Keeping the Dark Lord Vanquished

PETTIGREW ALIVE AND BEHIND BARS

By Rita Skeeter

Peter Pettigrew, the wizard believed to have been murdered by Sirius Black, has been found alive while attempting to steal something guarded inside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Headmaster Dumbledore refuses to reveal what Pettigrew wanted to steal he revealed that Pettigrew wanted to use it to restore He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Yes, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named still exists. However, he's just a spirit now and was captured after possessing Defense Professor Quirinus Quirrell, who didn't survive the possession. During the break-in, it was revealed that Remus Lupin, the other Defense professor, is a werewolf. Board member Lucius Malfoy announced that Headmaster Dumbledore will submit to a hearing for hiring such a dark creature. Peter Pettigrew admitted Sirius Black was telling the truth when Black accused him of betraying the Potters, killing those Muggles and faking his own death to escape justice. Minister of Magic Cornelius Oswald Fudge declared the Ministry always knew Pettigrew was alive but kept the search a secret to lure him into a false sense of security. Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, will try to have Peter Pettigrew sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss.

"By what my father tells about Fudge, he'd claim to have known the truth about Pettigrew all along even if your godfather had been rotting in Azkaban this whole time." Draco commented to Harry. "And the Prophet doesn't seem to remember Fudge was a witness for the prosecution."

"But I don't get it." Harry replied. "My godfather told me he found out what kept Tom Riddle from being completely vanquished and put an end to that."

"Maybe the Dark Lord or Tom Riddle, as you like to call him, had another failsafe." Draco suggested.

Meanwhile, Remus Lupin was packing his stuff. "Leaving so soon, Professor?" Someone asked him with a mixture of mockery, anger and disdain.

"Sirius?" Remus asked in shock.

"How dare you call me as if we still were friends, Lupin?" Sirius spat. "You never doubted my guilt during those years until you finally saw Pettigrew alive."

"How would I know you were telling the truth?" Remus Lupin pleaded. "Peter Pettigrew faking his death sounded too farfetched."

"After all those years without any solid evidence to rule it out, I hoped you'd finally start doubting but you had the nerve to try to turn Harry against me. Both Pettigrew and I were your friends but you never suspected he wasn't the victim."

"I'm sorry, okay?" Remus replied. "It's not like Pettigrew was the one to almost make me kill Severus."

"It'd have prevented Snivellus from telling Voldemort about the prophecy." Sirius defended himself. "Just tell me: had the Ministry bothered to hear you, would you have confirmed the part about Peter Pettigrew being an unregistered Rat Animagus?"

"Well, I knew that much was truth so, I suppose I'd have confirmed it. I'd still have believed you betrayed James and Lily and killed Pettigrew and those Muggles, however."

"Oh, Sirius, just who I wanted to see." Dumbledore interrupted the conversation between the two estranged Marauders.

"What for, Headmaster?" The formality of Sirius Black's answer hurt Dumbledore more than he expected.

"I would like to say how sorry I am that my refusal to believe in your innocence had lead you into seeking refuge with the Dark Families your parents wanted you to associate with, Sirius." Dumbledore explained. "Now that Pettigrew has been caught and exposed as the real culprit, your Light-aligned friends will certainly welcome you back. I can even arrange a re-sorting for Harry."

"Forget it, Headmaster!" Sirius angrily replied. "Regardless of my guilt or innocence, you shouldn't have condoned Crouch's plans of letting me rot in Azkaban without a trial. That ordeal has shown me my mother was right about the fact I should have made allies instead of friends. If not for the purebloods pushing for a trial, I'd still be in Azkaban and Pettigrew would be hidden as some family's pet rat since Lupin didn't believe he faked his death and I'd be the only other person to know he's a Rat Animagus."

"Sirius, I was afraid Death Eaters would trick their way out of Azkaban if given a trial." Dumbledore pleaded. "If you keep Harry in their company, they'll kill him when Voldemort returns to full power."

"That can't happen, Dumbledore." Sirius then showed a ring. "I've destroyed his Horcrux long ago!"

"Care to elaborate, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked, noticing something familiar with the ring.

