The holidays passed unnoticed, and school began as suddenly as it had seemed. Everything went on as usual.
One fine moment, the twins Fred and George Weasley gave Harry the Marauder's Map, and now the boy had more opportunities to explore the castle and remain unnoticed, because he still had his invisibility cloak.
With this map, it was possible to see everyone everywhere. There was Peter Pettigrew...
Harry glided down the corridor, met with a lot of indignation from the portraits, but didn't find anyone. After all, he was just a rat at the moment, and he had probably already run away.
***
Harry and his friends decided to visit Hagrid. The gamekeeper was by the lake, throwing stones into the water to make "pancakes." He was in a bad mood, as his eyes were wet with tears.
"The pecking bird has been sentenced to death!" replied the man when Harry asked what was wrong.
And it was all because of those damn Malfoys. During one of his magical creature care classes, Draco decided to show off once again and, as a result, was attacked by a hippogriff named Buckbeak. The injury wasn't very serious, but Lucius Malfoy, upon learning that his son had been "attacked," made a huge fuss and demanded that whatever had harmed Draco be destroyed. Harry personally saw how this Slytherin came up to him and made a scene. But his words were unlikely to have any effect...
When the boys went back after their gathering, Ron decided to yell at Hermione:
"It's all your cat's fault!
"He didn't touch your rat! The live-eater had nothing to do with it.The thing was, Scabbers, Ron's rat, had disappeared, and shortly before that there had been an incident with Hermione's cat. In fact, Harry knew that it wasn't about the poor cat, but he couldn't tell the boy that his rat was actually a man in disguise...
"You disgusting, filthy cockroach!" Hermione suddenly shouted.
It turned out that Draco and his friends were just ahead of them. They were laughing merrily as Malfoy described in vivid detail how he would hang the hippogriff's head in the Slytherin common room. Hermione took out her wand and pointed it at the boy's neck, who immediately cowered in fear.
"Hermione, don't!" Harry tried to defuse the situation.
"He's not worth it..." Ron supported his friend.
The girl looked back at her friends, then at Malfoy. Calming down, she lowered her wand. But as soon as Draco laughed, she immediately hit him on the nose, causing him to squeal. The Slytherins ran away, their heels flashing shyly, while the others watched them with sly smiles.
"Nice hit!" Barry gave her a thumbs up.
"Yeah..." Harry scratched the back of his head in surprise.
Hermione just smiled modestly. Suddenly there was a shout; it was Neville and Seamus calling Ron. Lately, Weasley had been hanging out with them a lot, and no one really minded when he went over to join them.
Harry continued his walk with Barry and Hermione. The boy glanced at his friend from time to time, feeling both proud of her and slightly scared.
They came to a small hill from which they could see Hagrid's hut, where Dumbledore, Minister Fudge and the executioner were already standing... There was a sound of a sharp object, which could only mean one thing...
"Scabby?" Barry asked suddenly, leaning down slightly.
"Harry" turned to his friend, who was stroking the rat in his hands.
"Ron will be so happy when he finds out," smiled the boy. Suddenly, the rat squeaked and began to struggle. "Stop, where are you going?"
The boy ran after the rat, and then "Harry" remembered what was supposed to happen next and instantly regretted that Ron had already left.
"Huh?" Barry shouted when he finally caught the unfortunate rat (or was it really a rat?).
Suddenly, a huge black dog appeared from nowhere, grabbed the boy by the leg and dragged him away. Harry and Hermione immediately ran after their friend. But the dog had already managed to slip into the passageway and grab Barry, when Ivy began to block the path of the other children with her branches.
"Arresto Momentum!" Harry shouted the spell.
The tree froze. The boy met Hermione's surprised gaze, and she gave him a thumbs up. The children immediately rushed into the passageway hidden in the yew tree. Harry felt a strange sensation; he knew what was about to happen and who would be there. Lately, the boy had been feeling more and more paranoid.
