MILLIE'S POV:
Mione screamed. Black leapt to his feet. Lupin jumped as though he'd received a huge electric shock. Harry grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him protectively - though I just shook him off and stepped forward again.
"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing the Cloak aside, careful to keep his wand pointing directly at Dad's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you..."
Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said dramatically, his eyes glittering in danger. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your Potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did...lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."
"Severus-" Lupin began, but Snape moved his wand so quickly to direct it at him that he stopped.
"I've told the Headmaster again and again that you've been helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. But not only cool Professor Lupin, but also the great Auror Jake Donovan. Not even I dreamed you would do this, Donovan-"
"That's because I haven't," Dad growled, and I watched as he very discreetly slid his hand into his back pocket to his wand.
"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything - we can explain - Sirius is not here to kill Harry-"
"Three more for Azkaban tonight," Snape continued, completely ignoring both Dad and Lupin. "I shall be interested to see how Fudge takes this...his trusty sidekick...and Dumbledore...he was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin...a tame werewolf..."
"You fool," said Lupin softly, narrowing his eyes. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban-?"
BANG!
Thin, snake-like cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. Black roared with rage and Dad started towards Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.
"Come any closer and I'll do it," he whispered to Dad, glaring at him as he stopped dead. "Give me a reason, and I swear I will."
I stared at the back of Harry's head as it repeatedly turned to each man; Ron looked extremely confused, still fighting to keep hold of the struggling Scabbers; Mione was watching the scene breathlessly. My eyes dropped to my godfather wincing on the floor, and despite everything, I felt a new wave of anger flood through me as I glanced back up at Snape.
"It wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, would it?" I spoke up, and Harry spun around to look at me with a shocked expression on his face.
"Miss Donovan, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat, "and it's about time, too. You, Potter, Granger and Weasley are out of bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and his accomplices. For once in your life, shut up."
I gaped at him furiously. "Don't tell me to shut-!"
"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" I parted my lips to argue, feeling uncontrollably angry, but a few sparks shot out of the end of Snape's wand, which was still pointing at Black's face. Harry stared at me warningly, and with a single shake of his head, I fell silent. Dad, however, looked as though he was about to strangle Snape any second now.
"Don't you dare speak to my daughter like that," he said quietly, glaring at the smiling man.
"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed, eyes twinkling. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch Sirius Black-"
"The joke's on you, Severus," snarled Black. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle - "he jerked his head at Ron - "I'll come quietly."
"Up to the castle?" Snape repeated silkily, smiling coldly. "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..."
What little colour there was in Black's face left it. Dad was looking between them; it was the first time I had ever seen him look truly scared.
"You've got to hear us out-" Dad paused, wrinkling his nose, before saying, "-Severus. The rat - look at the rat..."
But there was a mad glint in Snape's eye that I had never seen before. He seemed beyond reason.
"Come on, all of you," he snapped. He flicked his fingers and the ends of the cords doubled, flying to bound both Lupin and Dad's hands. "I'll drag you two. Perhaps the Dementors will have a kiss for you, too-"
"No you don't," I hissed, and before I knew what I was going, I crossed the room in a run and blocked the door.
"Get out of the way, Donovan, you're in enough trouble already," Snape scowled, jerking his head at me. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin, you would be dead."
"Please don't," I whispered hoarsely, my eyes flicking fearfully between Snape and dad. "Please..."
"Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," said Harry, his eyes glued to me. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defence lessons against the Dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"
"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's minds works," Snape hissed, not bothering to look at the boy. "Get out of the way, Donovan-"
"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled, hatred plain on his face as he glared at Snape. "JUST BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU WERE AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN-"
"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like son, Potter. I have just saved your neck, you should be thanking me on bended 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-" I flinched as he whipped back round to me, "-get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, DONOVAN!"
I made up my mind in a split second. Before Snape could take even one step towards me, I had grabbed my wand. I pointed it directly at his chest, opened my mouth to cast a spell, when something made me double back with shock.
Red sparks blasted out of my wand and hit Snape, making the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out.
I stared at him, frozen in shock. Snape's wand had soared in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.
Silence.
"Millie..." Dad croaked, looking gobsmacked. "You just performed a nonverbal spell..."
"...and an extremely powerful one, too," Lupin interrupted, watching me closely. "H-how?"
I avoided my friends eyes, knowing there was one explanation for it and one explanation only-
My power.
Remembering my promise to Dumbledore about not telling anyone, I quickly said, "I don't know, but it doesn't matter right now-"
"She's right," said Black, looking at me with an emotion that made me feel disgusted - he was looking at me fondly.
Was I like him? Was I...dangerous?
"You attacked a teacher, Millie...you attacked a teacher..." Mione whispered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, you're going to be in so much trouble..."
