"GUILTY!!!!", Azkaban Winners Announced! Options

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Owls will be sent from the Ministry to the following guilty writers regarding their sentences.


1. PINKPANTHER Wins the Grand Prize of 5 Galleons for The End Of The Beginning! She will go to Azkaban!

2. RONSMYMAN Wins the Second Prize of 4 Galleons for A Duel of Dual Emotions! She will go to Azkaban!


3. AGRIPPA Wins the Third Prize of 3 Galleons for Too Many Memories! He will go to Azkaban!


4. McGONAGALL'S CAT and ZYMURGY Tie for the Fourth Place Prize of 2 Galleons for The Wronski Feint and Shouldn't Happen to a Dog! They will go to Azkaban!


CONGRATULATIONS, FELLOW FERRETS!
Many thanks to all who participated in this Challenge!
All members are encouraged to resume the other projects around the site and start new ones! We'll make an announcement when we're ready to hold another Official Project Ferret Writing Challenge!

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GRAND PRIZE WINNER OF 5 GALLEONS - PINKPANTHER

The End of the Beginning

Sirius' hand trembled as he slowly reached forward toward the slightly ajar door. The Potters' house was silent, but Sirius couldn't shake the feeling of dread growing in the pit of his stomach, like being caught in the middle of uncomplimentary hexes. He wasn't supposed to be here, but he'd overheard . . . something. He wasn't sure what it meant, the message was for Dumbledore, but he did catch the words "terrible" and "Potters." He wondered if Dumbledore had been here yet. The door creaked open and he willed his shaking legs over the threshold. He wasn't afraid, exactly; he knew fear well enough to deal with it. But this, this was something more, like panic and foreboding, mixed with a swift kick to the abdomen. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he gingerly called out, "James?" No answer. He tried again, "James? Lily? Anybody here?" Still nothing. The fear, or whatever it was had almost completely gripped him and it took every ounce of willpower he had to force himself forward. The house was dark and empty. "Perhaps they're asleep," Sirius thought to himself, but as if to answer him, a slight breeze pushed on the still-open door, causing it to emit an eerie creak. Sirius took another deep breath. "James?" His voice was more urgent this time, his adrenaline and concern for his friends beginning to take over.
He moved to the stairs, but as his foot searched for the first step, it kicked something lying on the floor, something light and cylindrical. He pointed his wand at the floor and whispered, "lumos." The wand sent a soft, magical glow on the floor, but what Sirius saw hit him with a fresh wave of terror over him. It was James' wand, or part of it. It looked as though it had been split down the middle and the rough edge was blackened.
Sirius only stared at it for a moment, then he leapt for the stairs. "James! James! Lily!" He yelled, but the only answer was his own voice, echoing through the house. As he reached the second floor, he whipped madly around the corner, but froze in his tracks. In the corner, partially illuminated by his wand, lay a limp figure, unmoving and quiet. Fighting panic, Sirius raised his wand. As the light flooded the corner, Sirius fell to his knees and gagged. He forced himself to take a breath, then dragged his trembling body toward James still form.
Once again, he raised his want to see his friend's pale face. "Oh God," he whispered, unaware of the tears now streaming down his face. He gingerly reached his free hand toward James, but even before his fingers reached the cold, lifeless form, Sirius knew the truth. Still, unwilling to believe that his best friend was gone, he tried frantically, desperately to find a pulse. Finally, he could deny it no more. He carefully released James' arm and struggled to his feet. His knees threatened to buckle beneath him, but he managed to steady himself on the wall and, forcing himself to breathe, proceeded down the corridor.
The first door Sirius reached was open--little Harry's room. The sight that met him as he entered, though, squashed any hope he might have had. The room was in shambles. Toys and pictures from the walls were strewn about chaotically and the cradle lay on its side, next to a pile of blankets just visible in the weak light shining through the broken window. Stifling a sob, Sirius took a step toward the cradle, but stopped. He couldn't bear it. He couldn't look at his godson, so he turned instead to the window to regain his composure. The sun was nearly risen. His gaze drifted to the floor where the drapes lay in a heap. He looked again. Something about them, about their shape on the floor was wrong. He pointed his wand toward the window, then choked back a scream as he ran toward Lily, crumpled on the tattered curtains. He knew, knew without even touching her.
His sobs were coming freely now, unchecked. "NO!" he screamed, over and over. He turned away from Lily toward the wall and felt his wand slip to the floor as he knelt, racked with emotion. He heard voices outside, but his tears didn't stop; they only changed from anguish to rage. It filled every ounce of his being as he seized his wand and leapt to his feet. He took the stairs two at a time, propelled by the anger that pulsed through him. He had only one thought in his brain: He would find Peter and make him suffer.
Once outside, he paused. Peter couldn't be far, but which way would he try to run? Choosing the left, he turned, but a voice behind him caused him to stop. "Sirius! Dumbledore's already been here. He sent me to fetch Harry from those ministry blokes. You ought ter come with me."
Sirius whirled around to see the hulking form of Hagrid, concern written on his face. He fumbled for words. "Harry. . . alive? But, I just . . . No, Hagrid. Take my motorcycle and get him to Dumbledore. I won't be needing it."
He took another look at the house and noticed ministry officials beginning to arrive before he turned and tore madly down the street. The incident with Hagrid had done little to calm him. In fact, the rage bubbling inside him seemed greater as it drove him on.
Suddenly, up ahead, he caught sight of Peter, standing in the road still occupied by curious muggles, a few still in slippers and bathrobes. "Pettigrew, you filthy coward!" Sirius bellowed, eyes blazing, "You can't hide in those muggles!" The people on the street were staring at this wild-looking man, but he didn't notice or care. Peter whirled around and and stood frozen on the spot while Sirius kept charging. "Lily and James, you disgusting, worthless traitor! How could you do it to Lily and James?!?"
His voice was choked with emotion, but revenge gleamed in his eyes as he raised his wand. As Sirius opened his mouth, Peter pointed his wand at himself and muttered a few words, terror still written on his face. Before Sirius knew what happened, he was on his back, the explosion still echoing off the buildings. Sirius scrambled to his feet. His wand had been knocked out of his hand, but he hastily grabbed it and turned back to where Peter had stood, but all that remained were some smoldering bits of cloth and one pudgy, blackened finger, flanked by the bodies of several fallen muggles. Sirius howled with rage and attempted to lunge forward, but his arms were suddenly pinned from behind. "Let go of me!" He yelled, as he tried in vain to shake off the burly wizards who held him. Helpless, Sirius turned back toward the remains of Peter, but a movement to the side caught his attention. The sun was completely up now and Sirius could see the form of a large rat limping toward a drainage pipe.
Triumphantly, Sirius screamed, "I know what you are, Pettigrew! I swear on my life I'll find you and when I do you'll wish you'd never been born!" With that, Sirius, overcome by the sheer range and velocity of his emotions and the shocks he'd encountered, began to cackle wildly at the thought of destroying the traitor.

