Harry Potter and the Time of Shadows

- Chapter Twenty-Four-

The Slytherin Secret

Ron stared down at the bottom of the ravine. His face was shrouded in shadow, hiding his expression. Harry wondered if he could still see Percy laying at the bottom, or rather his body. Because he was sure that nothing could have survived falling that far. Percy was dead.

Harry struggled against the vines that were still binding him tightly to look around. Hermione was wide-eyed and open-mouthed. She had gone ghostly pale and barely moved; Harry had never seen her look so horrified.

Hagrid still had the same unresponsive appearance, his eyes blank and seemed to have barely registered the fact that a former student had been killed right in front of his eyes, partly due to the duel he had just had with him.

Wormtail and Malfoy's eyes both lit up after hearing Percy hit the bottom of the pit. Harry shuddered to think that people like them took pleasure in killing.

After a long hesitation, Ron wrenched his gaze from the ravine. His face was visible now and Harry felt his insides tremble upon seeing the look on his face. The first thing Harry thought was that the childishness, the immature Ron had died forever. Those brown eyes that had once looked so ignorant of the world were now cold and pitiless, much like Dumbledore would look when he was angry. Yet there was a noticeable difference between Ron and Dumbledore: whilst the headmaster had always looked calculated and in control, Ron seemed completely beyond reason. It was clear that Ron had no idea what he was going to do next; he only knew that he wanted to make Lucius Malfoy suffer.

Ron still had his wand; apparently he had swiftly shoved it into his robes when Percy was flung over the ravine. He took it out and pointed it at Malfoy, his murderous stare intensifying.

But Lucius Malfoy was ready. His wand was already aimed at Ron, expecting retaliation for murdering his brother.

For countless seconds the two of them stared at each other, wands raised. All the others just stared, and Harry could tell from the look in Malfoy's eye that he was regarding Ron as an equal now, and did not see him as just a fifteen-year old novice wizard. Ron could definitely do some serious damage if he lost control.

The tension was ever increasing. Then suddenly, and the last thing any of them were expecting, Ron charged at Hagrid and wrenched Harry's wand from his grasp. It could only have been the shock of Ron doing something so unforeseen that stopped anybody reacting.

As if somehow sensing what Ron was thinking, Hermione pointed her wand at Harry and shrieked "Diffindo!"

Harry recognised the spell as a Severing Charm, but it was a strength that he had never achieved. A thin blue light streamed from her wand towards the vines holding him in place. After a brief resistance Harry felt the vines around his right arm start to loosen. He pulled his arm from the slack and started violently tugging his other arm free.

Once both his arms were free Ron threw Harry his wand, which he caught deftly with one hand, despite the constant pain in his stomach. He pointed it at Wormtail, who was the nearest opponent to him.

So for the first time since they had entered the Forest, Harry was armed. His legs were still bound, but he could not think about freeing them yet, not while Wormtail was constantly watching him, waiting for him to lower his guard.

"Stupefy!" Harry roared.

Before Wormtail could try to deflect it, Hagrid reached out and put his hand in the way of the curse, where it bounded off harmlessly. Now that Hagrid had no weapon he could not react with a spell. Instead he lifted Ron by the back of his shirt, since he was still close after Ron had prised the wand away from him. When Ron's feet were nearly six inches off the ground Hagrid punched him hard in the chest, sending him flying across the clearing, and then he landed roughly on his back ten feet from where he had previously stood.

Hermione rushed to his side and helped him stand up. He gingerly tested his legs, with Harry, Hagrid and the Death Eaters silently watching. He massaged his back and winced slightly. But it was obvious that apart from a bruise perhaps, there was no real injury.

"Hagrid!" Harry yelled out, determined to help him break free like Ron and Hermione had. "Please don't do this Hagrid, you're my friend! Do you remember what you said to me last year? You said that I'm like you, remember? No parents, not knowing if we would measure up at Hogwarts. You know this Hagrid, it's in your mind somewhere, I know it is. Please fight it - please do the right thing."

Hagrid paused. For a moment, Harry was sure that he saw something stir behind Hagrid's eyes. But a split second after that it was plain that he had imagined it, because Hagrid raised his hand to Harry's head and pushed it painfully into the tree he was tied to. Through his own groans Harry could hear Malfoy mutter, "Oh please." When Hagrid let go Harry's head was still pounding.

It was useless. There was no appealing to Hagrid. Once he was under Imperius, he was powerless to fight it.

Suddenly an idea came into Harry's mind. His desperation had formed a plan that would have been unthinkable in any other situation. But Harry knew it was the only way.

He raised his wand and pointed it firmly at Lucius Malfoy, trying to concentrate enough to perform the spell, although not completely sure he actually wanted to do it.

"Imperio," Harry said quietly.

Instantly, Malfoy's eyes glazed over. A strange feeling washed over Harry, completely the opposite to the feeling of being placed under Imperius. His mind had not been cleared of all thought, but sharpened, so all of his thoughts were clear. Also there was no feeling of obedience, but a wonderful feeling of power. While Harry would never admit it to even himself, in the back of his mind he knew that he liked it. No, he loved it. It was addictive, but Harry had to take a second to just absorb himself in the glory of it.

