Kate closed her eyes and quietly waited for the fist.
Killing with Dementors sounded casual when you said it out loud. But only when you actually saw how Dementors swarmed a living person and slowly fed on their soul did you understand how terrifying it really was.
It was torture for the one being fed upon, and for the onlooker, was it any less?
Kate was closest of all. She could see clearly how Peter, his brain already damaged, convulsed in agony through his unconsciousness.
It was without doubt a punishment crueler than death by a thousand cuts.
For a moment, Kate even wondered whether her decision was too heartless. But once that second passed, she chose to go on.
Whether it was Peter or her grandfather, they both deserved it.
She waited quietly for the pain she expected, but after a while, nothing happened at all.
She opened her eyes, puzzled, and found that someone had caught Sirius's hand.
"Brother?" she exclaimed. "Why are you here?"
David shoved Sirius away with all his strength and planted himself in front of her like a mother hen guarding her chick. "Black! You damned fugitive, how dare you lay a hand on Kate!"
"Scamander!" Lupin stepped forward and shielded Sirius in turn. "It isn't what you think. Let me explain…"
"Bah! Explain what?" David was frantic. "I never thought you'd be in league with a fugitive too. Let me tell you both, if you want to bully my Junior Sister, you'll have to kill me first!"
He shot a glance at Pettigrew, lying on the ground with his face twisted in misery. "You'd even kill someone with a damaged mind, someone who can't defend himself! Are you even human?"
Kate stared blankly at David standing in front of her, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
How had she never noticed that her Senior Brother had a bit of a comic streak?
"Brother, calm down first."
David was practically reaching for his wand, so Kate hurriedly stopped him and gave him the gist of everything.
"What?" David's brows shot up. "The big black dog at school is him? Kate, tell me first, did he bully you?"
Behind Lupin, Sirius roared in indignation, "Who's bullying whom, exactly?!"
He'd been tricked by this scheming Slytherin witch more times than he could count!
"Shut up, fugitive!" David bristled at him instinctively. "I just saw you about to hit her! You think you can pick on Kate because she's innocent and easy prey? Why don't you try someone else?"
Kate, who had nearly been hit and had "innocent and easy prey" written all over her face, stayed silent for a moment. Then, with a sweat drop sliding down her temple, she forcibly dragged him aside.
After another round of whispering, David turned back, only half convinced, and muttered, "Black's a good man? He doesn't look like one…"
Seeing that Sirius was about to explode again, Lupin, utterly drained, exchanged a look with Kate. With perfect understanding, the two of them pulled the men apart and began talking each one down.
It was lucky Peter had lost all consciousness by now. Otherwise this would have been the perfect moment to escape.
It took a laborious ten minutes or so before Kate finished the story. She put her hands on her hips, her mouth dry. "Brother, got it?"
David crouched on the ground, frowning, and looked past her at Peter lying there like a corpse. "Little Junior Sister, you're saying he ran into Dementors while trying to escape and had his soul sucked out, and that's when you saved him?"
"Mm-hm!" Kate said, lying with a perfectly righteous face. "There's even a memory he left behind of his own accord. If you still don't believe me, you can take a look."
"No, whatever you say, I'll believe it," David said, shaking his head at once. "I just don't feel easy leaving you…"
"It's fine, I can protect myself," Kate said, winking at him. "Go on ahead. I still have things to sort out with them."
"All right. And that hunk of iron…" He hesitated. "To avoid causing a panic, I'll keep it safe for a while and give it back once the heat dies down."
Kate grinned. "Thanks, Brother!"
"Don't mention it."
David reached out and ruffled her hair, then stood up and tapped the armor. The armored warrior's helmet flashed with a white light, and it obediently followed him away.
Kate finally let out a breath. Hands on her hips, she walked over to Sirius, who was still sulking off to one side. "My brother was only worried about me, just like you worry about Harry."
At the mention of Harry, his expression eased a little. He glanced at Peter. "So what do we do now?"
Kate was about to answer when, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a silver Phoenix gliding in from the horizon.
Trailing dreamlike silver mist, the Phoenix circled in the air for a while and drove off every last Dementor lingering around them.
A Patronus. A Phoenix?
Kate's pupils contracted, and she scanned the surroundings.
But the old man she'd expected didn't appear.
"Dumbledore's found out we're here." She licked her dry lips, then looked down at Peter, half dead at her feet.
So she couldn't kill him now.
Sirius had realized the problem too. He turned to her warily. "If you'd killed him just now, the three of us would've ended up tied to the same rope, wouldn't we?"
"Who knows." The corners of Kate's lips curved up slightly.
Both of these men knew about the connection between her and the armored warrior.
If she didn't hold something over them and make them her own people, then with Sirius's temperament he might well blab all of it to his godson the very next day.
At least now that Peter was half dead, all three of them present shared the blame. For that reason alone, his mouth would stay shut a little more firmly.
"Is the Professor back yet?" she asked the Phoenix, tilting her head up.
The Phoenix nodded with uncanny intelligence, its slender neck turning toward the castle.
Kate understood. "Since Peter isn't dead, let's take him with us to see the Headmaster."
"He's a bit heavy, so I'll have to ask you two elders to give him a hand," she said, winking playfully at them. "After all, who made me just an ordinary little witch who can't even tie up a chicken?"
Sirius bared his teeth, but he and Lupin hoisted Peter up between them and followed her out of the Forbidden Forest.
As they neared the castle, the Phoenix circled in the sky and then vanished.
Sirius and Lupin exchanged a glance, and Sirius promptly changed into the black dog and took the unconscious Peter onto his back.
Lupin, with the same tacit understanding, cast a Disillusionment Charm over the two of them.
Feeling a gust of wind brush past her, Kate walked on a few steps as if nothing were amiss, until Lupin called out to her.
She turned around and found him looking at her gravely. "Today you said this was only an experiment. So who were you really aiming at?"
"I don't know what you mean, Professor." Kate's eyes curved. "Didn't he run away on his own and get his soul eaten by Dementors?"
Lupin froze, then nodded, his eyes dark. "Indeed he did."
In that case, they were accomplices.
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