And you're sure it was him?" Dumbledore asked as he paced in front of Remus Lupin, "It's quite easy to mistake one rat from another, after all."
"I could spot Peter even if he hid amongst a hundred filthy rats," Remus said with barely controlled anger; Dumbledore stopped pacing and turned to the man who had just a few moments ago leaped out of Dumbledore's fireplace after being missing for six years, and began to tell him a story about how there had once been three illegal animagi running around Hogwarts, and how one of those former students of his (one who was supposed to have been murdered several years ago by another fellow illegal animagi) was now living in dangerous proximity to Harry Potter.
Were it not for the fact that Dumbledore trusted Remus' word and his loyalty to James Potter's memory, Dumbledore would have had serious doubts regarding the story; as it was, Dumbledore's thoughts were moving at a mile a minute.
If Pettigrew was alive, then that meant that Sirius Black had not murdered him, and if Sirius had not murdered Pettigrew, then perhaps Sirius had been innocent all along; if that were the case, then it was another sin placed at Dumbledore's feet as he had been the one who had sent Black to Azkaban without trial.
For a moment, Dumbledore stared silently at his former student; Remus looked far older than he should have, his condition and the scars (both mental and physical) having stolen from him his once youthful features.
For a moment, Dumbledore remembered fondly how Remus and his band of 'marauders' had declared war on the peace of Hogwarts with their endless pranks against both the faculty and student body; sadly, the once prominent smile that seemed permanently glued to Remus' face was nowhere to be seen, in its place was a look of pure anger, mixed with hatred and despair.
"If it truly is Pettigrew, then we must move quickly to ensure he does not escape, as well as keep him from harming Harry," Dumbledore said quickly,
"Agreed, Peter has evaded justice for long enough!" Remus spat angrily, "If he's alive, then that means Sirius…. that I hated the wrong man for six years!"
At the last word, Remus looked broken and misty-eyed, and Dumbledore gently placed a hand on his former student's shoulder before giving it a gentle squeeze,
"We cannot undo the past, Remus; all we can do is make sure that past mistakes are rectified, and the dead are properly avenged."
"So, what do we do?" Remus asked as Dumbledore released his shoulder and walked to the fireplace,
"First, we will Floo to the Ministry and inform Amelia Bones of what we know," Dumbledore said quickly, "Then we shall have her and a few of her best Aurors join us at the burrow where if luck is on our side, Peter Pettigrew will be waiting. Now let's be off; we cannot give our quarry a chance to escape again!"
XXXX
Molly quickly wiped her brow as she apparated into the front yard of the burrow; for a moment, she looked at the house and felt panic rise up in her for herself and her children, if Remus was right and Percy's pet really was Peter, she had to make sure that the rat didn't know that she was onto him or he might panic and hurt her children in his attempt to escape.
Slowly, Molly took a deep breath and put a mask of calm on, adding a warm smile to try and help the illusion, before she quickly walked to the door and stepped inside her home;
"Children!" Molly called, "Get ready to leave; you're going over to the Lovegoods for a little while-"
Molly suddenly stopped as she saw Jaya lying on the ground in front of the door, seemingly lifeless; instantly, Molly felt the blood rush from her face, and she ran to where the elf was lying, quickly feeling Jaya's neck for a pulse, thankfully there was one and Molly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry, she's not dead, Molly," a voice said, making Molly's blood freeze in her veins. She had heard that voice many times before and had thought she would never hear it again; slowly, Molly rose to her feet and turned to face the living room.
If any color was left in Molly's face, it quickly vanished as she took in the scene before her; Peter Pettigrew was holding Harry in front of him by his shirt, a butcher knife pressed to Harry's throat.
Sitting on the couch, staring helplessly, were the rest of Molly's children, and each wore a look of confusion and fear, Luna looked close to panicking, and Charlie had his arms wrapped around her and Ginny protectively; for a moment, Molly simply stared in horror at the ghost who stood before her, threatening her son, who was looking at Molly in terror, his teddy bear clutched tightly in his tiny hands.
Peter looked like a shell of his former self, and for a moment, Molly had trouble admitting that this was the jolly young man she had once known; he was dirty and pale and seemed to have lost a lot of weight far too quickly, the robes he was wearing (if they could be called that) were equally dirty and hung in tatters on his body; but what caught Molly's eye was the tattoo that lay on Peter's forearm, it was a tattoo that Molly had seen enough times to instantly know what it meant.
