Transfiguration accident

Ron looked at the result of his spell. His wand being out of service, right now, Scabbers was now a glass… A hairy glass… With a rat tail. McGonagall just sighed when she looked at it.

"Try again," Harry suggested. "Maybe you'll get it the next time."

"Maybe…"

Ron wasn't so sure. He wasn't exactly the brightest Transfiguration student. And with a broken wand, he would need a miracle just to transfigure his pet back. In one piece. With no limbs attached where they shouldn't be. But he had to try. Ron pronounced the counterspell and expected his rat to be back on his table.

He sure didn't think his glass-rat would turn into a fat, greasy, full grown man. The man crashed on the table, breaking it in half. For a second, there was a massive silence. Then, someone yelled, and the whole class followed. The man didn't help. He actually hid his head between his arms and started yelling too. Ron was completely petrified.

"Harry…?!"

"I saw!"

The whole class formed a circle around him, and it took McGonagall a rough time to get to them.

"By Merlin's beard, what is happening?"

"I don't know professor! I tried to transfigure my rat back into a rat, but I got… this instead!"

She got closer to the man, who was still curled up on the floor.

"Sir?"

As he heard her voice, he tensed up, before getting up, his face still hidden by his arms, and started running. But even the spells around the castle weren't as powerful as the barrier formed by twelve years old Gryffindors and Slytherins.

"Let me go!"

"Don't!" McGonagall yelled, fearing that this man would be somewhat of a threat to the students if let free in Hogwarts.

A quick spell from Hermione was enough to petrify the man. He fell, rigid, on the floor, his small, watery eyes looking around frantically. McGonagall got closer to him, squinting her eyes, trying to recognise this familiar face. Then she stop abruptly.

"Bloody fucking hell!" She swore, not caring for a second that she was around second years. "This can't… How… Bloody hell!"

"I can explain!" The small man tried.

"No, no, no! You shut up! Until that bloody mess is sorted out! Miss Granger, I trust you to keep an eye, and a wand, on him! If he starts to move, petrify him again! Miss Parkinson, go fetch professor Snape and tell him that it doesn't matter if he has a class right now, it is imperative that he comes to this room with a vial of Veritaserum. I have to get the Professor Dumbledore right now."

McGonagall ran –yes, she ran –full speed towards the exit and they heard a distinct crash in the hallways followed by a flow of curses coming out of their teacher's mouth. A huge silence fell on the classroom.

"Err… What just happened?" Ron asked, looking at the broken wand in his hand.

oOo

"This has got to be for a good reason," Snape, followed by Pansy Parkinson, mumbled, exasperated.

"Oh, trust me Severus, it is!" Minerva assured, walking fast toward her class, Dumbledore behind her.

"Now, now, Minerva, if you could explain me what is happening…," the headmaster started.

"Oh, Albus, I cannot begin to explain what just happened! And you would not believe me anyways!"

They got in the class just as Hermione cast another spell on the man to stop him from moving. For once, the Slytherins and the Gryffindors understood the gravity of the situation and did not try to rip out each other's throats or anything. The circle of students opened to reveal the small man, still on the floor. She stopped in front of him and turned around to face Dumbledore and Snape.

"Mr Weasley, how about you tell us again what happened?"

"I wanted to practice again the spell we learned today. So I tried to transfigure Scabbers back, except…"

"Except Peter Pettigrew came out!" Minerva finished, pointing at the man at her feet.

"This is impossible! Pettigrew is dead!"

"Look!"

The two men came closer and took a closer look at what Minerva claimed to be Pettigrew. Snape immediately took a few steps back, muttering a "What the bloody fucking hell?!" to himself and Dumbledore looked like he was pondering whether or not it was a joke.

"You have got to be kidding!" They heard Flitwick, who was passing by the class and had seen the comotion, squeal when he saw his former student being levitated out of the classroom.

"I'm afraid not. Let's transport him into my office. We have some… questions to ask him. I trust you have some Veritaserum, Severus? Everyone else is dismissed!"

oOo

It had been pretty hard to get Pettigrew to swallow the potion. Severus had even suggested to use an Imperium. He just ended up stupefying the man before forcing the Veritaserum down his throat.

"What?" He asked, seeing the disapproving look of his colleague.

"Nothing."

Peter regained conciousness after being hit by the counter spell.

"What…?"

"Sir. Are you under any kind of spell or potion that would modify your appearance in any way?" Albus politely started.

"No…"

He was clearly horrified by the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Then, are you Peter Pettigrew?"

"Yes, I am."

"You are supposed to be dead. Sirius Black killed you. How come you are here today?"

"I… I framed Sirius… I framed him… For my murder and for the Potters'…"

"You framed him? Could you explain us how you did?"