I tried not to think about that as Black quickly untied Dad and Lupin's bonds. Lupin stumbled to his feet, while Dad rubbed his arms where the ropes had cut into them.
"Thanks, kiddo," Dad muttered, sending me a small smile. "I'm so proud of you...my beautiful daughter... cursing Severus Snape..."
"I'm not saying I believe you," I retorted shakily, biting the inside of my cheek.
"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Black, turning to Ron. "You boy - give me Peter. Now."
Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest.
"Come off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say you broke out of Azkaban just to get your hands on Scabbers! I mean..." he looked up at Harry for support. "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat - there are millions of rats - how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"
"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"
Black put one of his claw-like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat, and held out to show us.
It was the photograph of the Weasleys that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.
"How did you get this?" Dad asked Black, thunderstruck.
"Fudge," he answered shortly. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page...on this boy's shoulder-"
"His name's Ron," I mumbled.
"-I knew him at once," Black continued, ignoring me. "How many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts...to where Harry was..."
"Merlin," said Dad softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw..."
"What about it?" Ron snapped.
"He's got a toe missing," said Black.
"Of course," Lupin breathed, exchanging an excited look with Dad, "so simple...so brilliant...he cut it off himself?"
"Just before he transformed," Black scowled. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself - and sped down into the sewer with the other rats..."
"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Dad, biting his lip just as I did when I was excited. "The biggest part of Peter they found was his-"
"-finger," Harry whispered. I glanced at him; he had an unreadable expression on his face, his green eyes fixed on Black. His knuckles were slightly bruised already from punching the man.
"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something!" Ron insisted, shaking his head defiantly. "He's been in my family for ages, right-"
"Twelve years, in fact," said Lupin. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"
"We - we've been taking good care of him!"
"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Dad, eyeing the rat in disgust.
"I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again," said Lupin.
"He's been scared of that mad cat!" Ron spat, jerking his head at Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.
But that wasn't right, I thought suddenly...Scabbers had been looking ill before he met Crookshanks... ever since Ron's return from Egypt, since the time when Black had escaped...
"This cat isn't mad," said Black hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognised Peter for what he was straight away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me. Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me..."
"What do you mean?" breathed Mione, her eyes wide.
"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't...so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me... as I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table..."
My brain seemed to be sagging under the weight of what I was hearing. It was absurd...and yet...
"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it...this cat - Crookshanks, did you call him? - told me Peter had left blood on the sheets...I suppose he bit himself...well, faking his own death had worked once..."
"And why did he fake his death?" said Harry furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"No," said Dad, taking a small step towards the boy. "Harry-"
"And now you've come to finish him off?"
"Yes, I have," said Black cooly, with an evil look at Scabbers.
Harry scoffed, placing his bruised hand on his forehead. "Then we should've let Snape take you..."
"Harry," said Lupin hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down - but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father - Sirius tracked Peter down-"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP, HE SAID YOU KILLED HIM!"
He was glaring at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly over-bright.
"Harry...I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret Keeper instead of me...I'm to blame, I know it...the night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies - I realised what Peter must have done. What I'd done..."
His voice broke, and he turned away.
"Enough of this," said Dad fiercely, and there was a steely note in his voice that I had never heard before, yet his eyes were on Black, and they were swimming with something like sadness. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened." He very slowly moved his gaze to land on Ron. "Ron, give me that rat."
"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked him tensely.
"Force him to show himself," Dad growled, clenching his jaw.
"If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him," Lupin added quickly.
Ron hesitated, looking up at Harry.
"Give them to him, Ron," I whispered croakily. I could feel my hands shaking.
Silence. Ron turned his gaze to me.
"I - I can't-"
"Do it," Harry muttered, his green eyes flicking to me for the smallest amount of time.
Silence.
Then, at long last, Ron held out Scabbers and Dad took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.
"Ready, boys?" said Dad, a malicious smile tugging at his lips as he raised his wand at the rat.
Black had already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed, and Lupin had his raised, pointing directly at Scabbers. They both approached Dad and the struggling rat, their eyes burning into Dad's face.
"Together?" Black said quietly.
"I think so," said Lupin, taking a deep breath. "On the count of three, Eaglet?"
"On the count of three," Dad confirmed, nodding once at both men. I glanced at Harry, who had clearly seen this little action, but had chosen to ignore it. I sighed quietly, biting my lip so hard it drew blood. "One - two - THREE!"
A flash of blue-white light erupted from all three wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in mid-air, his small black form twisting madly - Ron yelled - the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then-
It was like watching a sped-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upwards from the ground; limbs were sprouting; next moment, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed, the hair on his neck standing up.
He was a very short man, hardly taller than me. His thin, colourless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who had lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose, his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at us all, his breathing fast and shallow. I saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.
"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old schoolfriends around him. "Long time, no see..."