Raven (Fred x oc)

23. Truth and Justice

"But they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand. But then I saw Peter in that picture...I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry and Raven...perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the dark side was gathering strength again...ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies...and to deliver the last Potter to them.

"If he gave Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors. So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive.  It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it...it wasn't a happy feeling...it was an obsession...but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring me food, I slipped past them as a dog.

"It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused. I was thin, very thin, thin enough to slip through the bars. I swam as a dog to the mainland. I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever sense, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as James did, both of you."

Dad looked at Harry, meeting his unwavering gaze. "Believe me. Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."

"Please, Harry," I whispered. "You have to believe us." Harry didn't speak, but finally he nodded.

"No!" Pettigrew cried, falling on his knees. "Sirius - it's me...it's Peter...you're friend...you wouldn't!"

Dad kicked at him, causing him to scurry back as if he had been burned as Dad shouted, "There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them!"

"Remus," Peter cried, changing targets. "You don't believe this? Wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," Remus retorted. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?"

"Forgive me, Remus," Dad replied.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," Remus replied. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course," Dad replied. "You raised my daughter for me. I'll forever be indebted to you for that."

"Yes, well," Remus replied, glancing over at me as I smiled. "You were a little busy."

Dad let out a laugh before he sobered, suggesting, "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," Remus replied grimly.

"You wouldn't, you wouldn't," Pettigrew squeaked. Scrambling to Ron, he pleaded, "Ron...haven't I been a good friend, a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you? You're on my side, aren't you?"

"I let you sleep in my bed!" Ron shouted. My jaw clenched as I realized how disturbing it was that a grown man had been sleeping in the bed of a young boy for twelve years.

"Kind boy, kind master," Pettigrew groveled. "You won't let them do it. I was your rat. I was a good pet."

"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," Dad said harshly.

Turning to Hermione, Pettigrew grabbed her robes, pleading, "Sweet girl, cleaver girl, you-you won't let them...help me..." Hermione ripped her robes out of his grip with a horrified look on her face. "Harry...Harry...you look just like your father," he said, turning to Harry. "Just like him."

"How dare you speak to Harry!" Dad roared. "How dare you face him? How dare you talk about James in front of him!"

"Please," Pettigrew begged, turning to face my cold expression. "Valerie, sweet, kind girl. You can't believe him. He's responsible for all kinds of things. He's the reason your mother's gone, isn't he?"

"How dare you," I whispered, deadly calm. My voice rising to a shriek, I screamed, "HOW DARE YOU?!" I lunged forward, but Remus quickly held me back, keeping a grip around my waist as I struggled against him.

"How dare you talk about Petra," Sirius said venomously. "I'm going to kill you. It's bad enough you joined Voldemort, but this...I loved her!"

"What did you even gain?!" I screamed. "Joining someone like Voldemort?!"

"He - he was taking over everywhere," Pettigrew gasped anxiously. "W-What was to gain by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" Dad yelled angrily. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand, he would have killed me, Sirius!" Pettigrew cried.

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" Dad roared. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

"You should have realized, Peter," Remus said calmly as the two of them faced Pettigrew with their wands raised. "If Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter."

"NO!" Harry yelled suddenly. "You can't kill him! You can't."

"Harry, this vermin is the reason you have no parents," Dad retorted. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your entire family. He took my daughter from me!"

"I know," Harry replied. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors...He can go to Azkaban, but don't kill him."

"He's right," I said softly. Dad and Remus both fixed me with shocked looks. Facing him, I said, "Dad, if we prove that you're innocent, we can be together again. We have all the money from you family. We can get a little house and be a family again. I can have my father back."

Looking at Harry, Dad asked, "Are you sure?"

"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does."

"Very well," Remus agreed. "Stand aside, Harry." When Harry hesitated, Remus said, "I'm going to tie him up. That's all, I swear." Harry did so and Remus quickly tied Pettigrew up with a flick of his wand.

"We need to bind Ron's leg," I said. "None of us can mend bones very well."

Remus nodded and crouched down by Ron and muttered, "Ferula." His leg was bound tightly and he could put some weight on it without wincing.

"That's better, thanks," Ron said.

"What about Professor Snape?" Hermione asked in a small voice.

"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," Remus replied. "You were just a little...overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er - perhaps it would be better if we didn't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this." He muttered a spell and Snape was raised into the air.

"And two of us should be chained to this," Dad said, gesturing to Pettigrew. "Just to make sure."

"I'll do it," Remus replied.

"And me," Ron spoke up.

"All right then," I said, looking around at them all.

"Would you like me to bind up your arm?" Remus asked. "It'll work better than the sling."

"I'll be fine," I replied. "Let's go."