But then his incisive thoughts reminded him that he had performed this curse for a reason. So still marvelling at this surprisingly satisfying feeling, and amazed at the fact that Lucius Malfoy could not throw it off, Harry focussed his mind on a command.

Take the Imperius Curse off of Hagrid.

Malfoy dutifully turned his wand to Hagrid, but then Harry sensed something in his mind, or Malfoy's mind perhaps, because at this point it was hard to tell where Harry's mind ended and Malfoy's began. Harry could feel resistance to the curse; the feeling of control was fading the tiniest fragment. Harry heard Malfoy's voice from somewhere in the bond between them.

No, I put this curse on him, and you can't make me take it off.

A sudden burst of frustration erupted in Harry, and he began to realise how volatile the curse could be. Only a second before that his thoughts were full of supremacy.

Do it! Harry commanded. Take the curse off him now!

But Harry knew that it was useless. He had been on the other end of this curse and knew that when the receiver started to think for himself, then it was only a matter of time. But Harry was determined to save his friend.

I won't, Lucius's voice echoed fixedly.

The connection was ever diminishing. Harry concentrated as hard as he could, fuelled only by desperation. But Lucius Malfoy held up his wand by his own accord and sent a jet of sparks at Harry. It was at that moment that the link died completely. Harry was suddenly overcome by a torrent of self-disgust.

Malfoy paused, silently considering Harry as he had done with Ron previously. When Wormtail and Hagrid advanced behind his back Lucius put a hand up to stop them although he could not see them, as if he had been expecting them to react in that way.

The Death Eater shook his head tragically and spoke in a voice resembling a gentle father reprimanding his son.

"Bad boy Potter," he said. "You know that you could go to Azkaban for the rest of your life after what you just did to me, even though it didn't work."

"You're telling me I shouldn't use an Unforgivable Curse?" Harry spat back, feeling reckless after what he had done. "How many have you performed in the last few hours?"

Malfoy shook his head again. "Still, it's a dark day for the wizarding world when Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the parody for everything good and pure, uses one of the worst curses in invention."

"You did it to three of my best friends, you made them torture me, and you killed Percy," Harry said calmly. "I should have killed you, but I'm not like you, I won't go down to your level."

"You shouldn't worry about the punishment for using the Killing Curse, Potter," Lucius Malfoy said. "You've already earned a life sentence in Azkaban, even though the curse didn't completely work, it worked well enough. After all, two life sentences are hardly any worse than one."

"It's not the punishment," Harry responded. "It's conscience, something you're obviously without. You enjoy doing things like this, I saw your face when Percy fell."

"We're more alike than you think, boy," Malfoy shot back. "You liked it too. You might have not done it well, but you did it right. And when you do the curse properly it changes you. Do you really think that I couldn't throw off Imperius in a second? But I wanted to keep the connection just long enough for you to get a taste of it, for you to feel the wonder of it."

Ron and Hermione turned to Harry in horror, but Harry knew that Lucius had spoken the truth. He didn't want his friends to know what had happened though.

"No," he said. "I didn't like it. I don't know how you live with yourself after doing that so many times."

"Liar," Malfoy taunted with a merciless chuckle. "I have to admit, I wasn't expecting you to do that. I was expecting more of that sentimental dribble that you were feeding this half-breed about how you were his friend and cared about him. But you played into our hands better than I could have ever dreamed. The hatred is flowing through your veins; it'll never go away. Why don't you save us all some time and join us now. I promise that if you agree you can use Imperius until your heart's content."

Malfoy gave a small smile while Wormtail chuckled behind his back. Ron was leaning on Hermione with his arm around her shoulder. They, like Hagrid and Wormtail, were not moving and silently watching the exchange between Harry and Lucius Malfoy.

Harry once again brought his wand up to Lucius, pointing it squarely between his eyes. There was no doubt that it had definitely changed him, he felt a need to curse Malfoy, to cause him such intense pain, maybe even to kill him. He felt that he was subconsciously kicking himself for not killing Malfoy when he had the chance when Malfoy was hovering over the ravine. He tried to drown out those thoughts by telling himself that all they needed was to get out of the Forest.

"Let us go right now, Malfoy," he said, using all the force in his voice he could. "Or I might be tempted to move up to the Cruciatus Curse."

The Death Eater smiled again, his eyes sparkling as if finding a hidden treasure.

"Excellent Potter! Do it, take out all of your anger on me! Give in to the darkness inside of you, let it consume you!" He held his arms out as if presenting himself as a target. "I know you want to, I can see it in your eyes. Your heart is telling you to curse me, to cause me indescribable pain, to have me writhing on the floor begging you for mercy. The only thing that's stopping you is your mind, that wretched little thing you call a conscience. Follow your impulse, Potter. Hasn't anyone ever told you to trust your instincts?"

Harry paused, taking a few deep breaths to control his anger. He tried to kick his legs against the vines that were still binding his feet, but found they were still holding onto him tightly. After the seconds of silence lengthened, Malfoy sneered with contempt.

"I didn't think you could, you don't have the guts. Just like your father. You know, he had the chance to kill me once and he didn't. I guess being pathetic excuses for men is a Potter family trait."