"Are you okay, Harry?" Hermione turned to him, having probably already sensed that her friend was upset.
"Not really," the boy didn't lie to her.
"Do you know what's going to happen next?" the girl asked quietly.
"Yes," Harry nodded. "Just stay alert, okay?"
Hermione nodded in agreement, and they continued on their way. The children began to climb the stairs, and from a distance they could hear a painful groan — poor Barry's leg must have been hurting. "Harry" just frowned in dissatisfaction and cursed his fate for letting his doppelganger "take" the events that were supposed to happen to Ron...
"Harry" and Hermione entered a room that looked very dilapidated and not very clean, and there was a nasty doggy smell.
"Stop!" Barry noticed his doppelganger, who stretched out his arm and looked at him fearfully. "It's a trap! It was him!"
"Harry" turned around and saw none other than Sirius Black standing in the doorway. The man was dressed in old rags, which he probably hadn't changed since escaping from Azkaban. Black looked at them with interest, but most of his attention was focused on Barry, who was still holding Ron's rat. Hermione immediately stood in front of the boys, shielding them with her body, but "Harry" put his hand on her shoulder, trying to hint that everything was under control, but she didn't seem to hear him.
"You won't kill us!" Hermione hissed menacingly.
"Oh, no!" Sirius smiled. "Only one will die today..."
The man slowly walked towards the rat, when suddenly Remus Lupin ran into the room.
"Sirius, stop!" The professor held his hands out, but he had his wand in his right hand.
"What now?!" Black shouted irritably. "I've been waiting so long to finish what I started! He must die!"
"Harry" moved closer to his friends, placing his hands on both their shoulders, once again hinting that everything was under control.
"You're talking about Peter Pettigrew, aren't you?" Harry asked quietly.
"Yes, but how do you know...?" Remus wanted to ask, but the boy continued.
"I saw his name on the Marauders' map, but it's strange, because he's dead..."
"Oh, no," Sirius said slowly. "That cunning bastard is alive! And he's over there!"
"Me?" Barry's eyes widened in surprise when Sirius pointed at him.
"Not you! The rat in your hands!The man lunged towards him, but suddenly another teacher appeared in the room, this time it was Severus Snape. He pulled Sirius away with a spell, preventing him from reaching the boy, who was still holding the rat trying to escape.
"Damn Nuneus!" Black growled. "Always on time!
"Oh yes," Severus drawled. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this day, to see the Dementors devour your soul!"
"Severus, don't be a fool!" Remus stood up for his friend.
"He's got it in his blood!" Sirius snapped back.
"Sirius, shut up!
"Shut up yourself!
"You're yelling at each other like an old married couple," Snape smirked.
"Professor," Harry intervened. "But Sirius Black is innocent. It's all Pettigrew's fault!"
"Nonsense!" Severus snorted. "Pettigrew has been dead for years!
"God, you're such an idiot!" Sirius drawled. "Really, how could you? That bastard faked his own death, and you all believed him.
"Barry," Harry approached his doppelganger. "Give me the rat."
The boy handed over his pet, who kept trying to escape, but "Harry" deftly held Korosta in place, then passed her to Sirius, who immediately pointed his wand at her. At that moment, the rat managed to escape, but not for long — Black cast a spell on her, and Crookshanks got stuck in a hole, quickly transforming into a man named Peter Pettigrew. Sirius and Remus immediately set about getting him out, Severus standing a little apart, looking on in amazement. Harry and his friends watched with interest.
"Sirius! Remus!" squeaked Peter. "My old friends..."
He tried to run away again, but the Marauders grabbed him by the shoulders and dragged him back. Pettigrew's gaze fell on "Harry," and he immediately rushed towards him.
"Harry!" he grabbed the boy by the shoulders. "You look just like James! You know, he would have spared me! He..."
"Get your hands off him," Harry jerked away.