"After my mother told me the true origin of Tom Voldemort Riddle, I've bought the shack where his mother grew up and had a team of Goblins scan it for dark artifacts. They found the ring with a fragment of Voldemort's soul and destroyed the fragment, restoring Voldemort's mortality."

"That'd have been accurate, had it been his only Horcrux." Dumbledore replied, much to Sirius' horror.

"I don't know how you found out about Harry but that's dealt with already." Sirius quickly responded.

"How so?" Dumbledore asked in shock, for he couldn't come up with any solution that didn't include killing Harry.

"My mother taught me the Horcrux making ritual." Sirius Black explained. "While one needs to murder somebody in order to split one's soul, the other parts of the ritual can be repeated to transfer an already split soul fragment to another container, which was then destroyed."

Dumbledore then felt a huge relief. "Thank Merlin! Now I can go after the other Horcruxes without having to worry about Harry."

"OTHER?" A really shocked Sirius asked.

"Yes, Sirius. I'm afraid Voldemort intended to make six of them."

"THAT SICK BASTARD! Headmaster, you must let me help you! It's my duty to make sure that monster will no longer be anywhere near Harry!" Sirius pleaded.

"I'm glad you still oppose Voldemort, Sirius."

Lucius Malfoy then entered the room. "I'm sorry for interrupting the conversation, but I have something important to discuss with you, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Well, if it's about the school, I'll leave the two of you alone." Sirius replied.

"Me too." Added Remus, who stayed there in silence listening about the Horcruxes.

"No, Sirius. You can stay." After Remus left, Lucius started to explain the reason of his interruption. "Professor Dumbledore, I've recently remembered something that happened while I was under You-Know-Who's Imperius Curse and I now believe it's time to let you know."

"And what was that, Lucius?" Dumbledore asked with his usual grandfatherly tone.

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named gave me this." Lucius produced an old diary. "He told the diary has the power to possess a student and force said student to reopen the Chamber of Secrets."

"Get real, Lucius!" Sirius replied. "The Chamber is just a myth."

"Tell that to Moaning Myrtle, if you dare." Lucius replied. "She was killed by Salazar Slytherin's monster."

Not wanting to believe this, Sirius looked at Dumbledore. "Is this true?"

"Yes, Sirius." Dumbledore solemnly answered. "The student currently known as Moaning Myrtle was killed by Salazar Slytherin's monster."

"My father told me Professor Dippet, who was the Headmaster of Hogwarts back then, wanted the whole thing to stay a secret." Lucius explained. "There was even talk about closing Hogwarts until a student named Tom Riddle denounced an acromantula brought here by Rubeus Hagrid as the Monster of Slytherin."

"WHAT?" An outraged Sirius Black shouted. "An acromantula? Anyone with half a brain should know Salazar Slytherin's monster was supposed to be a snake. How could Voldemort get away with this mistake while making up this story?"

"Actually, Hagrid did bring an acromantula." Dumbledore replied.

"Albus Dumbledore, I know Hagrid likes dangerous pets but he wouldn't… okay, maybe he would." Sirius conceded.

"Anyway, this diary can clear Hagrid from the charges of releasing the Monster of Slytherin." Dumbledore said.

"Well, this is all. I now must take my leave."

"Goodbye, Lucius." Albus replied and Lucius Malfoy then left. "Well, Lucius has unknowingly helped with our current problem." He then drew his wand at the diary and silently cast a small Fiendfyre at the diary, destroying it.

"ALBUS, WHAT'RE YOU DOING?" Sirius shouted.

"Getting Voldemort one step closer to death." Dumbledore calmly answered.

"That diary was a Horcrux?"

Meanwhile, Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall was addressing to the students. "Attention, please! Due some extraordinary happenings, Professor Quirrell and Professor Lupin had to leave our school! Professor Snape will take over Defense classes from second to seventh years and Professor Flitwick will temporarily teach the first year Defense students. Professor Slughorn will now be the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin for all years."

Having already experienced classes with Professor Slughorn, the first year Slytherin students didn't like the news about him, since he didn't favor them like Professor Snape did.

Some students from other years, however, started growing hopes of joining the Slug Club. "Now it's just a matter of time until Professor Slughorn invites me to join his club." A fifth year Gryffindor student commented. "I wasn't made a Prefect for no good reason."