Harry let out a savage growl as he heard Malfoy taunt his father. He abandoned all self-control as he prepared himself to use the Cruciatus Curse. His mind set and loathing boiling through him, he was ready. Just as he was about to pronounce the incantation, he was interrupted:

"Let them go Lucius," said an oily voice that was full of venom.

Harry scanned the clearing, and saw the person who would be least likely to come to his rescue standing there with his wand out, a terrifying look of loathing on his face.

Lucius Malfoy opened his mouth in surprise, but then forced his face into an almost-pleasant smile.

"Severus my old friend," he said. "It's been too long. Why I haven't seen you in years."

"Thirteen years to be precise," Snape replied quickly, also assuming an agreeable façade, although one that was clearly false and masking nothing but pure hatred. "Although I remember seeing you briefly last November at the Quidditch match, of course there wasn't much time to talk there. If memory serves, the last time we came face-to-face was at your trial, Lucius."

The corner of Malfoy's smile flickered downwards. "Yes I remember it well Severus. And I was cleared of all charges, despite the evidence you gave against me."

Contrary to Lucius Malfoy, Snape was more satisfied with this statement, and his smile seemed the tiniest bit less forced. "Yes, and all that means is you gave a huge pile of gold to the Minister to let you off."

As if those words had been a catalyst that set off an instant reaction, both men instantly dropped their polite pretences.

"You're scum Severus," Malfoy spat. "You betrayed our master. We've lost so many loyal supporters because one day you decided you had changed your mind and would rather run off to Dumbledore."

If Harry had ever thought that Snape had given him a look of dislike, it was nothing compared to what he was surveying his old friend with now.

"You Lucius, do not have the right to call another man scum," the Potions Master said, keeping his voice smooth and unwavering. "When I think of everything you have done over the years, it makes me disgusted with myself for ever affiliating with the likes of you."

"Listen to yourself, speaking like you are completely without sin. Have you forgotten all the time we spent in service together? I remember a time when you were more than happy to affiliate with me. You can't tell me that you were always on Dumbledore's side, not after some of the things we've been through together."

Snape took another step towards Malfoy, his rage almost palpable. His wand was aimed straight between Malfoy's eyes. "I don't deny anything that I did Lucius," he said. "It's something I just have to live with. But you were the one who recruited me."

"Yes," Lucius Malfoy hissed. "And no matter what happens, we are still united under the Dark Mark. He knows, Severus, the Dark Lord always knows. My master -- our master, that is -- has learned from your example. He has tested the loyalty of all his followers; He managed to purge filth like you from our ranks -- only faithful supporters are left."

Harry watched as the two grown men sized each other up, imagining what kind of a history they had together. Lucius Malfoy had recruited Snape to be a Death Eater in the first place, and they had done Voldemort's work together. After Voldemort had fallen, Snape had given provided testimony to convict Malfoy. They each had their own reasons to want the other dead.

"Too bad he wasn't that little bit wiser fourteen years ago," Snape said with a twisted smile. "But I see you passed the test. You and him are becoming quite close aren't you Lucius?"

"I am the Dark Lord's most faithful supporter," Malfoy replied. "And now I have the opportunity to be rewarded further. I came here with the mission of capturing Harry Potter, alive, and presenting him to our master for initiation. But think how pleased He will be with me when I present him with the body of Severus Snape. It's funny; the three people the Dark Lord despises the most all reside at Hogwarts, two of them in this very clearing. But of course Dumbledore isn't here, last I heard he was at the Ministry. What a shame he isn't here to help you."

"Well then you've got nothing to worry about, have you Lucius?" Snape responded coldly.

Without warning, Lucius Malfoy drew his wand, but Snape was ready. He conjured a spell that struck Lucius roughly in the head. Malfoy staggered slightly but maintained his composition. He pointed his wand at Snape again and cried "Crucio!"

Snape sank to his knees, keeping his jaw clenched tightly shut, not letting a single cry escape his mouth. He shot Malfoy another look of loathing from the ground, and starting breathing heavily through the pain before Malfoy lifted his wand.

Instead of getting to his feet straight away, Snape raised his wand from his knees. At Snape's command Malfoy was lifted up, as if he was lighter than air. In the moments Malfoy struggled uselessly against the charm Snape got up and lifted his wand higher, so Malfoy was a good six feet from the Forest floor. With a flick of his wrist, Snape sent Malfoy soaring across the clearing, where his back collided violently with a tree. Another wave of Snape's wand and Lucius was sent face-first into the neighbouring tree, before descending down the coarse bark and landing in a crumpled heap on the ground.

Lucius Malfoy groaned, untangling himself from his torn cloak, which he quickly discarded. He barely had time to stand before Snape dispatched another hex towards Malfoy. What its purpose was, Harry would never know, because it was deflected by Malfoy and ricocheted away over Hermione's head. Malfoy himself held his wand steady and roared "Incendio!"

A burst of fire streamed from Malfoy's wand heading straight for Snape, but Snape made a complicated-looking movement with his wand and the flames split in two, each going to one side of him, where for a few seconds they scorched the trees. When the blazing ceased, there were large patches of ash on some tree trunks, but none of them were alight.

