Harry Potter and the Different Path by Sherza

It took three days for them to catch Pettigrew in Harry's room alone. The next day, Lupin showed up in Severus' lab and they processed the film to see what, if anything, showed up.

There was nothing. No hint of a ghost, nothing.

"Bloody hell. I guess the Map has gone faulty." Lupin said with a sigh, staring at the pictures. "Nothing to indicate a ghost's there all."

Severus, glowering at his own share of the photographs, gave a grim nod. "Nothing moving at all, apparently, except for the Weasley boy's pet."

Remus glanced over. "Oh? There's nothing in these. What is his pet?"

"A rat." Severus grumbled.

Remus froze. "A rat? Severus, do you have the list of where Pettigrew was at for each shot?"

"Yes, right here, why?"

Lupin didn't say a word, just grabbed the list and the photographs, staring from one to the other. Most of the shots, calibrated to catch a much slower moving ghost had missed catching the fast-moving rat on film, but one of the ones in Severus' pile had managed to just barely catch the rat ... and the list they'd kept of where Pettigrew had been for each shot (for comparison purposes) matched up.

"My god." Lupin whispered. "It can't be."

"Lupin." Severus snarled a warning.

Remus gave his head a shake, his tone torn between disbelief and horror. "I can't ... this is ... " He took a deep breath. "They became animagi." No need to clarify who. "So they could be with me safely, during the full moon. James was a stag. B- ." Another somewhat shaky breath. "Sirius was a big black dog. Peter was a rat." Then he looked up at Severus, expression oddly flat, mostly because he wasn't quite sure what he was feeling. Horror, dismay, confusion ... that and more.

"A rat." Severus was not slow to comprehend the implications, given what they'd been working on. "And you did not think it important to share that information?"

"What use would it have been? James is dead, Sirius is in Azkaban, and Peter dead." Then he glanced at the photo. "Or so I thought. He supposedly got blown up. There was no reason to bring it up."

"Can you positively identify him?" Severus wanted to know.

"If he was in front of me, yes. He's a bit too far away in the pictures." Remus told him.

For a long moment, the two men stood there, staring at each other grimly. If Peter was alive ... it changed everything. Everything!

"We're going to have to catch that rat." Severus growled.

"Agreed. It will be easy enough to find out if he's Peter if we manage to catch him."

It took them another two days to prepare. Severus wished they could turn a rat treat into a portkey, but to do so would involve the Headmaster in what might yet be a wild goose chase. Instead, he brewed a fast-acting sleeping potion and filled the center of several treats with it. These were then left scattered about Harry's room in likely places.

Fortunately, the rat didn't run about much unless the boys were elsewhere. The next morning, when the first-year Gryffindors were in Transfiguration, the rat quite literally took the bait, and Lupin raced up there to seal the rat into a container for later examination. At lunch, he and Severus met in Severus' office, the rat in a cage large enough to contain a person on the floor, the bars close enough to keep the rat from escaping, and the whole thing spelled impervious, to keep a man from breaking out. In the center of the cage lay a sleeping rat. Both men stood there, staring at it.

"It's him." Lupin said, his voice vibrating with emotion. "I'd know him anywhere."

"He'll wake soon, and then we'll find out just what's going on." Severus couldn't contain a growl of his own. This ... if it was Peter, what in the name of hell was he doing alive? Had Black missed? If so, why had Peter not shown himself? There were entirely too many questions.

A few minutes later, the rat awoke, got one good look at where he was and who was on the outside of the cage staring at him and completely freaked out, racing around the cage, scrabbling at the bars in an attempt to escape. It took Severus and Remus nearly two minutes to successfully hit the frantic rat with the animagus-revealing spell. Once they managed to connect, however, they watched as the rat did, indeed, morph and twist into a human. A male. And while it had been over a decade, and Severus had not ever paid much attention to Pettigrew (who had been far too timid to confront him ... that had been mostly Black, with a large helping from Potter) even he could see the resemblances between this pathetic creature and the boy he'd known. Beside him, Lupin was glaring daggers at Peter.

"R-Remus! S-S-Severus! So g-g-good to see you! I-it's been so l-long!" Peter stammered. Severus noted he was keeping as far from the two of them as he could get in the cage.

"Pettigrew." Severus purred. "It is a ... disagreeable shock ... to see you. Alive. After all, it has been said that you were blown up. Imagine our surprise when we discovered otherwise. Tell me, Peter ... why were you hiding?" While most people would have thought Severus was being polite enough (at least for him) anyone that knew him would have been able to hear the threats that were going unsaid.

Pettigrew started a fast ramble that made little to no sense. Exasperated, Severus snapped off a spell, ripping Peter's robes off his left arm. And there, for all the world to see, was the only proof Severus would ever need of what had really happened that night.