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2ND PLACE WINNER OF 4 GALLEONS - RONSMYMAN

A Duel of Dual Emotions

<<CRACK!!!>>

The bone broke and the young red-headed boy toppled into the tunnel, onto Sirius’ back. His tired frame sagged almost to the ground under the weight of the boy and the weight of the guilt that toppled upon him as heavily as the boy had. He had only meant to hurt one person tonight, and in order to get to that one person he was having to harm more people than he had planned on.

The thing that weighed most heavily on his heart, however, was the face of his godson. For the first time since James’ and Lily’s deaths, Sirius had gotten a close look at the product of their procreation. His resemblance to James had sent shivers down Sirius’ back. In his moment’s pause of contemplation he heard a bit of shuffling outside the tree. The Whomping Willow was trying to attack something. Sirius knew that if Harry had even an ounce of James’ valor, he would find the way into the shack and save his friend.

Sirius' goal flooded back into his mind and with renewed energy he rushed down the tunnel, the red-headed boy’s arm still held tightly in his teeth. He slipped through the opening and through the first room. As he arrived at the foot of the stairs, he heard the voices of Harry and the girl as they dropped into the tunnel. For a brief moment, pride for his godson surged through Sirius. The feeling was soon wiped away, however, by the urgency of his mission.

He dragged the poor shocked boy up the stairs, trying not to jostle the battered leg too much, finally reaching his destination, he deposited his prize on the floor next to a splintered bed frame occupied by a shredded mattress.