"Don't you dare say James's name, you bastard!" Sirius pulled the man away from the boy.
"I didn't mean to!" Peter began to justify himself immediately. "I was forced to! The Dark Lord threatened me! What would you have done, Sirius?!"
"You would have died!" Black barked. "Died, but I wouldn't have betrayed my friends!
"A-a-a!
The Marauders were ready to finish Peter off right there, but "Harry's" Flash reflex kicked in, preventing anyone from dying.
"Stop!" Potter stood in front of Pettigrew. "Don't kill him!"
"Why not?" Sirius protested.
"He needs to be punished differently! Send him to the castle and hand him over to the Dementors.
Pettigrew only howled dejectedly.
***
Severus walked behind everyone, watching Harry and Hermione carry their friend on their shoulders, while Sirius and Remus held Peter tightly so he couldn't escape.
"Please forgive me for grabbing your leg," Sirius said to Barry. "I didn't mean to hurt you, it was an accident."
"Yeah, right, an accident," the boy whimpered. "But it's okay... It doesn't seem to be broken, so thank you."
When everyone came out onto the street, it was noticeably darker; night was falling. Harry saw blood flowing from his friend's leg.
"Episkai," the guy ran the stick along Barry's leg.
The bleeding stopped, and Barry breathed a sigh of relief, but then closed his eyes again.
"My leg still hurts," the boy exhaled.
"You need to go to the hospital," Hermione nodded.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief, moved away from the others and began to look at Hogwarts at night. Whatever anyone said, the view was still mesmerising.
"Oh, how I wish I could walk through those doors again as a free man," Sirius's voice sounded nearby.
He turned to him. Sirius stared at the castle, mesmerised, and sighed sadly. The boy felt sorry for him, twelve years in prison for nothing. In this, Sirius resembled Henry Allen, who was also serving time on false charges. Barry was glad that he had played a part in clearing the name of an innocent man.
"It will happen one day," smiled Harry.
"You do know that I'm your godfather, don't you?" Sirius asked, turning to the boy.
"I know," he nodded.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for you when you were growing up..."
"I understand perfectly," said Harry. "But now I live with wonderful people who have become my family.
"That's good, I'm happy for you," Sirius smiled. "But you know, when things settle down, you could come and visit me sometimes. If you want to, of course..."
"In any case, we should get to know each other better. I'd like to hear about my father..."
"Oh, I have lots of stories!
Suddenly, a strange cry rang out. Harry turned around and saw that Remus was not feeling well. At that moment, he saw that the moon was full. And that could only mean one thing...
"Remus, did you take your medicine today?!" Sirius immediately ran up to his friend. "Look at me!"
But Remus couldn't hear him anymore. He slowly turned into a werewolf, leaving nothing human behind. The werewolf looked at everyone, ready to attack. Sirius immediately transformed into a dog, ready to defend his friend to the death. The animals began to fight, and Sirius tried to lead his friend away, but "Harry" ran after them. He didn't understand what was driving them, but he knew he had to be there.
He came to the shore of a small lake, where he saw the wounded Sirius. The boy immediately ran to him. He tried to heal him with spells, but at that moment it grew very cold — Dementors were flying towards them.
They flew towards the men in a flock and began to suck the life out of them. Harry immediately began to remember the spell that scared away the Dementors, thank God he had learned it from Lupin.
"Expecto Patronum!" The boy held his wand forward.
A huge white energy shot out of it, creating a shield that protected them from the Dementors. The main problem was that when casting this spell, one had to think of one's happiest memories, because happiness is the opposite of sadness. But Barry, on the contrary, had only one thing on his mind: to protect Sirius Black — not the happiest of memories, so the shield did not last long.
However, on the other side of the lake, another Patronus appeared. The stag stepped forward and then glowed so brightly that it managed to drive away all the Dementors. When they finally left, Harry, exhausted, fell to the ground and covered his eyes.
***
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