Taming the True Fire (HP)

Sirius Black sat cross-legged on the rug near the roaring fire in the Gryffindor Common Room, a letter from his mother clutched in his hands. It was late, and only a few students remained. James was playing with a snitch he had nicked from Madame Hooch's office, much to the enthusiastic cheers of Peter, while Remus was diligently finishing his Transfiguration homework, his concentration evident by the small ink spot that had somehow appeared on the tip of his nose.

'I can hardly believe these people…' – Sirius thought grimly, rereading the last paragraph for what felt like the tenth time – 'What does she mean by "try to avoid being associated with Mudblood filth. We need to maintain the right appearance"? Appearance for whom? Could they seriously be considering joining that Voldemort?'

His brooding thoughts were abruptly interrupted as Catherine burst into the Gryffindor Tower, her entrance as sudden as a gust of wind. Frank trailed behind her, looking noticeably distressed.

"Flame? What…" – Sirius began, but his question was cut off when Catherine stormed over to Peter, grabbing him by the front of his robes and shaking him violently, her green eyes blazing with fury.

"How dare you?!" – she hissed, her voice low and dangerous – "After everything I've done for you!"

"Hey! Hey! Let go of him!" – James intervened, struggling to separate them. It took considerable effort, but he finally managed to pull Catherine off, while Peter squeaked and curled up on a nearby sofa, his eyes wide with terror.

"What happened?" – Remus asked anxiously, taking hold of Catherine's hand and pulling her further away from the trembling Peter. 

"What happened?!" – the girl snarled, her gaze sharp enough to cut glass – "What happened is that this little piece of crap has been using me as his personal tutor for years, letting me save his sorry ass time and time again. And how does he repay me? By framing me for something I didn't do and betraying us to the Slytherins!" 

"Are you serious right now?" – James yelled angrily – "Peter wouldn't have done anything like that! Did Slytherins tell you this? Why would you believe them?"

"Because I know they weren't lying!" – the young witch snapped back.

"Can you slow down for a second?" – Sirius interjected, trying to grasp the situation – "What exactly are you talking about?"

"Remember that threatening message someone left on the wall next to the Slytherin Common Room two years ago? Everyone thought it was me. Turns out, it was Peter who did it—to frame me!" – she replied, eying her classmate who was now sobbing softly.

"Did you really do that, Peter?" – James asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"I…" – the short wizard stuttered – "It was not my intention! I was just planning to paint those ugly stone snakes in the dungeon red. I didn't realise they were right next to the Slytherin Common Room. Then Lucius Malfoy and his friends cornered me, asking how they could ruin the Halloween Feast for us. I panicked and mentioned the rats in the pumpkins… There were so many of them. What could I have done? If I'd fought back, they would've beaten me anyway! Then they forced me to write a message, making it look like it came from a Gryffindor… I thought you'd be protected by Sirius and James. You have to believe me—I had no choice!"

"You had plenty of choices!" – Sirius snapped, finally catching up with the story – "If you were that scared, you could've framed one of us! Why would you do this to Catherine of all people?"

"I didn't really think it through" – Peter whined – "I was just so scared!"

"Why didn't you tell us afterward?" – Catherine demanded, her eyes filled with disgust – "Not only did you betray me, but you also lied to us by keeping it a secret!"

"But nothing happened to you!" – Peter cried desperately.

"That's not the point, Peter!" – James said, his tone suddenly serious – "It could have! The Slytherins who didn't know might have targeted her! She could've been in serious trouble with the school—all because you wanted to save yourself from a bit of hexing and a few punches! How could you be so selfish?"

"I… I'm sorry!" – Peter sobbed before turning and bolting out of the Common Room.

"Maybe I was a bit too harsh.." – James sighed, glancing helplessly at Remus, who was gently rubbing Catherine's back, trying to soothe her.

"Too harsh? My ass!" – Sirius exploded angrily – "I knew he was a total wimp, but this crosses the line!"

"It seems this party has caused you a lot of stress. I'm sorry, Flame!" – Frank said anxiously, having watched the scene from the sidelines.

"It's not your fault." – Catherine shook her head – "Honestly, I'd rather know I've been betrayed than live in blissful ignorance."

"Still, I'm sure he's genuinely sorry for his moment of weakness." – the fifth-year remarked, though he quietly excused himself, leaving the distressed group of friends to grapple with their internal crisis.

***

"You look exhausted." – Remus observed, handing Catherine a cup of coffee at breakfast.

"I was too angry to sleep." – she explained, taking a large sip.

"Same here." – Sirius grumbled – "You know that knobhead didn't even dare come back to the dormitory? He probably slept in the Common Room."

"I haven't seen him today." – James added, scanning the Great Hall – "Do you think something happened to him?"

"I doubt it." – Sirius shrugged – "As we saw yesterday, he's pretty good at looking out for himself, no matter what happens to the rest of us."

"Flame?" – Peter's shaky voice interrupted, prompting Catherine to turn around. She saw the very nervous and very dirty wizard standing there, half-crying, clutching something in his hand – "This is what we need, right?"

The young witch stared at the bunch of purplish-green leaves Peter held out to her. It took her a moment to register that she wasn't dreaming.

"How in the Founders' names did you manage to get those?!" – she exclaimed in awe as the boys leaned in, unable to hide their surprise.

"Oh! Um, it's actually thanks to your explanations." – Peter admitted with a shy smile – "Remember how you told me that spells usually only cover the parts above the surface where the object lies? I figured the same might be true for the spell on the Greenhouse… so I dug a hole and managed to sneak inside. Took me all night, but I did it!"

"You dug a hole?" – Sirius repeated, torn between laughter and astonishment.

"Yeah!" – Peter blushed – "My hands are covered in blisters, but it was worth it! I'm sorry for what I did, but I care about you all, and I couldn't think of any other way to make it up to you."

"You're such a numbskull, Peter!" – James sighed, quickly hiding the leaves as his friend's appearance started to draw looks from the students nearby.

"I'll put a Preservation Spell on them." – Catherine mused as she grabbed Peter's hands, a soft blue light melting all the blisters and leaving fresh, healthy skin beneath – "We can use the Christmas holiday to hold the leaves in our mouths. It's significantly less risky than doing it at school for the whole month that's required. We'll start brewing in January!"