"I spent years studying curses from you Lucius," Snape muttered. "Now it seems that the student has surpassed the teacher."

"We'll see about that Snape!" Lucius snapped. He made a stabbing motion with his wand, and with a sound like a gunshot, four dark objects that looked like needles flew at Snape.

Reacting quickly, Snape pointed his wand at the front-most needle and sent it off-course, where it whipped through the trees and out of sight. He did the same with the second needle, forcing it to his other side. The third narrowly missed his stomach, but the fourth made contact.

The black needle was embedded into Snape's pale, sallow neck. He pulled it out carefully with his left hand and closely examined the tip. Almost immediately, Snape looked drowsy. His eyes were half-closed and he appeared to have trouble keeping his balance. He fell to the ground, as if his legs had given way from under him.

Lucius Malfoy advanced on him, holding his wand over Snape's limp form, looking supremely content. Snape was virtually defenceless, half-conscious with his wand hanging loosely in his hand. Harry raised his wand, preparing to Disarm Malfoy. However, before he had even started speaking he heard Ron and Hermione's voices bellow "Expelliarmus!"

From their combined force, Malfoy was hurled yet again into a tree. His wand soared high above any of their heads, but instead of returning to either one that had cast the spell, it was caught by Hagrid, who pointed it at Hermione.

Harry thought of how he could help her, he had to stop Hagrid somehow. But Hagrid was a half-giant, so only strong spells like Imperius could touch him, and Harry knew that if he tried Imperius it would not have much effect. He remembered seeing the dragons, and how it would take at least six Stunners to knock them out. But -- an idea came to him -- Sirius had said that a simple spell could hurt them.

"Conjunctivitis!" Harry said, aiming for Hagrid's beetle-black eyes.

The spell hit its target. Hagrid roared with pain and dropped Malfoy's wand as he brought his hands to his eyes. He stumbled around blindly, unknowingly walking towards the ravine that had claimed Percy's life. Then, with only a mild gasp of surprise, Hagrid lost his footing and fell down as well. Unlike Percy, Hagrid's body made a resonant thumping noise.

"HAGRID!" Harry yelled, knowing that he had killed one of his best friends. Ron and Hermione looked at him, equally shocked. Wormtail smiled again as he had done with Percy. Malfoy calmly picked up his wand, and ignoring Snape who was lying on the floor, his head lolling backwards, turned back to Harry.

"Was that your first murder Potter?" he inquired. "You're becoming the ideal Death Eater tonight. That's the Imperius Curse," he began counting on his fingers, "One murder, although I'm sure that was accidental, and I am confident you would have used the Cruciatus Curse on me if Severus had not interrupted you. To think that barely an hour ago you said that you weren't like me."

Harry stood there, numb with disbelief. He had killed Hagrid. There was another eerie silence, broken only by anguished groans from Snape who was convulsing on the ground.

Lucius made a tired sigh, as if being a Death Eater was nothing but hard work. He gave another tragic shake of his head.

"Another unnecessary death," he said, walking back to Snape, who seemed completely oblivious to anything else happening around him. "But I think that your death, Severus, is very necessary. It's a shame, you were once such a good servant; you were so obedient. That was before Dumbledore got to you, made you think there was more power in running around with his little group of embarrassments. Only fitting for that man to associate with the worst of wizardkind, being scum himself."

Snape suddenly, but with great effort, lifted his head. He eyed Malfoy with another look of detestation. When he spoke, his voice was weak and muffled.

"Never -- insult -- Dumble -- dore --" he said, attempting to hold his wand steady and point it upwards. He succeeded in his attempt after much struggle. Malfoy did not look the least bit worried, obviously if Snape tried to curse him, he could defend himself much better than Snape could attack. Snape turned over onto his front, and began crawling across the ground like a worm; Malfoy kept his wand trained on him all the time.

Snape pointed his wand at Malfoy, his hand shaking horribly. Then, he slowly turned his head, and just as slowly moved his wand to point at Harry. He shot one single spell in Harry's direction, gave a small sneer, and then slumped face-first into the ground.

Harry felt a burning around his legs, and when he looked down he saw that the vines around his legs were withering and dying. He kicked the brown plants away and let them crunch under his feet. Snape's last conscious act was to free him! For the first time since he had entered the clearing with Hagrid he had the freedom to run.

Could he run though? They were not outnumbered; there were three of them and only two Death Eaters. Yet Wormtail and Lucius Malfoy were obviously much more ruthless, and would have no problem with hurting any one of them to stop them getting away. Furthermore, Hagrid had led him through the Forest for quite a long time before they reached the clearing, and Harry was not sure of the way back; he had enough experiences in the Forest to know that there were even more dangerous places to be than in the presence of Death Eaters, at least Malfoy could be reasoned with to a certain extent, Harry thought.

Even if they could escape, Harry didn't want to leave Snape there. Aside from being completely defenceless against the Death Eaters who had vowed revenge against him, if he was left alone in the Forest he would be easy prey for any of the animals that lived there.

