"Long time no see, Padfoot."
Peter Pettigrew slowly lowered the arm holding Ron's wand and forced a strained smile at Sirius—bitter, yet tinged with something that almost looked like genuine joy.
"PADFOOT!!"
Sirius threw back his head and roared himself hoarse. "How dare you say that name!!"
Peter tugged at the corner of his mouth, but in the end, he couldn't manage even a properly bitter smile.
"You got James killed. You got Lily killed. And now you want to kill me—and you still dare say that name! How dare you! You filthy, despicable rat! Traitor!"
He thrashed violently, straining with everything he had to break free of the bindings, making the rotten wooden floor beneath him creak ominously. "Fine! So now it's your turn to kill me—feels good, doesn't it?!"
"Come on! Kill me!"
He shouted madly. "I'm telling you, traitor—even if I die right now, I won't go see James. I don't deserve to! I'll become a ghost and whisper everything you did into everyone's ears—especially your old colleagues. They've been dying to catch the bastard who got his own master killed!"
Peter simply stared at Black, his body not trembling in the slightest.
"I'll tell Harry, tell Dumbledore, tell Moony…"
Sirius looked almost deranged now, his voice a desperate howl that sounded just as much like fractured muttering. "I'll stick to you like a shadow. No matter which rubbish bin you crawl into, you'll be dragged out. And only when I see you driven mad by Dementors in Azkaban—or murdered by someone else—will I finally be able to face James!"
"Do it! Scum! Kill me!"
"I'm sorry, Padfoot…"
At last, Peter spoke, his hoarse voice betraying the strain he'd been holding back. "Things aren't—"
"Ha! Still making excuses!"
Sirius suddenly burst into wild laughter. "Look at you—you've already got me! One thought and I'd be dead! And yet you're still here, hesitating, making excuses! Has that fake mask soaked into your spine, or are you scared of what I'll do as a ghost?"
"It's useless, Peter! Dead or alive, I'll see you get what you deserve—"
"Enough, Padfoot."
Peter raised his voice slightly, easily drowning out Black's already-weak roar. "Even if you still don't trust me—could you at least give Moony a moment to process what's happening?"
"You still dare—"
Sirius was about to continue his tirade when his voice cut off abruptly, as if something had seized him by the throat. His sunken eyes bulged, nearly popping from their sockets, skeletal as he stared toward the entrance of the Shrieking Shack.
Standing there, dumbstruck, was Remus Lupin.
"Peter…"
Lupin stood frozen for a long moment before staring in disbelief at the slightly bloated face twisted into a wry smile. "I never thought you were really alive."
"I figured you'd already gotten over the shock when you saw the note," Peter said with a faint smile.
"Kill him, Remus!"
After a brief stunned pause, Sirius began struggling violently again, roaring at the top of his lungs. "He's the one who betrayed James and Lily! Not me! Not me! NOT ME!!"
"…Explain yourself, Peter."
Lupin took a half-step back, eyes locked on Peter, one hand resting tensely at his waist. "I don't understand why you'd choose to live as a rat for twelve years—but you did write to invite me here. So let me hear it, Peter."
"You'd better hear Padfoot out first," Peter said gently, smiling at Lupin as he stepped aside so Sirius and Lupin could face each other. "Otherwise, he won't settle down."
"Sirius…"
Looking at that once-so-familiar face—once hated beyond measure—now reduced to this wretched state, eyes still burning fiercely, Lupin parted his lips, wanting to say something, yet finding no words.
"Don't let him fool you!"
Sirius was just as unhinged as ever, his mind fixed on killing Peter alone. "He joined Voldemort! He betrayed James and Lily! I wasn't the Secret-Keeper—he was!"
"What?!"
"We changed Secret-Keepers at the last minute…"
Sirius panted heavily. The earlier outburst had drained most of his strength, and his voice finally dropped. "I suggested it to James. I told him… I told him…"
His voice began to choke. "Everyone knew how close James and I were. It would've been obvious I was the Secret-Keeper. So I told James we could secretly switch it to Peter—because the Death Eaters would never imagine we'd trust someone so timid. All the danger would be drawn to me, and James and Lily would be safe… and instead… instead…"
"It's my fault. I know it is…" His eyes reddened until they burned like fire. "The night they died, I went to check on Peter first. He was gone—no signs of a struggle. I panicked and rushed to James and Lily. When I saw the ruins of their house… their bodies… I knew what Peter had done. I knew what I had done…"
He turned that blazing gaze on the silent Peter, as if he wanted to tear him apart with his teeth. Grinding his teeth, he forced the words out. "I swore I'd kill the traitor. I tracked him down and cornered him in a street…"
"I admit it—I was fooled then. He staged an explosion, left behind a finger, and pinned everything on me. I thought he was dead. That I'd killed him…"
"And then they sent me to Azkaban."
He lowered his head, muttering as if to himself. "I didn't try to clear my name. Because James and Lily died because of me. If I hadn't trusted that traitor—if I hadn't come up with that idea—they'd never have been found…"
"But I kept my sanity. Probably because I knew the one who truly belonged in that place was Peter—and I thought I'd already killed him. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me. I held on to my reason… just enough to survive…"
"But then the Aurors gave me a newspaper. When I saw Peter in a photograph… I realized he was at Hogwarts. Beside Harry. The moment I knew he was alive, I knew my mission wasn't over. I couldn't go see James yet."
"Then how did you escape?"
Lupin felt as though he were standing before an invisible Dementor, struggling just to keep his own sanity intact. "The guards wouldn't have known your thoughts…"
"Animagus."
Sirius managed something like a smile. "An unexpected blessing. Whenever it got unbearable, I transformed in my cell. You know Dementors—they can't see."
He swallowed. "They sense emotions to locate people. When I was a dog, my feelings weren't quite human—simpler, less complex—so they ignored me. That's how I escaped. And how I got the chance to kill the traitor—right here!"
"I've explained everything. Release me and let me kill him! Remus!!"
He seemed to have regained a little strength and suddenly roared again.
"Do you understand now, Moony?"
Peter, who had been standing to the side with eyes tightly shut, his expression as tortured as if facing a Dementor himself, opened them again. He wiped at the corner of his eyes, his voice thick. "And you too, Padfoot—can you calm down and listen to my story now?"
(End of Chapter)