A slight movement rustled the boy’s pocket and hunger for revenge flooded Sirius’ mind, throwing out all thoughts of his pursuers. He backed up on all fours, transfiguring as he did so. Soon instead of his quiet paws, the rustle of his dirty rags were heard on the floor as he crawled backward, licking his lips hungrily. He didn’t notice the boy’s eyes widen in horror as the person he’d been taught to fear almost as much as the Dark Lord appeared before him. He didn’t notice that the footsteps and voices of Harry and the girl were getting closer and closer. All of his attention was focused on the small lump in the boy’s pocket. It was starting to move more and more, as if it sensed the gaze, and felt the hatred flowing from the Sirius' eyes.

It was only when the two pursuers burst into the room and his captive started talking in a loud frightened voice that Sirius was summoned back to the reality of the situation. These three children would have to be dealt with somehow. He stood up as the red-headed one was warning the others to run away, with a swift motion he shut the door, and pointed the boy’s wand at the trio, thankful that he had not been too distracted to take it from him. He quickly disarmed his young, unprepared opponents.

Still pointing the wand at them, Sirius approached the trio, concentrating his gaze on Harry. “I thought you’d come and help your friend. Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I’m grateful...it will make everything much easier...”

The words came out hoarse and sinister, Sirius hadn’t spoken in ages, and what was meant as a sincere comment came out as a cruel taunt. He knew that Harry had seen it as such. His godson's face was clouded with hate; he was fighting to free himself from the grasp of his two friends, to physically attack Sirius.

Suddenly the red-head hoisted himself into a standing position, broken leg and all, and declared that Sirius would have to kill them too if he was going to kill Harry. The young boy stirred memories of Sirius’ own youth and the countless times that he had stood up for James in like fashion. He had never had to offer his life, but if the opportunity had arisen, he would have jumped at the chance. Then the memory of the dreadful truth came to him. He had been offered the chance, and he had turned it down, had given it to another, weaker being, who had sold the chance for a bit of power. His resolve cemented, he looked back into Harry’s eyes.

He quietly told the red-haired boy to lay down and save his leg, but the boy’s resolve seemed to be as firm as his own. As he tried to convince the trio that only one murder would take place that night, Harry’s rage erupted and torrents of accusations were spewed upon Sirius, adding to the guilt of his conscience, and throwing his emotions off guard. His godson hated him, for good reasons perhaps, but still the evident hatred had not hit him so hard until it had been articulated. Suddenly Harry lunged at Sirius who was unprepared for this physical attack. He was thrown to the ground and punched incessantly, until the Azkaban-born demon inside of him awoke and swelled momentarily to the surface. He grabbed Harry’s throat and squeezed, forgetting himself, forgetting his duty to the human being he was depriving of air.

Then in a split second the tables turned. Before he knew what had happened, Sirius’ air was knocked out of him, the red head was lying in subdued convulsions of pain, having thrown himself on Sirius’ wand arm, and Harry was standing in front of him, wand in hand. The power he held in this position made the young boy look a lot taller than he had a few moments earlier. He yelled at his friends to move, his wand pointed directly at Sirius’ heart, an organ which was thumping heavily with fear that he might die before accomplishing the one thing he desired above all.

He looked into the boy’s eyes and tried to explain, Harry would hear none of it. Harry's eyes continued to be trained on Sirius’, but the expected spell didn’t come. Moments crept by and still they remained in that position. Sirius could tell that Harry’s determination to kill him was melting little by little, he knew that the Potter blood flowing through his veins would not allow him to make himself as bad as his enemy. Quite suddenly, just as Sirius could see the last bits of Harry’s resolve dripping to the floor, the door burst open, and one of the people that Sirius had least expected to see rushed in.

Remus Lupin had always been an intelligent bloke. Top of the class, grades wise, and there was no one who could disarm someone by the book better than Remus, who always had stuck to the rules unwaveringly. This once-friend, whom he hadn’t seen since his incarceration in Azkaban, disarmed his opponents and turned to him with a renewed look of trust and friendship. Remus, who was probably James’ closest friend after Sirius, was standing up for the man that was thought to have killed him. Sirius gazed at the Lupin in shock.