Hagrid and Percy's bodies were still lying at the bottom of the ravine. Harry's couldn't believe he had killed Hagrid. Even supposing he was planning to run, he just couldn't leave Hagrid there, knowing what he had done. His feet were as immobile as if the vines were still binding them.

Ron and Hermione were holding each other, both plainly unsure about what to do. Harry wished that they could come up with a better strategy than him.

"Oh dear," said Wormtail, who seemed to have decided he had been lurking in the shadows for long enough while Malfoy was doing all of the work. "Potter's free now, whatever shall we do?" He made a mocking shudder along with a derisive snort.

"It's time you learned, Potter," he said, pointing his metallic index finger at Harry. "That while you may think yourself the hero, you are nothing but a thorn in the Dark Lord's side. Do you really think that you three can overpower Lucius and me? Don't make me laugh."

Breaking away from each other, Ron and Hermione stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Harry, both their wands facing Wormtail and Malfoy. The five of them waited for a few seconds, and then as if some unknown signal had triggered them, they erupted into a fight.

Harry straight away aimed Stunning Spells at both Lucius and Wormtail, but they were deflected. Wormtail used the Cruciatus Curse on Hermione, and her shrill cry distracted both Harry and Ron enough that they were both Disarmed in a flash by Malfoy. After Wormtail lifted the Curse from Hermione, she was shaking on the ground, making it exceptionally easy for him to attract her wand with a simple "Accio!"

The three of them were unarmed against their opponents, who both looked incredibly pleased.

"Time to take you to your new master I think," said Malfoy. "Stupefy!"

It was the only thing to do. Without requiring any thinking, Harry flung out his arm and concentrated as hard as he could. Very slowly, much more gradually than Harry was hoping for, the red light decelerated and eventually just hung in mid-air as a red speck.

Malfoy's eyes widened with shock. Harry opened his hand and sent the curse back. Malfoy fell to the ground, the look of surprise still registered on his face. Wormtail looked down at Malfoy indifferently. He aimed in Harry's direction with his index finger, drawing lazy circles in the air with it.

"Potter knows how to play it seems," he said, not giving a thought to reviving Malfoy. "Looks like I'm alone now. No more Lucius, no more giant, just me to face a few unarmed children."

"Fed up of taking Malfoy's orders?" Harry threw back, stalling for time. It had been evident for some time that Malfoy had been taking the lead and Wormtail had not been happy about it. "It only makes sense I suppose, Wormtail. You don't have the brains to think for yourself. You wouldn't have the power to fight either if Voldemort hadn't given you some of his power."

Wormtail flinched briefly upon hearing Voldemort's name, but quickly recovered from it after mentally registering what Harry had said.

"How did you know that?" he said sharply.

Harry panicked, and apparently so did Ron and Hermione, since they had both shot him discreet looks. He definitely didn't want to reveal to Wormtail that his scar linked him and Voldemort, so that Harry could see what Voldemort was doing. As far as Harry knew it was one of the best weapons they had for finding out Voldemort's plans. He wished his anger hadn't got the better of him.

"How did you know that?" Wormtail repeated. "There's no way you could have known that, only the Dark Lord and I know that. You've been spying on us -- Dumbledore has found a way to pry into our plans." He furrowed his brow in thought. "We shall have to be more careful in future."

"Yes you will have to be more careful," said a cheerful voice lurking somewhere out of sight. Harry could hear loud rustling coming towards them. He turned around, trying to pinpoint the source of it. Then the congenial voice spoke again:

"It seems that only someone particularly careless would attempt to capture Harry Potter and his friends, then keep them at Hogwarts where anybody could come and find them." The man who was speaking was coming ever closer to them, and hopefully to their escape. "Seems to me like the more sensible thing to do would be to take them off the school grounds first, but that's just how my mind works."

Finally the speaker came into the clearing. His entrance could not have been more different from how Snape had joined them. He did not have his wand out, but his arms swung casually at his sides. There was no look of loathing on his face, only an expression of moderate interest, as though this life-or-death situation were nothing more than a curious social experiment.

Wormtail directed his metallic hand at the newcomer, who looked not the least bit worried by it. He still did not draw his wand, and Harry was starting to get anxious about how untroubled the man was. Harry couldn't see what there was to stop Wormtail from cursing the man, but he had seen many different ways of defending oneself without a wand. Although he doubted whether this man was protected by some Order of the Phoenix, and it seemed even less likely that it was because he had some giant blood in him. But maybe, Harry thought, maybe his kind also had some form of protection in their blood.

Wormtail took two steps towards the man, his finger still ready to attack. Yet he did not attack, and Harry was puzzled by this. He remembered the last time those two had come face to face; they had been quite civil then, even though the man had threatened to kill Wormtail more than once. Harry thought of how Lucius Malfoy and Snape had acted; old friends could be like that if they turned on each other in later life.

"Moony my old friend," Wormtail said coldly to Lupin. "I should have known you would try to save Potter and his friends. I remember you did that before in the Shrieking Shack."

"I didn't go there to save them last time," Lupin replied, still not taking out his wand. "I went there to find you, and Sirius."

"And was it the Marauder's Map that told you where we were this time as well?" Wormtail asked, his eyes flickering down to where Malfoy was laying Stunned on the ground. Harry knew he was thinking of reviving him so that they could fight Lupin together.