"Sirius… Sirius ran after me… After I sold James and Lily to the Dark Lord… And after I accused him in the middle of a crowded street, I killed twelve Muggles, and cut off my finger before…"

"Before?"

"Before turning into my animagus form…"

"Animagus?" Snape slowly repeated.

"Yes… James, Sirius and I… We didn't want Remus to be alone during the full moon… And we read that werewolves' bites didn't have any effect against animals… It was James who said that we could turn into animals… So we all…"

"You became an animagus," Minerva realized. "And so did Potter and Black… That explains so much…"

"After you turned into your animagus from, what happened?"

"I hid during eleven years… The Weasley family didn't suspect anything…"

His eyes were becoming clearer as the potion's effect started to fade. Severus shoved another dose of potion in his mouth.

"Something isn't right here… Even if Pettigrew sold the Potters to You-Know-Who, he would still be unable to locate them, unless…"

McGonagall's eyes became as huge as a Quaffle. Then she turned around and asked Peter:

"Was Sirius Black the Secret Keeper? Did he ever betray Lily and James?"

"No… Sirius would rather die than sell them to the Dark Lord… He said it would have been too obvious… So they chose the person who was the least probable to be chosen… Me."

There was a silence.

"My dear Minerva, it seems to me that a call to Azkaban and to our dear Minister would be… more than appropriate."

oOo

"Ah! Come in, Harry, don't be afraid," Dumbledore smiled gently at him.

Harry went into the office. He immediately felt better when he saw Mr and Mrs Weasley. Professors McGonagall and Snape were on either sides of the Headmaster. There also was a man with black hair and a black beard he didn't know but who seemed a little familiar in the corners of Harry's mind. He seemed like he needed a haircut and a good shave. He was really thing, like he hadn't eaten correctly in months, years maybe, and the clean wizard robes he was wearing were too big on him. He met his gaze. In the beginning, he only saw suffering and emptiness. Then, he saw hurt.

"Prongs…? James… is that you?"

The hurt was suddenly replaced by realization. Then, finally, joy.

"Harry…"

"Yes… He looks like James… But he's got Lily's eyes," another man said.

Harry had just noticed him. He had been standing behind the dark haired man, so silent that he had faded into the decor. He looked old and very poor, and his fair hair was graying. He had scars on his face and arms. Harry guessed he hid more scars under his clothes. Him, too, was reassuringly familiar.

"Harry, you should sit down, honey. There's a lot we need to talk about."

Mrs Weasley's resignated tone and the fire lingering in her eyes suggested that she had fought against whether or not they should tell him whatever they were going to reveal to him.

"First of all, Harry, I would like you to meet your parents' closest friends," Dumbledore carefully started. "This is Remus Lupin. And on the chair is Sirius Black. Your Godfather."

If Harry hadn't been sitting, he would have fallen on the floor.

"I… I have a Godfather?"

"Yes…," Sirius whispered.

Anger sparked in the young wizard. How could his Godfather disappear for so long while he had spent eleven years of abuse and ignorance about who he really was?!

"Then where have you been for eleven years?! All I know is that I was with the Dursleys and let me tell you, living in a cupboard isn't extremely fun!"

Sirius blinked. Then, he frowned. He let out what seemed to be a low, dangerous and dog-like growl.

"In a cupboard?! Albus! Did you know about all of this?!"

"Sirius, now isn't the time…"

"No! It is the perfect time! Because, while I was rotting in Azkaban for a crime that I did not commit after being framed by who I thought was one of my best friends, my only consolation was that, at least, you would make sure my Godson was in good hands! James was like my brother! He took me in when my family disowned me! The Potters made sure I had a roof to live under! So, whatever your reason is to not have done anything when my best friend's –my brother's! –son was sleeping in a bloody cupboard, it had better be good!"

"Wait a second! Azkaban? What's going on here?"

"Sirius here has been victim of a… Ah… malencountrous error of our justice system."

"Harry, what the professor Dumbledore is trying to say is…," the man with the scars –Remus, it seemed –started, before being interrupted by Molly.

"You cannot all be serious? He is too young!"

"It is better if he hears it here than later! He is my Godson, Molly. I do not want him to hear whatever atrocities everyone has pinned on me before I can explain to him what really happened that night."

"I'm right here. And I want to know."

"Well, that pretty much settles it!"

Remus sighed before speaking:

"When your parents learned the Dark Lord was after them, after you, they decided to hide for your safety. Sirius was supposed to be the Secret Keeper. As long as he kept their location secret from everyone else, no one would be able to get to them."