"Well, if I ever join the Slug Club, it'll be in hopes that Professor Slughorn will introduce us to Gwenog Jones." Fred replied.

"The same goes for me, dear brother." George added.

"Well, he certainly doesn't seem to favor his House." Ron commented. "He eagerly invited that know-it-all girl in my year."

"Do you mean Hermione Granger?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, that's her."

"You'd better follow her example, Ron." Percy suggested, making the other Weasley boys roll their eyes.

Meanwhile, Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black arrived at the same cave a young Tom Marvolo Riddle once terrorized two other kids. "I believe Voldemort hid a Horcrux in the small island in the middle of this lake." Dumbledore said. "This lake is full of inferi and it seems the only way to cross it is with this boat."

"Not necessarily, Headmaster." Sirius replied and the called for "Kreacher!"

In a POP, Kreacher the House-Elf appeared in front of the two wizards. "Why?" The elf moaned. "Why did Master call Kreacher back into this dreadful place?"

"Back?" A shocked Sirius asked. "Have you been here before?"

"Yes, Master. Twice."

"And what have you been doing here, Kreacher?" Sirius asked.

"At the first time, the Dark Lord wanted to borrow an elf from Master Regulus, who granted Kreacher the honor of serving the Dark Lord." Kreacher answered. "Master Regulus told Kreacher to do whatever the Dark Lord ordered him and then get back home. Arriving here, the Dark Lord and Kreacher rode that boat to that island, where the Dark Lord made Kreacher drink horrible liquid from recipient in the middle of the island. After that, the Dark Lord placed a locket inside the recipient and filled it with more of that liquid. The Dark Lord then made Kreacher drink water from the lake. While inferi grabbed Kreacher, the Dark Lord left Kreacher to his fate but Kreacher had orders to return home and return home Kreacher did."

Sirius couldn't help but feel disgusted. Whatever Dumbledore felt, he managed to keep it a secret.

"When Master Regulus learned about this, he ordered Kreacher to bring him here." Kreacher continued his tale. "Kreacher and Master Regulus then went to the island to retrieve the locket. Master Regulus then drank the horrible liquid that made him revive his worst nightmares. After that, Master Regulus told Kreacher to destroy the locket and never tell anyone about it. Master Sirius telling Kreacher to tell is the only reason Kreacher is telling."

"Did you destroy the locket?" Sirius asked.

Kreacher then started sobbing. "No. Kreacher did his best but couldn't destroy it. Kreacher is a bad elf!"

"Kreacher, maybe Albus and I have better luck." Sirius suggested. "Do you still have the locket?"

Kreacher then POPed away and came back with the locket. "Here it is, Master Sirius!" Kreacher excitedly said. "Please destroy it."

Sirius then laid the locket in the floor and shouted "Serpensortia!" A snake then came from Sirius' wand. "Tell the locket to open up." Sirius commanded the snake, which hissed in response. After the locket opened, Sirius vanished the snake and talked to Kreacher. "Destroy it now, Kreacher."

Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, Hermione Granger was heading to the library when she was intercepted by Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bullstrode."So, Little Miss Mudblood thinks she's all that just because Professor Slughorn welcomed you into the Slug Club?" Pansy mockingly asked.

"Professor Slughorn might believe his club is for anyone with potential but he's wrong." Bullstrode added. "I wonder why Professor Snape didn't start his own club."

"Because a Head of House who only cares about his own House doesn't need a Slug Club." Professor Slughorn replied as he appeared. "Oh, Miss Parkinson, five points from Slytherin for insulting Miss Granger. Just because you and Miss Bullstrode weren't invited, that does not give you the right to insult those who were."

Meanwhile, Sirius and Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts and entered the Room of Requirement. "Never, in all those years I thought I'd tell a teacher I found this room." Sirius commented. "Or that you wouldn't know about it."

"Nobody knows about everything, Sirius." Dumbledore replied.

Meanwhile, Pansy and Millicent approached Draco Malfoy. "Yes, it's bad Professor Slughorn docked five points from Slytherin because of that Mudblood Granger but, what do you expect me to do?" He asked. "Professor Slughorn is not under my father's influence."

"You could talk to Professor Snape." Pansy suggested.

