"You're mental," Ron yelped, looking between us.
"Ridiculous!" Hermione whispered.
"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" Harry shouted. "He killed him twelve years ago!"
"I meant to," Sirius growled. "But little Peter got the best of me, not this time though." Dad lunged for the rat, landing on Ron's leg and causing the redhead to scream out in pain.
"Sirius, NO!" Remus shouted. "WAIT! You can't do it just like that - they need to understand - we've got to explain."
"We can explain afterwards!" Sirius roared.
Jumping in front of him, I said, "Dad." He stopped and looked at me. "If you do this, they'll lock you up again or worse give you the Dementor's Kiss." Blinking away tears, I resumed, "We can turn him in, tell them all the truth and then we can be a family again, Dad. Please." Cupping my cheek, he sighed and nodded. He sat with rising impatience as Remus pieced together and explained what really happened between Sirius and the Potters.
I barely listened until there was suddenly a loud creak and the door opened of its own accord. I stood. Silently, I stepped toward the door and out into the landing. Returning, I said uncertainly, "No one's here, must be a bad hinge." Remus continued, but I kept my narrowed eyes fixed on the doorway suspiciously. I looked away finally, turning to look at the others.
Next moment, I felt a wand pressed to my temple as a sneering voice said, "That's right." I froze, recognizing the voice.
"Snape," I said stiffly as fabric whipped briefly into my line of sight. Harry's invisibility cloak. Hermione screamed and Dad jumped up to his feet.
Sirius began to move forward until Snape snapped, "Move and I kill her."
"Why is everyone threatening me, tonight?" I snapped angrily, but I remained still.
"Severus you're making a mistake," Remus said urgently. "You haven't heard everything - I can explain - Sirius is not here to kill Harry."
"Three more for Azkaban tonight," Snape drawled. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this...He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin...the tame werewolf."
"You fool," Remus snapped. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?" With a flick of his wand, Snape bound Remus and he fell to the ground. Sirius lunged forward, but Snape pressed his wand into my neck.
"Give me a reason," Snape sneered. "Give me a reason to do it and I swear I will." Dad froze, his face showing nothing but hatred with a hint of veiled fear.
Hermione tentatively stepped towards Snape, eyeing his wand at my throat and stuttering, "Professor Snape - it - it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?"
"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds in the company of a convicted murderer, a werewolf, and a brainwashed child. For once in your life, hold your tongue."
"But if - it there was a mistake," Hermione stuttered.
"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape yelled. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Sparks flew out of his wand and I winced.
"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape drawled. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you..."
"The joke's on you again, Severus," Dad retorted. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle, I'll come quietly."
"Up to the castle?" Snape drawled. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black...pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I dare say..."
"NO!" I shrieked, beginning to fight against Snape.
"Shut up," Snape snapped.
"Valerie," Dad said quietly. I drew in shaky breaths, beginning to tremble. Looking at Snape, he said, "You - you've got to hear me out. The rat - look at the rat."
"Come on, all of you," Snape said, flicking his wand and bring the end of Remus' bounds to him. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too." To my surprise, Harry moved to block the door. "Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already. If I hadn't been here to save your skin-"
"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry retorted, "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then? Or why wouldn't Valerie have just killed me in my sleep?"
"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," Snape sneered. Get out of the way, Potter."
"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry screamed. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN-"
"SILENCE!" Snape roared. "I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" His lip curling, Snape sneered, "Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bending knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black - now get out of the way or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"
Ron, Hermione, and Harry all pointed their wands and simultaneously shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Snape was lifted off his feet and flung into the wall behind me. I turned, looking at him before turning back to the others. Shaking, I moved over to Sirius who wrapped an arm around me.
"You shouldn't have done that," Dad said, glancing over at Harry as I lay my head on his shoulder. "You should have left him to me..."
"We attacked a teacher...we attacked a teacher," Hermione rambled, beginning to pace. I didn't listen as they rambled on. I was still shaking slightly and my arm was throbbing.
"I'll be back," I said. "I'm going to go find something to use as a sling for my arm." Sirius nodded and I left the room.
I managed to find a strip of cloth and was just returning when Dad said, "He tried to bring Peter to me, but he couldn't...so he stole the passwords into the tower for me...as I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table."
"It wasn't you?" Harry gasped, looking at me and I fixed the sling to hold my arm so it shifted less.
"Nope," I said, popping the p. "Other than giving him food and not turning him in, I have done nothing to help my dad."
"It's true," Sirius agreed. They kept on talking as I glanced over at Snape who was still lifeless.
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP! HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"
"Harry, he didn't hand them over to Voldemort," I sighed. "He's only saying it was his fault because he convinced James to change the secret-keeper. It was Peter."
"When I saw their house, destroyed,, and their bodies," Dad said quietly. "I realized what Peter must've done...what I'd done. So I went home and said goodbye to Raven. I didn't know when I would get to see her again."
"Enough of this," Remus said. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."
"What are you going to do if I give him to you?" Ron asked tensely.
"There's a spell," I explained. "It forces a wizard to change into their human form. It won't hurt him if we're wrong." Ron reluctantly handed him over and Remus took him. Harry handed me my wand and Dad, Remus, and I raised our wands at the rat.
"Ready, Sirius?" Remus asked. "Val?" Dad took Snape's wand and faced the rat.
"Together?" I said shakily.
"I think so," Dad replied.
"On the count of three," Remus said. "One - two - THREE!" A flash of light left our wands and the rat remained suspended in midair for a moment before suddenly it fell and hit the floor. Next moment, the rat began to change. He moved and shifted until before us was a short, rat-faced man who was hardly taller than Harry. "Well hello, Peter," Remus said, sounding pleasant. "Long time no see."