"No," Lupin replied. "There are better ways to detect if some unwelcome guest has entered the Hogwarts grounds."

Finally, Lupin drew his wand, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. They now had someone armed to face Wormtail again. His and Ron's wands were in Malfoy's immobile hand along with Malfoy's own wand. Harry raised his hand to attract them, and the three of them flew into his hand. He took his and threw Ron his. Wormtail had Hermione's wand clenched in his left hand, so Harry was forced to throw her Malfoy's wand, which she caught before giving it a look of utmost revulsion. Harry thought of what it would be like if he was required to use a wand that had caused as much devastation as that one.

Suddenly Wormtail was outnumbered four-to-one. He cast another look down at Malfoy, and inched his fingers towards his lifeless figure.

"Don't even think about it, Peter," Lupin warned dangerously. "If you try to revive him I'll have to take action against you."

"Surely you wouldn't hurt your old friend, would you Remus?" Wormtail said, his hand no longer drifting in Malfoy's direction.

"I would have killed you two years ago if it wasn't for Harry. I might not make the same mistake again," Lupin muttered darkly.

"Then kill me," Wormtail responded. He took a long pause where the two of them scrutinized each other before Wormtail spoke again. "No, I didn't think so. I know you Remus, you wouldn't kill me unless there was no other alternative."

"Yes, so don't give me a reason and you'll be fine," Lupin said. "If you surrender now, I'll have no reason to harm you."

"Oh yes Remus, I'm sure if I give in now you'll just let me scurry back to the Dark Lord. I'm not an idiot, Moony. If I submit to you I'll be taken to the Ministry, I know you want Sirius to be freed. I'm afraid I can't let that happen."

Wormtail attacked before Lupin had time to react. The Stunning Spell hit him squarely in the chest. He fell to the ground with a faint rustling from the leaves under him.

"LUPIN!" Harry yelled, and he, Ron and Hermione all shouted, "STUPEFY!"

Wormtail raised his silver hand and calmly said, "Durus." The Shield Charm prevented him from being Stunned, although another odd rustling was coming from the surrounding area. Wormtail spun around, looking in all directions trying to see where the source of the noise was, for it seemed to be coming from all around them.

Mad-Eye Moody emerged from the trees, along with at least six other people, forming a perimeter around them all. Moody gave a careless wave of his wand over Lupin and muttered something. Instantly Lupin opened his eyes and began to move.

"We tried it your way, Lupin," he growled. "You said you could handle him alone, well it hardly seemed like you were on top of things there!"

"Well then it's lucky you were here, Alastor," said Lupin with as much dignity as he could muster as he scrambled to his feet. "I knew you could keep an eye on things."

Moody looked at Snape and Malfoy both slumped on the ground. His magical eye swivelled to the ravine, where Percy and Hagrid's bodies were. He pointed his wand down at Snape and said, "Enervate." Snape didn't move.

"What happened to him?" Moody asked.

"Malfoy hit him with some black dart-looking things," Hermione answered. "One of them's there on the grass."

Mad-Eye bent down and picked up the needle to examine it, then roughly lifted Snape by his shoulder and dropped him back on the ground.

"He'll live," he said bluntly. "Shame he had to come here on his own, but someone had to stall them until we got here."

"What should we do with these two?" asked one of the other people who had arrived with Moody. Harry looked around, and saw that it was Mundungus Fletcher, who he had briefly been introduced to in Dumbledore's office when they had been discussing Karkaroff's death. Harry scanned the rest of the new faces. He recognised Mrs Figg, who he had discovered was a witch at the same time he had met Fletcher. There were four other men and women whom he did not recognise.

Moody regarded Malfoy and Wormtail with intense dislike on his gnarled face. Wormtail pointed his finger at each of them in turn; an obvious expression of panic accompanied by his erratic movements gave the impression that he had lost his sanity in the last few minutes.

"Stun this one," Moody replied to Fletcher, who nodded. They all clearly saw Moody as the leader of them. "Then bring them both back to the castle. Make sure you bind them properly before we revive them for interrogation. Lupin, you bring Snape there, we don't want him getting eaten by anything."

The others advanced on Wormtail, who continued his irregular actions towards them all.

"It's over Peter," Lupin said firmly.

"Oh I don't think it's over," Wormtail said menacingly. "You forget that I once killed twelve Muggles with a single curse. Sirius thought he had me cornered then."

Suddenly Wormtail transformed. The plump brown rat dashed around to avoid curses being sent at it, emitting high pitched whines. It crawled onto Lucius Malfoy, laying its silver paw on Malfoy's chest. Harry heard a distinct, three-syllable squeak from the rat and Malfoy's eyes opened, completely alert, just as Wormtail turned back into a man. Malfoy instantly jumped to his feet, also dodging curses. His eyes flew around the clearing, at the six fully-grown, armed witches and wizards, and the now-equipped Harry, Ron and Hermione. He realised he had no wand, so Wormtail threw him Hermione's wand.

The curses abruptly stopped, and everybody pointed wands at each other. Moody took a step forwards to Malfoy.

