Harry ignored all the stares and whispers in the Great Hall. Dumbledore had done his introduction, the feast had started, and Sirius/Rook wondered off. Harry noticed Lupin slipped out shortly after. He waited a few minutes but calmed down when he didn't hear any sort of explosions or screams. A part of him was worried about Remus. It was likely that the werewolf had been influenced by Dumbledore as well, though non-humans had some extra protection. It was an advantage he now had as well, considering he was technically back from the dead.
"Harry." Hermione whispered.
He looked at her, settling a cold stare on her. She shrunk back.
"Professor Dumbledore is staring at you." She said softly.
"I know." Harry went back to eating, not even bothering to dismiss her.
Ron looked between his two friends. He didn't seem to understand what was going on and wasn't sure he really wanted to know. Ron had spent enough time around him parents to recognize a storm brewing. The best thing for him to do was to stay out of it.
Harry closed his eyes. He took a slow calming breath. When he opened his eyes he noticed something was missing. Hermione didn't have cat hair on her robes. They hadn't gotten together to go shopping together, which meant she must have not gotten her pet. If that was the case, Wormtail wouldn't have a scapegoat for his sudden disappearance.
"Where's Scabbers?" Harry asked.
Ron jumped. "Oh. Uh… He's in my room. He hasn't been feeling well lately. Why?"
If Wormtail didn't know Sirius was at Hogwarts, what would he do? Once Sirius and Peter saw each other, even in their animagus forms, they would recognize each other. Sirius was going up to his room. Wormtail was in the same room.
"Fuck." Harry jumped out of his seat.
He dashed out of the Great Hall. Years of having the Marauders Map had taught him quite a few shortcuts. He made it up to the tower in record time. Harry burst into the common room to see Lupin holding a fully human Wormtail at wand point. Sirius was bound and gagged on the floor, glaring at both of them. All three stopped to look at Harry as he entered.
Wormtail saw his chance. The chubby man was surprisingly nimble. His spindly fingers wrapped around the end of Lupins' wand. A quick yank disarmed the distracted werewolf. Wormtail shifted from terror to triumph as he pointed the wand back at Lupin. The brief moment of his victory was shattered as a powerful stunning spell slammed into the side of his head. Wormtail went down hard, crashing through a table as he fell.
"Harry!" Lupin yelled.
"MURREE." The still-gagged Sirius called.
Harry took a deep breath. "Could someone please tell me what the bloody fuck is going on?"
"Language, Harry." Remus chided.
"Fuck off, Professor." Harry cut back. "I come back to find the man suspected of murdering my parents bound on the floor while you are pointing a wand at a man who is supposed to be dead."
"Hm ahsz uh proint." Sirius said.
Harry inclined his head. "Even the wanted murderer agrees with me."
Sirius smiled through the gag. Harry took the brief pause to bind Wormtail and retrieve Lupin's wand. He held it out to the professor.
"He's not a murderer." Lupin took the wand. "Stupid and impulsive, yes. A murderer, no."
Sirius scoffed. A ghost of a grin flashed across Harry's face.
"Has anyone seen my dog?" Harry asked. "He's big with black fur."
Sirius looked over at Lupin. Remus shrugged. The human form of Sirius shifted into the canine form of Rook. Harry stared at the dog. Even after all these years seeing an animagus transform was still weird.
"Is that why you only pooped when Vernon had to pick it up?" Harry asked.
Rook gave him a goofy dog grin. The grin stayed on his face even after he returned to human form. His bindings, however, were gone.
"What about him?" Harry pointed to Wormtail. "Where did he come from?"
"He turns into a rat." Remus said. "He was hiding out in your dorm room."
"Ron's going to be crushed." Harry shook his head. "We need to call the DMLE."
"We can get Dumbledore-"
"No." Sirius cut in. "I don't trust him. Floo Amelia Bones."
"You don't trust him?" Lupin asked.
Sirius looked to Harry. "It's a long story that should be discussed off of Hogwarts grounds. Let's take him to Hogsmeade. Once there we can contact her." He gave Harry a small smile. "I was hoping to meet you face to face on better terms."
Harry returned the smile. "You've been getting steak strips and ear scratches; I think that's a pretty good introduction."
Sirius laughed. "True. We can talk more later. Be careful around the old man. Don't look in his eyes."
His godfather kicked Wormtail in the stomach. The bound man yelped.
"We know you're awake." Sirius growled. "Try to run and I swear by your shifty eyes that I'll cut the rest of your fingers off."
"Did you search him for a wand?" Harry asked.
"No." Sirius shot a look to Lupin. "Cover me."
Sirius roughly searched the wiggling Wormtail. He found a familiar looking wand hidden in the ratty jacket. Pun intended.
"Nice call." Sirius nodded to Harry. "Come along, Moony. We need to get somewhere safe to talk."
"You be careful too." Harry called after them as they left. "Get somewhere safe as soon as you can."
"Yes, mum." Sirius called back as the painting closed.
Harry shook his head. He turned his attention to the common room. His mouth set into a hard line as he looked at the paintings on the wall.
"You will mention none of this to Dumbledore." Harry commanded. "Anyone who does will soon discover how flammable their canvas is. Do you understand?"
The subjects nodded.
"Spread the word." Harry slowly turned to face each one. "Tell Dumbledore and his people nothing about anything I do this year."
"He's the Headmaster." One of the paintings said softly.
"And I'm Harry Fucking Potter." He growled. "It's simple. Serve Dumbledore against me, and we find out if destroying your home painting gets rid of you as well. Go about your lives, ignore me, and you're safe. Understood?"
The painting nodded.
"Thank you." Harry gave a small bow. "Excuse me. I need to clean up this mess."