I'll- I'll help fix- the wall. If that's all right..."

"I'll see you after class," Snape said. His voice no longer sounded angry, just tired, "In case the rest of you get any more silly ideas, this is Padfoot. He belongs to Professor Dumbledore," he looked at the dog with disdain and gingerly patted its head, "Lets get on with the rest of the class."

Morgiana sat down next to Draco Malfoy. Harry thought she looked utterly dejected and glum. She didn't say anything for the rest of the lesson, just stared at the huge hole in the wall of the Potions class. A tear ran down her cheek and she wiped it off, trying, it seemed, to smile.

After class, Harry stood outside the Potions room, in the guise of waiting for Morgiana but also wanting to see Padfoot. The dog sauntered out to him, leading him to a small, empty room. There he watched as the man inside the dog slowly appeared. He had short black hair and dark eyes. He looked a lot healthier since Harry had last seen him.

"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed and gave him a hug. He said nothing for a moment, then said, "What were you doing in Professor Snape's class?"

"Watching her," Sirius said, with a smile.

"Her- you mean Morgiana?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Sirius replied, "she's too much like her father."

"Peter Pettigrew?" Harry said, "But she doesn't look anything like him-" Then he realised exactly who Morgiana reminded him of, "In fact, she looks a lot more like you."

"She's my daughter," Sirius said, slowly, "that's why."

"Then why-" asked Harry, "Is her surname Pettigrew?"

"Iris must have thought she could protect her by giving her someone else's name. Everyone that knew us knows the girl's name isn't true, which is why she's been sending Morgiana to any school except Hogwarts."

"But Morgiana doesn't know?" Harry asked.

"No," Sirius said, "and I don't think that it would be wise to tell her just yet. Iris has brought her up to believe that Peter was a hero and that I am evil. I don't think that that could ever be undone."

"What if your name was cleared? Surely that would make a difference," Harry said.

"That won't happen," argued Sirius, "at least not yet. Besides, there are so many other things to do at the moment - we have to prepare for whatever Voldemort does next."

"Of course," Harry said.

Sirius shut his eyes for a moment, "Professor McGonagall was right about one thing. She is out of control. She's- she's wild. Volatile. She can't control her temper and that tongue of hers will get her into trouble. She knows spells that are so- so illegal and dangerous. I- We have to be very careful that she does not fall in with the dark side. Because once she does, I don't think anyone can save her or her victim. She must not make contact with Peter under any circumstances."

"Would Peter want her to?" Harry asked.

"Maybe," Sirius groaned, "I get the distinct impression that she'd do anything for her father- Not me, you understand- Peter. She's been brought up to believe that he's a noble hero. I think he could talk her round to his being alive. I think he could talk her into anything."

"You really think so?" Harry said as his eyes met Sirius's. In his heart he knew what Sirius was saying was true. He'd seen it in Morgiana's face when she'd talked about her 'father'.

"I can't always keep an eye on her, Harry," Sirius said.

Harry knew what he meant. "I know, I'll make sure one of us does," he said, meaning himself, Ron or Hermione.

"Make sure that only the people you trust know, Harry. I think she'd kill anyone that told her."

**

Harry rejoined Morgiana