For a long moment, there was complete silence in the room as the full import of Peter bearing the Mark settled in. Dimly, Severus was stunned to find himself shoulder to shoulder with Lupin ... who was growling and snarling fit to kill. Severus could not see his eyes, but he could well imagine they were gold, rather than brown, just now ... and found it odd that he was not trying to put as much space between himself and the wolf as was humanly possible. But then, the vast majority of his attention was on Pettigrew. He was surprised to realize that his wand was lit with ... well, he wasn't exactly sure what spell, but given his frame of mind just at the moment, it couldn't be anything but Dark.

He had never, would never, forgive himself for bringing the prophecy to Voldemort and thus bringing the Potters ... bringing Lily! ... to his attention. He had done all he could to mitigate that mistake at the time, had even been secretly relieved when the Potters went under Fidelius. When they had been betrayed, and, seemingly, by Black, his rage had known no bounds. Black had always been his bitterest enemy of the Marauders. Oh, James came a close second, especially in their fourth and fifth years, but Black ... Black had held a special hatred for all things Slytherin and 'Dark'. Unfortunately for Severus, he had been the only one in Slytherin House with no allies, making him a far easier target for Black's effusions. And while the man may have managed to get into Gryffindor, there was no amount of will that could undo centuries of breeding ... Courage Black may have had, but he'd also had far more of Slytherin's more brutal qualities than he ever would have admitted to.

After the debacle in fifth year, it had been easy for Severus, of all people, to believe Black guilty of betraying the Potters. After all, the boy'd damn near succeeded in what would have been a double murder ... Severus', and then later, when he was executed for attacking a wizard, Remus'. That he'd put an apparent best friend in such mortal danger had made it easy for Severus to believe that he would betray a friend a second time. Since then, the only thing that had kept Severus from going to Azkaban and extracting his revenge for Lily's death had been the sure knowledge that not only was Black living in eternal torment in that hideous place, but if he attempted to kill the man, Severus would find himself in cell next door.

Now ... well ... he still hated Black. Probably always would, for the events of their school years. But now ... now everything he'd thought he'd known had been turned on its ear, and the true perpetrator of the Potters' betrayal was mere inches in front of him. It was taking every ounce of self-control he possessed not to kill Pettigrew then and there. With a vicious, foul oath, he whirled and stalked to his fireplace, throwing the powder in with far more force than necessary.

"Headmaster, get down here. Now. And bring the head of the DMLE. And tell her to bring some Veritaserum." He, of course, had his own, but Bones would likely want to use her own stock, so she could be sure of its efficacy.

"Severus? What on earth?" Albus said, sounding startled.

"Bones, you, and Veritaserum. Now, Headmaster." Severus repeated.

Evidently, this time, Dumbledore picked up on Severus' tone, because he nodded and retreated. It was a long half-hour wait before Albus walked through the office door, with Amelia Bones and two Aurors.

"Severus? Remus? Whatever in the world?" Dumbledore stared at the cage, and the man within it, eyebrows abruptly going through his hairline. "Peter." He breathed, sounding as stunned as Severus had felt. "Peter Pettigrew." Then he looked over at Severus. "Perhaps you would explain?"

So they did, trading the story back and forth. The twins, the map, talking to the ghosts, the decision to put the camera in the boys' dorm room and the results. The effort to trap the rat.

"As you can see ... he bears the Dark Mark." Severus finished, fairly snarling the words. "I have begun to think that perhaps Black might have been wrongfully convicted."

"Indeed, my boy, indeed. Director Bones, if you would?"

Amelia was glaring at Pettigrew nearly as much as Severus and Remus were. "Quite." She shot a spell at Pettigrew (who had been blubbering all the while, though they had ignored him) and Pettigrew froze up. They created a door in the cage so one of the aurors could go in and administer the Veritaserum, then the door was closed and transformed back into plain wall. That done, the petrification was reversed.

"What is your name?" Amelia demanded.

"Peter Pettigrew."

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"Who was the Secret Keeper for James and Lily Potter?"

"I was."

At that point, Severus closed his eyes for a moment as rage and pain swamped him. Oh, he'd known it had to have been this way, but to have it confirmed! Beside him, Lupin was growling softly, evidently much of the same mind.

"Did you willingly reveal the whereabouts of James and Lily Potter to Lord Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"Did you kill the Muggles the night Sirius Black confronted you about your betrayal?"

"Yes."

Amelia was glaring at Pettigrew fit to kill. "That's all we need to know. Give him the antidote. The rest, we can dig out at his trial. We're going to need to get Black out of Azkaban, as quickly as possible. I fear it will be too late for his sanity, but it will be the least we can do. I don't understand how this happened!"