"But I figured it would be too obvious. So… So I suggested they choose someone else," Sirius added. He burried his face in his hands. "And I'll never forgive myself for that…"

"James and Lily chose Peter Pettigrew. What we didn't know was that he chose the other side. He sold them to You-Know-Who… while the whole world thought the Keeper was Sirius."

"I chased after him… He accused me, in the middle of a Muggle street, of betraying James and Lily. Then, he cut his finger, killed a few people and turned into his animagus form, a rat, to make everyone believe I had done it."

"So… you spent eleven years in Azkaban… for nothing?"

"Pretty much."

"You said this guy's animagus form is a rat, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Professor, do you think you could probably… you know…?"

"No, Potter, I am not turning into a cat to eat Mr Pettigrew," Minerva grimly said, failing miserably to not smile.

"Oh… Too bad…," Sirius said, winking at Harry.

oOo

"Harry, look!" Hermione screamed, pointing at the newspaper. "They freed Sirius Black! It says he's your Godfather! Apparently, he was innocent!"

"Yeah, I know," Harry smiled.

"But… How?"

"I saw Sirius yesterday."

"Aherm, can everyone please pay attention?"

The Great Hall fell silent.

"Thank you. As you may all know, yesterday was pretty eventful. But, thanks to Ronald Weasley, second year Gryffindor, we were able to set an innocent man free from Azkaban. It appears that the true culprit, Mr Peter Pettigrew, was the one who sold Lily and James Potter to Voldemort…," many gasps were heard, "… before killing twelve Muggles, cutting off his finger and turning into his Animagus form, making the Ministery believe Sirius Black was guilty. Black was made a free man again yesterday, to our great pleasure. May this be a lesson to all of us, to remind us that, whatever we see, we are not to judge it too quickly for we might, and will, mistake it for something else. Thank you for your attention."

Dumbledore sat down and the noise picked up again.

"So… What are you going to do, Harry?"

"Well… Sirius and Remus are going to spend the rest of the year trying to restore the Blacks' mansion. They fought a little with Dumbledore so I could live with them instead of the Dursleys. They wouldn't have managed without your mother. She was so pissed at Dumbledore I almost thought she would start hexing him with her eyes!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah! I don't know why Dumbledore insisted to get me to live with my aunt and my uncle. They're horrible! But when McGonagall sided against him, he just gave up."

"Wow. So… You guys are gonna live together?"

"Yeah, starting from this summer. And Sirius invited your family to spend the summer at the mansion!"

"He did!"

"Yeah! And Hermione too! Mrs Weasley accepted at one condition, though."

"Which one?"

"That we would spend the second half of the summer at your house."

Ron smiled.

"I don't see anything wrong with that!"

oOo

"Harry James Potter, you better have a great explanation to why you went down in this bloody Chamber!" Sirius yelled after Molly had finished chewing Ron off.

"But…"

"Mr Black?" A small voice hesitated.

He looked down and saw a small figure, as dirty as Harry and Ron's, mounted with an impressively red amount of hair and adorable freckles.

"Don't… Don't blame Harry. It wasn't his fault. If it weren't for him, I would still be down there, probably dead…"

She was becoming redder by the second. He kneeled in front of her.

"What's your name?"

"Ginny… Ginny Weasley."

"Well, Ginny, I'm Sirius. And, while I am glad Harry rescued you, I still have to lecture him a little. This is all about building my credibility as a parent, " he smiled, winking at the redhead who grinned back.

"This is not fair!" Harry whined.

"Life's not fair, mini-Prongs, get over it!"

Later that year, during the summer at Grimmauld Place, Sirius pointed little Ginny Weasley, who was passing by the kitchen where the last remaining Marauders were drinking some tea, and said to his best friend:

"My money's on this one."

"Ginny?"

"Yep!"

"Prehaps Harry, like James, would want someone a little more… Fiery? Like Lily. She's a little shy."

"Give her some time."

"Are you certain?"

"Have you seen her mother, Moony? She's gonna be even more terrifying! Her brothers already call her a devil. And… no Potter has ever resisted a redhead before."

oOo

"You kissed who?"

"Cho Chang, right after the last DA meeting! You know, the girl I wanted to invite to the Yule Ball last year?"

"I know who Cho Chang is, no need to remind me!"

Next to him, Remus, without lifting his head from the newspaper he was reading, extanded his hand. Cursing under his breath, Sirius dug into his pocket and gave him a little bag full of money.

"Did you bet?!"

"Don't take that the wrong way, Harry, it's an investment!"

"My ass… I have to go, my bags aren't gonna pack themselves. Bye!"

His face disappeared from the mirror. Sirius was silent for a second before exploding:

"Cho Chang?! Really?"

