The Marauders… One would think, what could be so terrible if the truth were learned by James Potter, Lily's future husband, or Remus Lupin, a werewolf who understood that sometimes a word could kill, or even Sirius Black, for whom his family had been a curse… But among the inseparable four there was one who, as it turned out, had revealed not only the location of his best friend's house, but also the secret that had influenced his fate… Peter Pettigrew, a true rat in every sense of the word!
"So Peter didn't just lead Voldemort to my parents' house, but also gave him a reason to kill me? But… Why?"
"Do not try to understand betrayal, Harry… Your soul is too pure to accept even the possibility of a treacherous act, and when we understand something, we forgive… I do not want you to be vindictive, but not every deed can be justified! Otherwise, you may reach the point where you begin justifying Tom's actions…"
"So Remus was so afraid that I would learn the truth about my origins because he thought I would rush off in search of that rat?.. Maybe a year ago I would have done exactly that, and I would not have rested while that cursed murderer was still alive, but… Now I have someone for whose sake I must protect my life!" The young man turned his gaze toward his fiancée, who, despite it being lunchtime, remained in the embrace of healing sleep. She was recovering quickly, although she was unlikely to escape to freedom within the next day or two…
"It is not only about how you might have reacted to the news of Pettigrew's double treachery. Your former teacher considers himself responsible for revealing this secret."
"Why? You said that the Marauders all found out…"
"I did not mean that they discovered it together. Remus was simply the first to suspect something… Firstly, he heard Lily drive away a snake during a walk with James. No one knew how she had managed it, but there was something worth considering: either the snake had been guarding its dwelling but, for unknown reasons, retreated at the girl's strange cry, or it had wanted, so to speak, human company, except no one wished to speak with it at that moment… Secondly, while pondering the circumstances behind the incident, the young man noticed an incredible resemblance between Grindelwald's features and those of his granddaughter, and he was especially struck by her eyes, which possessed some extraordinary power… Frightened for his friend, Lupin told your father about his suspicions. Before long, the inseparable four devised a plan to uncover the truth, involving a test of the ability to speak Parseltongue without risking their lives if that ability was absent. In the end, the truth came to light. Fortunately, the students' plans—and all of this happened while they were still at school—were somewhat disrupted, which resulted in my learning about it and demanding that they swear the secret would remain a secret…"
"Then none of this is your fault! You must have believed that Gryffindors could not break their word, much less betray one another!"
"But Harry, I could have prevented the consequences! I would not even have needed to erase their memories; a Confundus Charm would have been enough to turn the incident into a foolish dream! Besides, I took them at their word, believing that those who kept the secret of a werewolf could certainly keep such an innocent secret as well!"
"Everyone is capable of making a mistake… I had to endure the loss of my godfather to understand that, but now I do understand… I have made a decision regarding Animagus transformation."
"And what have you decided, my boy?"
"If this is the only way to fight back against Tom Riddle, I am prepared to take the risk!"
"Well done!.. Forgive me, Harry, but I must be going. At a time like this, it would not be good if I were absent from lunch for several days in a row. I wish Miss Nightfolk a speedy recovery!" And the old wizard left Madam Pomfrey's domain, leaving her prisoners alone.
This time, Flamiya awoke feeling energetic. Their food supplies had run out, so they needed the help of a house-elf. However, Harry reasoned that it would be unfair to mercilessly exploit poor Dobby, who probably had enough work without him, and therefore summoned Kreacher. He regretted it rather quickly, for the deranged creature began insulting not only him, but the girl as well. Nevertheless, after ordering the elf to shut up, Harry sent him to fetch lunch, not forgetting to give precise instructions—Merlin forbid that Kreacher be allowed to choose any of the food himself! After that, one might forget about hunger altogether… out of disgust! The house-elf could not disobey a direct order, and soon the victims of the forgetful nurse had eaten their fill and could calmly discuss the conversation with the Headmaster. Naturally, the secrets of the Evans family came up first:
"So you were right! Why didn't you suspect anything earlier?"
"Well, you know that the Dursleys were not the sort of people from whom one could learn anything about the past. Besides, the way they treated me destroyed any desire even to think about who my grandmother and grandfather had been, let alone my great-grandfather."
"What about what your aunt once said? That her parents were happy Lily was a witch? That is completely untypical for Muggles… And Petunia's attitude toward your mother cannot be explained by simple disgust for magic. It seems more like envy!"