"Hello, Peter," Molly said softly as her mind began to race with ideas on how to save Harry, "You're not looking too well,"
"Ah, well; years of living as a rat will do that to you, unfortunately," Peter said with a manic smile that chilled Molly to her core.
"There's no need to harm, Harry," Molly said quickly, "He's just a boy; if you have any love left for James and Lily, you'll let him go,"
Peter looked down at the boy he was holding and seemed to be lost in thought as he stared at Harry, allowing Molly to slowly inch forward,
"He looks like James," Peter said softly, "Except for the eyes, of course."
Molly felt hatred and rage flow through her in equal measure at the mention of Harry's parents, and before she could stop herself, Molly snapped out,
"They were your friends! And you betrayed them if that mark on your arm is anything to judge by!"
Peter quickly looked up from Harry at Molly, a look of anger taking over his features,
"You don't know what you're talking about, woman!" Peter snarled, "I knew the moment I saw Remus looking at me that he knew who I was, that my stay here was at an end; pity, I was rather enjoying the company."
Percy paled at the words, and his face contorted in disgust at the words, while Molly looked murderous,
"How could you do it?! They were your friends!" Molly snarled,
"Yes, they were," Peter spat, "But the Dark Lord offered what they never could, what no one ever did!"
"And what was that?!"
"Power," Peter said with a crazed smile, "Respect and position in the new world; all of you laughed at me! Called me weak and fat, but not him! He showed me what real power was, and I did what I had to! Now, why don't you drop your wand nice and slow before I send dear Harry here to meet his parents."
Harry's mind raced at what he was hearing; all the horrible things that had happened to him were because of the strange man that was holding a knife to his throat; all the abuse and torment he had suffered could be laid at the man's feet, and the realization brought a black rage to Harry that he had never known before.
Molly stared at Peter in disgust and hatred for a moment, tempted to draw her wand and hex the bastard; Peter seemed to know what she was thinking, however, for he pressed the blade into Harry's neck, making the boy whimper softly.
"Now, Molly!" Peter growled,
"Okay!" Molly cried in terror as a bead of blood showed on Harry's neck, "Don't hurt him; I'll do as you ask!"
Slowly, Molly drew her wand from her robe and bent down to place it on the carpet in front of her before rising back to her feet,
"Kick it over to me!" Peter snapped, "Do it now!"
"You killed my mummy and daddy…." Harry whispered in a cold voice, "You're the reason I was sent to live with my aunt and Uncle, the reason I was hurt all the time!"
"And you were supposed to join them!" Peter retorted, "You cost me everything that night, but you're going to make it up to me."
"What are you talking about?" Molly said, her voice cracking in fear and anger,
"The Dark Lord is still alive out there," Peter replied crazily, "I know it in my bones, and Harry and I are going to find him, and when we do, imagine how he will reward me for bringing him the last of the Potter's!"
Molly felt her breath catch in her throat, and she twitched as though to grab for her wand, making Peter press the knife into Harry's throat,
"Do it, and he dies!" Peter snarled,
"It's your fault…." Harry said in a strangely cold voice, "It's all your fault!"
"SHUT UP!" Peter roared.
Harry was no longer listening; the black rage that he felt earlier had morphed into something else, something powerful, and seemed to respond to the only thing Harry wanted at the moment, to make the man who was responsible for Harry's misery pay!
A bright light suddenly erupted around Harry's teddy bear, blinding everyone in the room and making Peter release his hold on Harry to shield his eyes from the sudden burst of light; when his vision finally cleared, Peter felt the blood run from his face; Harry was now standing next to Molly, and in between Harry and Peter stood a large grizzly bear.
"Teddy?" Harry asked in an awed voice as he clung to Molly's side; the bear turned to look at Harry for a moment before turning its attention back to Peter, who was staring at the monster in terror,
"S-stay back, beast!" Peter yelled as he swung the knife back in forth, "I'm warning you!"
The bear stared at Peter for a moment before issuing an ear shattering roar that seemed to shake the whole house and made everyone clutch their ears in pain; the bear then lunged forward at Peter and sank its teeth into Peter's arm, whipping its head back and forth as Peter dropped the knife and screamed in agony.
A moment later, Peter's arm was ripped from his body at the elbow, and he released a shriek of agony before collapsing onto the floor in a bleeding, sobbing mess.
The children, too terrified to move from the couch, watched in horror as the bear devoured Peter's arm before taking a step forward toward the weeping man who lay before it,
"Please, Harry!" Peter sobbed, "Don't let it kill me!"