Lupin then opened his mouth, and suddenly Sirius understood, Lupin knew. Thankfulness coursed throughout his body. Never in his entire life had he been so grateful for the Marauder’s Map, not even the time that it had allowed the four friends to avoid capture by an entire herd of professors as they strategically searched the school, looking for the four absent boys.

The three students wore disgusted looks on their faces as their gazes passed between the two grown men. Sirius was more aware than ever of the hatred Harry felt towards him, and he knew that with Lupin’s help he could change Harry’s opinion in favor of him, but he didn’t have the time. The lump in the red-headed boy’s pocket was beginning to wriggle more and more desperately. If they didn’t act soon it would surely free itself from the confines in which it was held and escape with Sirius’s innocence forever.

The thought that he would not be able to justify his unjust imprisonment threw aside all of Sirius’ godfatherly thoughts, and he positioned himself to lunge towards the redhead. Lupin, however, felt differently. Since he had not been unjustly incarcerated for the last 14 years, his emotions were not quite as deeply tied to the small wriggling piece of flesh before them. After Lupin handled the difficult task of calming the children down, Sirius allowed Lupin to tell them the true story, as he stared at the outline of the small creature which held his fate in limbo.

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3RD PLACE WINNER OF 3 GALLEONS - AGRIPPA

Too Full of Memories
The Break-in at Gryffindor Tower

The moon was nearly full, but not quite.

That's unfortunate, thought the black dog. Moony's bound to be up and about. But he'll be at the feast, I hope. If he recognizes me…

The hinges of the great oak door creaked open and the squashed face of a ginger cat peered out. She nodded at the dog.

Thanks, friend, thought the dog. I'm lucky to have run into you.

Dog and cat made their way into the entryway. Sirius' ears pricked up as the sounds of the Halloween feast flooded his mind with memories of Hogwarts' feasts past. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot – all in the school once more.

Prongs, my friend, tonight – tonight I'll make it right again.

Each successive floor brought new memories as the pair made their way up to Gryffindor tower. There's where Prongs set off that dungbomb. Closed the corridor for hours. Oh, Filtch was mad!

And there's the window where we first saw them smuggling Remus out to the Willow. Poor man. I wonder how he's managing.

They reached to top of the final staircase. Sirius' heart was pounding. Soon. Soon. Peter – he's close. Just the Fat Lady left. She'll open for the cat.

"Hello, Crookshanks," murmered the Fat Lady absentmindedly. "Come in, m' dear."

The portrait swung open, and Crookshanks went through. Sirius made for the opening, but the portait slammed shut.

"Oh, no," said the Fat Lady in a babyish voice. "Sorry, ickle doggy, but I don't recognize you. If you're someone's pet, you should go back to your owner. Unless" – she giggled – "you can tell me the password."

In a flash, the dog was gone and full-grown man stood in its place. Sirius' eyes glinted as he pulled a knife from his pocket. With a flash of steel, he sliced the portrait down the middle. The Fat Lady tried to run, but the knife sliced her across the shoulder.

"Let me in," he growled.

"Never!" she gasped.

He changed back into the dog, and attacked with his sharp claw, tearing her dress.

"Help! Help! It's him! It's Sirius Black!"

Bloody hell, thought Sirius. Dumbledore and the rest will be here in no time. And if Remus is with them…

He darted back down the staircase, making his way to the back stairs. His ears stood on end, listening for footsteps. When he reached the first floor, he heard it – the rumble of footsteps as the banquet ended. He froze.

Those footsteps – some of them are Harry's.

Slowly, he crept around the corner. None of the Gryffindors noticed the black dog in the heavy shadows of the corridor. And suddenly, there he was.

Harry walked along with the tall red-headed boy Sirius knew to be Peter's current owner. They probably share a dormitory. Peter lives in Harry's dormitory. A wave of panic swept over him.

They crowd passed, and Sirius sneaked back down the staircase. Darting across the entryway, he ventured a glance at the Great Hall. For a moment, he thought he saw James and Remus and the rest of their class, sitting at the long table, raising their goblets in a toast. He blinked and looked again. Just empty tables.

This place is too full of memories.