"Give it up, Malfoy," he growled. "You're hugely outnumbered."

Malfoy looked at each of the people surrounding him in turn. His eyes lit up, which in Harry's mind made him look more like his son Draco than ever. Surprisingly, he began to laugh.

"But am I out-skilled?" he said tauntingly. "These are the best reinforcements Dumbledore can send?" he turned to each one of them again. "Mad-Eye Moody, I'm sure you were a good Auror once, but old age seems to have done its damage, or perhaps you took one curse too many and it addled your mind."

He turned his attention to Lupin. "Remus Lupin, is it? Yes, I remember you were a Gryffindor along with Wormtail here, one of Potter's friends. Keeping a nasty secret back then, weren't you? But I'm not worried, the full moon isn't for another week, and I don't think you would be much harm in any other state."

Moody and Lupin both looked outraged, but stood there silently with their wands on-guard. Malfoy passed Fletcher and some of the others without comment, but stopped when he reached Mrs Figg.

"Arabella Figg. I thought the company Dumbledore kept could sink no lower. I didn't think even he would attempt to recruit a mad old bat like you. We thought we'd seen the last of you when you disappeared fifteen years ago, exiled from the wizarding world for committing the most despicable of crimes."

Mrs Figg stared impassively at Lucius Malfoy. "Clearly we have very different ideas of what a despicable crime is," she said. "I've never once regretted what I did."

Malfoy shook his head, as if disgusted by the mere sight of Mrs Figg, for committing some crime and Harry had no idea what it could be. It had to be serious if it had caused her to be outcast from the entire magical community.

"Enough of this Malfoy," said one of the men Harry did not know, who spoke in a slow, deep voice. "You're coming with us. So why don't you and the rat just save us some time and surrender."

Wormtail sneered. "If you think that Lucius and I are just going to come along quietly with you, then you're just as mad as the rest of this lot."

All of them, including Harry, Ron and Hermione, stood still once more.

"Go!" Moody roared.

At once, Moody, Lupin and the rest of them started to send curses at Wormtail and Malfoy again. Fletcher successfully cursed Wormtail, who let out a very rat-like squeal of pain. Harry aimed straight at Wormtail and said "Stupefy!"

Wormtail turned his head just in time. He quickly transformed into a rat, so that he was so low to the ground that the Stunning Spell went far over him. None of the others seemed to have noticed that one of the Death Eaters they were trying to apprehend had suddenly disappeared and there was now a rat running around in his place.

"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Harry repeated, trying to see the dark animal in the dim moonlight. But it was no use, the rat was darting through the unkempt grass and leaves out of the clearing, abandoning Malfoy in his fight against the others. Harry sprinted after him, determined to not let him get away again.

"Harry! NO!" he heard Lupin yell behind him. But this was too important, he had to go; he had to capture Wormtail. Sirius would be cleared, and his parents' betrayer would be brought to justice.

He ran as fast as he could, having to duck under low branches as he went. Wormtail would not be having these problems; he could just carry on straight without obstacles. Harry followed the noises the rat was making, with no idea if he was heading back to the castle or even deeper into the Forest.

A glimmer of silver up on a tree branch told Harry that Wormtail had stopped running, and he was trying to escape by climbing as high as he could. Harry could see its silhouette easier against the tree bark, but it was clambering upwards too quickly.

"Stupefy!" he tried again, but the spell bounded harmlessly off a branch. He couldn't curse Wormtail when he was so far away. "Accio rat!"

Wormtail flew from the tree trunk and into Harry's waiting hands. The rat put up quite a struggle, so Harry held him by the neck, his thumb so tightly wrapped it was nearly choking the rat, which was squealing even louder than before. Harry pointed his wand squarely between the rat's eyes.

"Stup -- ouch!" The rat had bitten Harry's hand so hard that Harry dropped it before he could think about it. Wasting no time, Wormtail continued to flee from Harry.

"Harry! Harry!" he heard voices shouting behind him. Distracted, he turned around to see Ron, Hermione and Lupin running towards him. Harry couldn't let them sidetrack him; getting Wormtail was his first priority.

"Wormtail!" he yelled back at them, trying to explain as quickly as possible. "That way, help me!"

The three of them seemed to understand. They followed Harry in the direction he had seen Wormtail disappear. Lupin ran next to Harry, while Ron and Hermione trailed behind.

"Harry," Lupin said seriously after they had been running for several minutes. "Just now when we came to find you, Ron told me what you did to Malfoy. Using an Unforgivable Curse changes you, Harry. You spared Peter's life once, you might not be so merciful this time."

"You can talk," Harry snorted, listening carefully for signs of Wormtail. "You were the one who was going to kill him last time."

"I didn't say I wanted to talk you out of anything," Lupin muttered. "I just want you to keep in mind that you don't want to become a monster. You lost your parents to Darkness, don't lose yourself too."

Harry nodded, and they carried on with their pursuit without speaking again until they reached the edge of the Forest. They ran past Hagrid's hut, and in the openness of the school grounds they could see Wormtail better than through the trees. But it was still too hard to see a rat in the dark, it would be much easier if he could see the man.