Molly had been rendered speechless at the chain of events, but Peter's sobbing seemed to snap her out of it, and she quickly turned to Harry, who was watching wide-eyed;
"Harry, call off Teddy!" Molly said quickly,
"Why?" Harry asked in a cold voice that shocked Molly, "He deserves it; he killed my mummy and daddy! He's the reason I was sent to them!"
Molly felt her heart break at the words; yes, Peter deserved to die for what he had done, but if she allowed Harry to do this, she knew it would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Slowly, Molly lowered herself onto one knee and looked Harry in the eye, trying desperately to drown out the noise behind her as Peter tried to crawl away from the bear that was now slowly stalking towards him.
"Harry, I know that what he did was unforgivable, and he deserves to be punished for it, but if you do this, you'll be just as bad as him; I know your mummy and daddy wouldn't want that! Harry, this is not what they would want; you're better than this.
"He was their friend!" Harry cried, angry tears beginning to run down his cheeks, "He was their friend, and he killed them! He's the reason I was hurt all the time!"
"I know, sweetie," Molly said softly, gently wiping the tears away, "But you know this is wrong. You're better than this; I promise you will regret it forever if you do this."
Harry stared at Molly for a moment in indecision, and Molly feared that Harry would ignore her request; turning to see what was happening, Molly saw with horror that Teddy had risen onto his hind legs and was raising a paw to finish off Peter who lay curled in terror before the bear. At the same time, the children watched from the couch in horror.
"Teddy! Stop!" Harry cried out suddenly, rushing forward to hug the bear's leg; the bear froze and looked down at the boy who was crying into its leg,
"Molly's right, Teddy," Harry cried, "Y-you saved me, you don't n-need to hurt him anymore, so p-please stop."
Slowly, the bear lowered itself to the floor and wrapped its paws around the boy; a moment later, the same blinding flash of light surrounded the bear. When it finally dissipated, Harry was once again holding a regular-sized teddy bear, much to everyone's astonishment.
So shocked at what happened was the room that no one seemed to notice Peter inching toward the knife that lay on the floor until he lunged for it with a wild scream of fear and anger, only to be sent crashing into the fireplace a moment later by a stunning spell from Molly who had quickly grabbed her wand.
"Harry, that was…." Charlie began, before falling silent, unable to properly word what he had just witnessed,
"That was amazing!" Fred said in awe,
"Incredible!" George added,
"I'm sorry," Harry sobbed, "I didn't mean to make Teddy do that!"
"He was protecting you," Luna replied, "He's a good bear,"
"Luna's right, Harry," Ron added quickly, "If he hadn't protected us, who knows what might have happened!"
Molly quickly dropped to her knees in front of Harry and pulled him into a tight hug before motioning the other children to join in, which they promptly did; for a moment, no one said anything, just knelt there in a group hug as Molly tried not to sob in happiness that her children were unharmed.
A moment later, the fireplace erupted in green fire, and Remus strode out, followed almost immediately by Dumbledore, Amelia Bones, and two others who Molly did not recognize; the visitor's jaws fell open in horror as they took in the blood that covered the floor in front of them,
"Is anyone hurt?!" Dumbledore asked quickly,
"Just the rat," Molly replied, pointing at the unconscious body that lay against the wall, Dumbledore turned to see who she was talking about, and his face paled at the sight; Peter lay unconscious, his right arm was gone, and a large puddle of blood lay around the stump,
"We must see to it that he receives medical attention immediately!" Dumbledore said quickly, "If he dies, then any hope of proving Sirius Black innocent will die with him!"
Amelia Bones was kneeling next to Peter, his left arm clasped in her hand as she gazed down at his death eater tattoo, an angry expression on her face,
"I had hoped you were wrong, Albus," Amelia said in a tight voice, "But you were telling the truth, he really is alive, and this tattoo proves he is one of you-know-who's followers."
"Now, we must ensure that he lives long enough to pay for his crimes!" Remus snarled as he looked down on the face of his former friend,
"Agreed," Amelia said quickly before turning to her companions, "Shacklebolt! Scrimgeour! Take this scum and get him to St. Mungo's immediately! Then make sure that he is guarded every minute! If he manages to escape, I'll sack you both, is that clear?!"
"Yes, ma'am!" The pair replied as they reached down and grabbed the unconscious body before quickly Apparating away; once they were gone, Amelia turned to the Weasley's, who were still shaking after what they had just witnessed,
"Okay, who wants to tell me what happened here?!" Amelia demanded, her hands on her hips as she took in the carnage around her.