He pushed his shoulder into the heavy door, opening it just enough for him to slide through. The nearly-full moon lit the path through the gates to Hogsmeade.

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4TH PLACE WINNER OF 2 GALLEONS - McGONAGALL'S CAT


The Wronski Feint


Cheery yellow walls and crisp white curtains belied the tense conditions in the kitchen. Lily had long since placed a Lullaby Charm on Harry, who was merrily oblivious to the arguing amongst the adults. He concentrated on smearing mashed banana into the tabletop as he sat on his mother's lap.

James was staring resolutely at some point near the corner on the ceiling, his arms stubbornly crossed on his chest. Sirius glowered, mumbling to himself while Remus gently tried to draw the two back to the problem at hand, with little success.

Suddenly James turned on Lupin, "Yeah, and we thought that Frank and Alice would be fine with what the Order had planned, too. Look where it got them!" He glared at Sirius. "I'm NOT going into hiding!"

"It's not just you that you have to think about now," Remus tried to interject as Sirius let fly with several rather creative epithets concerning James' stubbornness.

"E- NUFF!" Lily growled a bit too loudly. Sirius spun his attention to her, followed by the other two. "You idiots! He is winning!"

"Thanks for the newsflash, Lils," James grumbled.

Tossing a chilly glance at James, she continued, "Look at how you are all fighting. In another few moments you're going to say things you'll regret... things you won't be able to take back. He is breaking you apart... us apart. " She paused, choking back emotion. "Harry and I need you to work together.. The Order needs you to work together... before all is lost."

"Lily's right," Sirius' voice carried resignation and defiance. "Fighting amongst ourselves is stupid." He looked sincerely, pleadingly, at James. "Obviously the protections for Frank and Alice weren't good enough. This is the only possibility.. for right now."

James shuffled in his chair, "Someone sold them out."

"Right, was it you or me... or better yet, Dumbledore?" Sirius asked caustically. "Exactly how many of us actually knew what the wards were, let alone how to get through them? Who could it have been?"

"You're right. Just the five of us and Dumbledore," James said as his resolve began to crumble. "You, Remus, Peter, us, and Dumbledore..."

Remus touched his friend's arm, "James, at least try it. Think of Harry. ... We'll come up with something better as quickly as we can."

After a few moments of contemplation, James sighed. "OK, but only if Dumbledore is our Secret-Keeper."

"You can't be serious! The wizard is fighting the biggest evil presence since 1945 and you want him to be vulnerable to having to disappear for long periods of time? " Remus looked at him incredulously. "Defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it?"

"Then Sirius, " James said through gritted teeth, staring unseeingly at the mess Harry was still merrily smearing around.

"Oh, no. Not me. I'd be the first one Bellatrix and her friends would come for if you become difficult to locate." As he said it he glanced at Remus. The look that passed across Sirius' face was one of having been manipulated and resenting it, but he suppressed it as quickly as it had appeared.

Remus chuckled at Sirius, "You are toast anyway, old pal. This would just be a more acceptable excuse for her boss to let her have a go at you. You know they've got it in for you no matter what you do or don't do."

"Even a better reason for someone else to be the Secret-Keeper. If I don't know, there is no way I can break under pressure and give you away."

"Merlin, Sirius! It's you or no one." James declared flatly.

"Yeah, I have my own situation that makes me a liability," Remus said quietly, sounding as though he alone was responsible for letting down all the hopes of the Order.

Pensively, Sirius caressed Harry's shoulder, marveling at how the child's entire upper arm was barely longer than the width of his own hand. Harry giggled and happily slopped squishy banana goo on his Godfather's wrist.

Exhaling a huge sigh of resignation, Sirius aquiessed. "How did the world get so ... so.. so... "

Lily squeezed his hand in gratitude, then laughed at the gooey mess she found coating her hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, pacing his room, running a hand through his hair, Sirius talked out loud to himself...

"Why in Merlin's Beard did Dumbledore do this? ... Or was this Moony's idea? ... Could they have gotten to him? What in the world is he thinking? ... Why did I agree? ... He's right that Bellatrix has had it in for me, probably since I was put into Gryffindor.. maybe even before .. and definitely now..." he laughed ruefully. "What in the world was James thinking? ... Am I strong enough to pull this off? Short answer, probably not. Oh boy, Bella and her buddies, really something to look forward to. Merlin! What WERE they thinking? What were WE thinking? What was I thinking? Poor James... Poor Lily... Poor Harry. What am I going to do? Oh, Merlin's Ghost!"