"He's no longer our Head of House." Draco explained. "And Professor Slughorn said these outright insults to Mudblood's faces isn't subtle enough for Slytherins. Especially when we're caught."

Meanwhile, Ron was trying to convince Neville to cut ties with Harry. "Neville, why would you be friends with a slimy Slytherin?"

"The Potters and the Longbottoms have been allies for generations." Neville explained.

"The Potters who were Gryffindors, Neville." Ron replied. "Harry's a Slytherin."

"So what?"

Meanwhile, Sirius and Dumbledore made a recounting of the found and destroyed Horcruxes. "Harry, the ring, the diary, the locket and the diadem." Sirius said. "I believe there's only one left."

"Helga Hufflepuff's cup." Dumbledore replied. "Sirius, since Voldemort trusted Lucius with one Horcrux, he might have trusted another Death Eater with the cup."

"And how exactly will it help us?"

"With Bellatrix, her husband and his brother in Azkaban, who can access their Gringotts vault?"

"With no Lestrange at large, I'm entitled to that vault as the Head of the family she was born to." Sirius explained. "Why… oh, you believe the last Horcrux might be there?"

Meanwhile, the first-year Gryffindors and Slytherins have just finished another Defense class. "Having a dueling champion to teach us defense sure improved things. Right?" Harry commented.

"Certainly." Draco replied. "If Defense Against the Dark Arts must be taught by someone who isn't completely human, better having a dueling champion than a werewolf."

"Professor Lupin's only problem was trying to convince me my godfather betrayed my parents." Harry said. "It would have ended anyway now that Pettigrew was exposed as the real culprit."

"Either way, no parent would have allowed a werewolf anywhere near their children." Draco replied. "Fancy a game of Exploding Snap?"

"Sure."

Meanwhile, Minerva McGonagall was quite disappointed with herself. Despite considering herself a fair teacher, she refused to consider the possibility of Sirius Black really being innocent. She couldn't help but think that, if she believed him, she could have kept him from being lured back into darkness and influencing Harry into being a Slytherin instead of a Gryffindor. But now it was too late.

Flashback on

"Mr. Black, may I have a word with you?" Deputy Headmistress McGonagall asked.

"Sure, Deputy Headmistress." Sirius replied with a formal coldness that unnerved her. "Anything wrong with Harry?"

"No, Sirius."

"Excuse me, Deputy Headmistress, but family and friends are the only people that can call me 'Sirius' and you lost this right with your reply to the party I tried to have to celebrate my acquittal." Sirius Black replied. "My mother was right when he said Gryffindor was full of fools who'd never accept me as one of them. Do you know what Harry told me when I asked him where he thought he'd be sorted?"

"No."

"He said he didn't care as long as it was a place where he could get allies that'll keep him from rotting in Azkaban."

"Did you have to instill that fear on the boy?"

"Yes. It was my mother's connections and not my so-called friends who got me a trial. That made me understand alliances among purebloods are more reliable than friendships."

Flashback off

Now Minerva McGonagall was decided to look for any sign of James and Lily on Harry. At least Horace said harry seemed to have inherited his mother's talent in potions. She now believed she should have thanked Sirius for pulling strings to have someone other than Severus teach Harry.

Eventually, the Horcrux Cup was destroyed and Albus Dumbledore went to the Ministry to check if Voldemort was now mortal. Meanwhile, Sirius went back home, where Kreacher seemed to be doing a better job. A few minutes later, Dumbledore knocked at Sirius' door. "I presume you're here to tell me the news regarding Voldemort."

"You're correct, Sirius." Dumbledore answered. "That cup was indeed the last Horcrux. Voldemort is no more."

"Good. I now hope our next conversation, whenever it happens, is about Harry's performance at school." Sirius replied with a formality that made Dumbledore uneasy.

"I understand, Sirius."

THE END

If anyone is curious, because the Malfoys are focused on being friends with Harry, Draco won't pick on Neville or steal the Remembrall. Neither Harry nor Draco will join a Quidditch team before second year, when Lucius still donates the Nimbus 2001 broomsticks but Draco becomes a Chaser and Harry becomes a Seeker, but with a Nimbus 2001 given to him by Sirius.