The antidote was administered, and Peter transferred to the Auror's care. Given that he could become a rat, they simply detached the cage Severus and Remus had created from the castle floor, ensured it would hold no matter what, and levitated the lot out of the room.

"We're going to have to tell him." Remus said, quietly. "This is going to bring everything up for public consumption, and it's better he find it out from us, than from the Daily Prophet."

"Agreed." Severus said. He'd known that he'd have to explain at some point, but he'd hoped to delay it until the summer. He should have known that the fates would not humor him. "We'll tell him this weekend."

HPHPHP

That weekend ended up being that night. Harry was no fool, and it was literally impossible to keep any event within the castle a secret for long, unless that event went wholly unobserved by student, staff, ghost or portrait. This event, of course, had not gone unobserved. The Headmaster escorting the head of the DMLE and two aurors to the dungeons, and then escorting them ... and a man in a cage ... back out the main doors was the talk of the castle within the hour. Harry, intensely curious as to what had happened, made his way to Severus' office door, hoping the man didn't have anyone in detention tonight.

"Severus?" He called, as he knocked on the frame of Severus' office door. Then, with a blink. "Oh! Hi Remus, didn't expect to see you down here."

Severus, who'd been in a quite foul mood and had thus postponed his detentions (and marking) for later, lest his foul temper get unleashed on the undeserving, had been having a quiet drink (well, Lupin had been imbibing. Severus stuck to tea, though he was strongly tempted by the thought of firewhiskey). He glanced over at the door. "Hello, Harry." Then, with a somewhat amused look and a long-suffering sigh. "I suppose you are here to inquire as to my knowledge of the day's unusual events?"

"Pretty much." Harry said. "There's all sorts of rumors going around."

"Of course there is." Severus said, the amusement a bit stronger. He watched as Harry came to take a seat, and then flicked his wand at his office door, before setting quite a few wards. "There. There is something, Harry, that the three of us need to speak about. I had planned on telling you this summer, but events have transpired to force me to speak of it earlier."

"Ummm ... ok." Harry glanced at Remus.

Remus seemed a bit amused at Harry's caution and suspicion. "Yes, this has to do with our school days, Harry."

"I know you and dad didn't much like Severus ... " Harry started.

"And the dislike was entirely mutual." Severus admitted. "I have never been what most individuals would call plain, never mind attractive. As an adolescent, I was ... " He sighed. "Rather unfortunately put together, and had a less than friendly disposition. I was also exceedingly poor. Your father had inherited the full measure of Potter good looks, charisma, and of course money. He had been a late child, and from all accounts, spoiled rotten because of it."

Remus took up the tale at that point. "I think James and Severus might have settled into a comfortable, slightly competition, if things had worked out differently. For all Severus' lacks, he more than made up for them in sheer ability and intelligence. Unfortunately, James ended up becoming friends with a rather ... unexpected person, and that made matters a great deal worse. You see, he made friends with a man named Sirius Black. The Blacks are ... well, were, one of the Darkest families in the Wizarding world. They have long espoused extermination of muggles, muggleborns, and pretty much every sentient magical being in existence, in favor of purebloods. They've also been Slytherins, for generations. There have been a handful or so of rebels in the family, especially in the latest generations ... Alphard, Andromeda, Dorea, and Sirius, to name the ones I know of right off hand. They all decided on their own that the Blacks were a bit mad, and went their own ways. Andromeda had the effrontery to be sorted into Hufflepuff and later marry a muggleborn, Dorea dared to marry a Potter, your grandfather Charlus, and Sirius ... well, he committed the greatest crime of all, as far as the Blacks were concerned. He got sorted into Gryffindor, and openly repudiated his family for their political and moral stances. He hated them with everything in him, and even ran away when he was sixteen. He ended up living with your dad, at the Manor."

Harry blinked. "Why haven't you guys mentioned him before now, if he was such a close friend?"

"That's where things start to get ... complicated. You see, Sirius was ... rather brash and unthinking, and, sad to say, more than a bit of a bully. He hated Slytherin and everything that it stood for, at least according to Family Black, and he took every opportunity to make the Slytherins' lives hell." Lupin explained.

"And Severus got caught in the middle of it?"