Sirius' eyes fell upon the latest edition of Witch Weekly. The Player receiving this year's "Dangerous" Dai Commemorative Medal was on the cover.

"Wronski Feint!" Sirius grinned. "Perfect!"

He immediately flooed over to Peter's.

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4TH PLACE WINNER OF 2 GALLEONS - ZYMURGY

Shouldn't Happen to a Dog (Parody!)

“Excuse me,” said Sirius, pushing his way though the muggles on the street, “Pardon me, would you PLEASE let me by, I have two murders to avenge, and one to commit, insanely grieving best friend coming through….”

The muggles gave him strange looks and parted to let him through. Peter suddenly saw him and looked a little sheepish, putting his hands into his pockets.

“Er…” said Peter, “I’m guessing you were just at Lilly and James’?”

“How could you tell?” snarled Black.

“Ok,” said Peter, getting out his, “How to Be a Succesfull Double Agent, and Live to Tell the Tale,” handbook, and thumbing through it, “Frame my enemy for my crime, and fake my own death by maiming… ooh. Yech. Oh, well, nothing for it I suppose.”

“You bloody barbecued traitor!” shrieked Sirius, getting out his wand, and conveniently not mentioning whom Peter had betrayed, “DIE!”

“Yes, yes, give me a second,” said Peter, “Can’t seem to find my knife… er…”

Sirius mentally went through a list of curses he could probably use and get away with, then narrowed it down to those he could use unnoticed in the crowd, and even factored in the curvature of the earth, and wind resistance. There was, it seemed, such a thing as being to good in Arithmancy.

“Lilly and James!” shrieked Peter, suddenly, “How could you, Sirius!? How COULD you!”

Sirius came out of his mental calculation of how many muggles he could obliviate with one arm hexed and a death eater chasing him, just in time to see a fountain of purple blood spurt from Peter’s hand, as his finger flopped deadly to the floor.

“Peter!” shouted Sirius, darting forward, “Are you ok?”

Friends, it seems, will always be a matter of instinctive concern to their friends, no matter how many coats they may have turned, and how many other friends they may have successfully killed.

Unfortunately, nobody every heard the “are you ok?” part, because Peter had just blown an enormous hole in the street, while effectively, and subtly adding a laughing hex to the mix.

“Hahahaha!” laughed Sirius, falling against the wall, clutching his stomach, looking about at the destruction and damage in horror, “Tee hee!”

The Aurors arrived bang on time, quickly and magically healing those still in time to be healed, questioning, obliviated, and detaining those necessary.

Two grabbed Sirius’ elbows, trying to figure out what was going on. Rita Skeeter and her assistant flashed picture after picture, as the quick quotes quill zoomed back and forth.

“What happened, man, are you all right?” asked the Auror to Sirius’ left, “Sirius?”

“Hahahaha!” giggled Sirius, sagging to the floor, “Stupid hahaha betrayed hahahaa Peter… hahaha… Lilly hahahha, James…. Tee hee! Ho ho… Rat, Peter, hahaha”

The Quick Quotes quill zoomed across the page: “Sirius Black, well known motorcycle riding three time winner of the most roughish grin award, has been hiding a second, darker side to himself. He laughs insanely as he surveys the damage he has wrought. “Stupid,” he laughs, mocking the dead muggles, bleeding before him, “betrayed Lilly and James,” he admits, boastingly, and adds, that poor Peter Pettigrew, who so valiently opposed him, and whom he had just murdered, was a “Rat.”

“I say,” asked her assistant, “That’s not exactly accurate, now, Rita. You’re putting an innocent man in…”

“Oh, don’t be so stupid,” snapped Rita, shutting her quill back into her handbag, “I can’t interview a rat.”

“Not even as a…”

Rita gave him the Skeeter Glare of Death, and the photographer shrugged, and went back to snapping pictures of the road, studiously avoiding the spot where Peter was still chasing his tale, trying to find a way out of the crowd without being squished.