"I never thought about that… All sorts of things happen! Surely you are not trying to say that Dudley is jealous of me? He probably speaks about me even worse than his mother does!"
"Bad example! Your cousin was raised that way; he does not care whether you are a wizard or not! All right, let's talk about something else. What did Dumbledore say about the basilisk?"
"You know, he convinced me that I have to take the risk. No, not the risk of destroying everything around me and killing every inhabitant of the castle, of course! It turns out that only I would be at risk, because if we assume that I manage to find enough strength to transform, there remains the danger that I may no longer be able to return to human form. Therefore, I must study everything thoroughly before making any attempts whatsoever. But it is the only chance to survive the fight against Voldemort!"
"Do not tell me you want to enter into a heroic battle with him! That would be stupid! Yes, you absolutely have to protect yourself, but is that really the answer? And does the Dark Lord truly need to keep pursuing some boy, even one who has dared to cross his path more than once?"
"He does… He has convinced himself that I am Grindelwald's Heir! I never thought I would hear anything more absurd about myself than Hermione's twisted ideas!"
"Well, well… Tom considers you a possible rival? I would never have thought…"
"That is how things are… All right, you need to regain your strength, or Madam Pomfrey will never let us out of here!"
"But I can't sleep anymore! I've already slept enough for a week in advance!"
"Well then, we'll read the Animagus manuals together…"
And they immersed themselves in a book entitled How to Awaken the Beast. Such monotonous titles! However, the author was the same, and therefore the book abounded with information that seemed unnecessary at first glance. This time, though, the detailed descriptions of animals were supposed to help future Animagi create a clear image of what they intended to transform into. Naturally, that was not necessary now, especially since a single encounter with a basilisk was quite enough to remember it in every detail. If Harry had been asked to choose the most terrifying creatures he knew, the King of Serpents would have stood alongside the dragon. But while a dragon could awaken at least some sympathy in the Gryffindor's soul only in miniature, like the one he had received during the Triwizard Tournament, his Animagus form was beginning to acquire more and more familiar features. Still, the author's encyclopedic knowledge of the crawling giant also played a role. The book stated that this noble animal, if raised in freedom rather than as the pet of a Parselmouth, protected not only its offspring, but also its chosen mate—the male was meant—at any cost, even if that cost was its life…
Absorbed in the book, the young man and the girl did not notice Ron Weasley burst in, having suddenly decided to remember that he was still officially a Prefect. To be honest, he would not have remembered at all, but there was no escaping McGonagall. Fortunately, secrecy had been maintained this time: the stack of books had been hidden beneath the bed, while the volume being studied by the Best Couple had been disguised as Hogwarts, A History. Naturally, had anyone else been in Ron's place, especially Miss Know-It-All, the disguise would not have worked—the books were far too different in size, and the cover had only been altered in general terms. But the Redhead noticed nothing, and therefore decided to announce his presence:
"You've got a real family idyll in here! Though you chose a strange book… Ah, you got bored in here and someone left it behind, right? Well, that's not why I came… McGonagall cornered me, said that my brothers had treated their position more responsibly, and threatened to tell Mum everything… I don't need that kind of happiness, so I immediately rushed over here with a full set of textbooks"—he really had brought a stack with him—"to make absolutely certain that you didn't fall behind the curriculum! What a joke!"
"Listen, Ron, it really would not hurt us to know what we missed! And for the moment you are still our Prefect, so go on, tell us!"
"There isn't much to tell… Slughorn was upset by your absence. Even Hermione's fully completed antidote for complex poisons failed to cheer him up… Incidentally, that's what we studied today! Boring as anything… Right, what came next? Charms? Well, Flitwick introduced another barrier charm that is supposed to create something like a wall woven from magic… Naturally, only one person left without homework! And Defence Against the Dark Arts, unfortunately, is still ahead… Maybe Snape will be so pleased that you've been gone for so long that he'll throw a celebration and cancel the lesson?"
"Of course! He'll wash his hair for the second time in his life and invite Trelawney to a slow dance! There's no harm in dreaming!"
"Yeah, and sometimes it's useful! Who knows, maybe that dream will come true! All right, I hope our Head of House has calmed down already, or I'll never get to learn just how delighted the Terror of the Dungeons was!" And the Redhead departed as swiftly as he had appeared.
"I wish I had his problems…" Harry said somewhat sadly.
"You have more problems, but you have me!"
"You are right, my angel! And I will protect you at any cost! Even if that cost is death!"
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