"Quite." Severus said. "It did not help that I was, at that time, close friends with your mother. James became quite fond of her very early on, and I think Black saw me as a challenger for her affections." Oh, how he had wished, but even in his earliest school days, he'd known the chances of that happening were nil. Not that he could prevent himself from falling for her. "And I had no allies within Slytherin, so I was a somewhat easier target than most. During this time, Voldemort was quite active, but the horrors he perpetrated were kept ... divorced ... from his recruitment attempts with the upcoming generation. He was a very charismatic man, and had the ability to reel most anyone in. Once in ... " Severus shuddered. "There was no backing out. At least, not publicly. Sirius' brother, who became a Death Eater, was summarily murdered when he tried to back out. Insofar as I know, there was only one person to have succeeded in evading death after switching their loyalty from Voldemort to Dumbledore." Severus could only hope Harry didn't hate him for this.

Harry was eyeing the two of them, and Severus could almost see the cogs in the boy's head whirling. "It was you, wasn't it?" He finally asked, looking at Severus. "I mean, I've heard rumors, since the first day ... "

"It was indeed." Severus said. "There is no excuse for my having joined him. My only defense is that very shortly after I realized what he truly was and what he was willing to do to achieve his aims, I went straight to Dumbledore. I spied for him for a bit over a year, and then he was ... well, whatever happened to him the night he went after you."

Harry was still putting the pieces together. "It was mum, wasn't it? You found out he was after her."

Severus was a bit surprised that Harry was putting it all together. Of course, Harry lacked certain facts, like the existence of the prophecy, but he'd come remarkably close to knitting together the truth from the bits he'd been given. "Yes. And again, this is where it got tangled. You see, your parents knew he was after them. They went into hiding, under a spell called the Fidelius. This spell removes all knowledge of the person, place, or thing being protected from everyone, save that it existed, if they knew of it before the spell was cast. The catch is that the secret is held by someone in such a way that the only way for the secret to be discovered is if the person willingly divulges the information. That they are willing under duress doesn't matter. Back then, the secret could not be held by the person being protected, if it was a person, nor by anyone who would go to the protected location where the Fidelius was cast, though after your parents' death, that particular problem was worked out, and the spell can now be cast by the person seeking the protection of Fidelius, or who will spend a great deal of time in the protected location."

"And Black was the one they trusted with the secret." Harry guessed, looking more than a little angry.

"That's what we believed at the time." Remus said. "They didn't want to give it to me, because of my lycanthropy. It would have put me into a very dangerous position. Sirius was the obvious choice, and when everything happened ... " Remus shrugged helplessly. "Sirius was tried and ended up in jail."

"But early last year, about a week after you first became my ward, the Weasley twins came to me with an artifact they'd had in their possession since their first year, that showed the name of your father's fourth friend ... someone we had all thought that Sirius had killed when the other friend went to confront him, wandering the castle."

"At first we thought it was a ghost." Remus admitted. "But then we discovered it wasn't. Peter Pettigrew, whom everyone thought Sirius Black had killed, was alive. And it turned out that he was the real traitor. I'm not at all sure of the details at this point, as we caught him just this morning, but he's already at the Ministry being questioned and tried. They're also getting Sirius out of Azkaban, but whether he will be at all sane is anyone's guess."

"Why would he be insane?" Harry wanted to know.

"It's the guards of Azkaban. Dementors. They're foul creatures that feed on every good emotion, leaving nothing but the bad behind." Remus explained. "It tends to drive people insane after a while, though how long it takes varies from person to person."

Harry frowned. "That's awful! Why do they do that?"

Severus glanced at Remus. "They do it because there are few ways of containing a wizard who truly wants free, even if they are deprived of a wand. The dementors keep the prisoners from contemplating means of escape." Severus explained.

"So that's why you're telling me?"

"That and because all the known details and speculations and rumors of events surrounding your parents' deaths are going to be in the papers for quite a while. For an innocent to be condemned to Azkaban is huge. That it is a scion of an Ancient and Noble house like the Blacks ... well, the furor will be slow to die down, and we thought it better you find out the truth from us, rather than a boatload of rumors, speculations, and lies mixed in with the occasional truth that will likely be in the paper." Remus said. "Amon which facts is that Sirius is your godfather. It's a position of some weight in the Wizarding world, especially with older families. In the event of the death of the child's family, it falls to the godparents to raise the child, and to instruct them in the etiquette and protocol of the upper echelons of society, as well as estate management and other such details." Remus answered.

"Oh." Harry said. "Will he ... " He gave Severus an uncertain look.

"You will remain my ward, Harry. In the exceedingly unlikely case of Black retaining his wits, he will still have a very long recuperation from his incarceration, during which time he will be unable to see to your needs fully. As for the requirements of your station in society, as I am not aware of their full measure, I have written to Madame Longbottom, Neville's grandmother, and she has agreed to instruct you in such matters this coming summer."

"Oh! That means I'll get to spend some time with Neville this summer." Harry was pleased with that idea, even if the concept of classes during the summer was greeted with less enthusiasm.