He knew what he had to do. Harry thought about what Lupin had just said to him, but it was the only way. He would have done it to Lucius Malfoy; there was enough hatred between them, and Malfoy wasn't the one who had betrayed Harry's parents. His mind made up, he pointed his wand at the hastily retreating rat:

"Crucio!" he screamed. Wormtail let out another deafening screech. Harry felt the same feeling he had when he used Imperius, a glorious sense of power. The rat was shaking madly on the ground, and Harry enriched himself in the undeniable pleasure of causing it so much pain. Very slowly, the rat started to grow, its arms and legs became longer and its tail retracted.

Peter Pettigrew writhed on the grass, still howling from the torture Harry was inflicting. After Harry felt Wormtail had suffered enough, he lifted his wand.

Harry looked at the traitorous piece of filth that was responsible for his being an orphan, completely at his mercy. Wormtail was crying; the malice he had shown when he had first entered the Forest that night was long gone, Wormtail was a wreck now. Harry could kill him if he wanted to, but he wasn't going to lose himself to Darkness. Not just because of Wormtail, at least.

Lupin laid a hand on Harry's shoulder, also facing Wormtail with his wand. Ron and Hermione stood on Wormtail's other side, closing him in, remarkable not looking as shocked as they had when he used Imperius.

"Cruciatus as well Harry?" drawled a voice from behind Hagrid's hut. Lucius Malfoy stepped out, Hermione's wand still clutched in his hand, and triumph on his cruel, pointed face.

"How did you get away?" Ron said, directing his wand at Malfoy now.

"Like I said, Weasley. Outnumbered, but not out-skilled," he replied. He looked down at Wormtail sobbing on the ground with repulsion. "You did this to him, Potter? You have more strength than I thought. I take back what I said about your father, you're better than him. In my opinion you remind me more of your mother Lily, the Mudblood Slytherin."

"The -- the what?" Harry said. His mother, a Slytherin: it was impossible.

"Didn't you know, Potter?" Lucius smirked. "Your mother was a Slytherin with Severus and I."

"No, you're lying!" Harry said confidently.

"Don't believe it if you want, it makes no difference to me," Malfoy said, and his smile spread across his face. "But it's a shame you weren't a Slytherin like her. Draco would have been an excellent influence on you, then perhaps you would have not put up so much of a fight against joining us."

"I'll never join you," Harry muttered.

"Fine, then we have no reason to keep you alive," Malfoy replied, raising Hermione's wand. "Avada Ke--"

"No!" yelled Wormtail weakly, and he pulled himself up to knock Malfoy back. Bright green light erupted from Malfoy's wand, but instead of hitting Harry it went straight up into the air, as far as any of them could see.

"Nice try Malfoy!" a voice growled. Harry looked, and saw Moody and the man with the deep voice who had been with him were both limping across the grass towards them, wands ready. They both sent curses at Malfoy and Wormtail, and so did Lupin, Ron and Hermione. But Malfoy cast a Shield Charm around the pair of them, since it seemed that Wormtail no longer had the strength to fight. Then Harry saw Mrs Figg, Fletcher, and the rest of them emerge from the Forest.

"Run you fool!" Malfoy yelled to Wormtail, clearly admitting defeat. He pulled Wormtail forcefully to his feet and began dragging him in the direction of the Hogwarts gates.

Every single one of them followed the two Death Eaters. Harry was exhausted; he felt he had done enough running for one night, but didn't let himself slow down. They ran past the castle, every now and then attempting to send a curse at one of them, but none of them hit their targets. The front gates were in view, and so were the Dementors that Fudge had appointed to guard them.

Lucius Malfoy was the first to reach the gate. He yelled something at the Dementors that Harry couldn't hear, but he saw the Dementors nod at each other and open the gates. Malfoy ran another few yards, but then Disapparated with a pop!

Harry could feel the Dementors start to affect him. The familiar wave of coldness swept over him, his resistance lower than usual since he was so worn out. He could hear a voice in his head, but not the one he was expecting.

"Bow to death, Harry ... and now you face me, like a man ... straight-backed and proud ... the way your father died."

Harry's vision was clouded. It may have been his imagination, but he could have sworn he saw a golden carriage approaching the gates. He saw a bright red light heading for Wormtail, who was nearly at the gate by now, but missed and narrowly avoided hitting the carriage.

"Come out, Harry ... come out and play, then ... it will be quick ... it might even be painless ... I would not know ... I have never died."

The door to the carriage burst open violently. A tall man with a long silver beard stepped out of it. It was Dumbledore! He looked as angry as Harry had ever seen him. He could also see a man with a green bowler hat on it was looking out of the carriage window, but Dumbledore yelled at him, apparently warning him not to come out.

Harry heard somebody fall to the ground behind him, he looked around and could faintly see Hermione facedown in the grass, with Ron looking as though he were about to join her. Many of the others were beginning to look fainter and slow down, but Moody, Lupin and the man with the deep voice continued to run.

Wormtail reached the gate and said something to the Dementors too. He stopped when he had gone out of the school grounds, turning back to point his silver hand at Harry, and Harry could faintly hear the word he said:

"Stupefy!"

Harry Potter hit the floor.