"But… I mean… She was Cedric's girlfriend… Doesn't she need more time to… Recover?"

"Don't even mention it! First, Rita Skeeter trying to get Harry and Hermione to look like a couple, then Ginny dating Michael Corner, and now Cho Chang?! Please, Moony, tell me it's just a phase!"

"Well… That's the kid's taste…"

"He's breaking the whole Potter pattern!"

"He's only fifteen! We don't even know how this is going to go. Give it some time, Sirius."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Not even three months later, Sirius was laughing at Harry's Valentine Day tale. Which made his Godson even angrier.

"Don't laugh! It went horrible!"

"Yes," Remus nodded. "But at least, you got the interview with Skeeter done."

"At least…"

When he managed to regain his calm, Sirius, with a large smile, extanded his hand to his old pal, who grumbled before giving him back his money.

"Please, tell me you guys aren't still betting on who I date…"

"Shush, mini-Prongs! Oh, Moony, by the way, I hope it doesn't bother you, but Dora's coming over to dinner."

Remus had the decency to blush before mumbling he's put another plate on the table.

oOo

Thanks to the mirror both Harry and him had, Sirius was able to call back up to the Ministery and prove Voldemort was back. When he finally was back to his oh-so-beloved couch at Grimmauld Place, he rested for a good while before deciding that he was too exhausted to lecture Harry. At least, everyone had gotten out of this alive, and the bonds between his Godson and his friends had become even stronger. Remus plopped himself on the couch next to him.

"Well… At least, I heard Ginny and Michael broke up…"

Sirius' eyes opened suddenly.

"Really?!"

"Yes. Something involving Quidditch…"

"She plays Quidditch?" Sirius, in awe, asked, his eyes sparkling. Then, he looked at the ceiling. "Hear that, Prongs? She plays Quidditch!"

At least, that was a lighter note than what had been happening. Dumbledore had told Harry about the Prophecy. And how Lily's love had saved him, which had ended up in Harry being forced to live with the Dursleys because Lily's blood was still present in the form of Petunia. Harry had been furious. Sirius had even heard that some of Dumbledore's stuff had ended up smashed. But at the end, the most important was that everyone was alright… Well, plus a few scars…

But for Sirius, it was a victory, with everyone alive and well.

oOo

"Stop staring, she'll see you," Sirius simply advised when he saw Harry's gaze following Ginny's form out of the room.

His Godson's head snapped up, his cheeks crimson red, and Sirius giggled. Yes, he giggled. Like a little girl.

"I'm not staring…"

"Yeah, and I'm a Death Eater," Padfood smirked, rolling his eyes.

"Ees evereething alright? 'Arry, you seem a leettle preocupied," Fleur Delacour, Bill's fiancée, asked, genuinely worried for Harry.

"Nope, he's fine! Just a little… under the spell, if you know what I mean."

"Eet's horreeble! Don't worree, Arry, we'll get someone to counter eet!"

"Not that kind of spell! That one has red hair and freckles!" Sirius teased, while realisation striked the French soon-to-be bride.

As a result, Fleur spent the whole day humming "'Arry est amoureux!" around the house. When Harry had asked Remus, who knew a little bit of French, he answered that it meant "Harry is in love." Which got Harry to blush like a middle school girl.

"Trying to run away?" Ginny asked, amused, when she saw him sneak out from the back door of the Burrow. Startled, the Boy-Who-Lived jumped and let out a surprised yelp.

"Very manly," the Weasley girl laughed.

"Let's forget the squeal. I'm running from Sirius, who's apparently trying to get me to rebuild the Potter family. And Fleur is helping him out."

"That's very hypocrite! After all, the Black family also needs a heir and I believe professor Burbage and him do get along well," she revealed, smiling like an evil elf.

"Really?"

"Oh, and you might want to have some leverage over Remus as well… After all, I don't get why he keeps rejecting Tonks when he obviously likes her… a lot…"

"Very interesting… I could finally blackmail them… But right now, I really need some space from everything."

"Then follow me."

She grabbed his hand and started running towards the woods.

Sirius heard the laugh from inside the Weasley house. He looked out the window to see a young girl with flaming red hair, hand in hand with a black-haired boy. He smiled sadly.

"Padfoot?"

"Look, Moony… It's James and Lily…"

Hi everyone! So this fic came to me when I saw this hilarious facebook post and, jokingly, said that I needed to write about it. However, when people started showing enthusiasm, I decided to really write a one-shot about it. So here it is!

If there is any mistake, I remind those who usually read my stories, and alert those who are not familiar with me, that english is not my birth language and that I have only been living in the US for two years. So, if there is any mistake, just leave me a review or a PM and I'll do my best to correct it!

Enjoy!