Word Count: 2,343.
Warnings: None.
I looked around, seeing Ron and Hermione with both of their wands raised. They had both tried to disarm Snape at the same time. Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed onto the bed beside them.
"Holy shit. Normally, I would take any chance to insult you," I pointed towards Hermione. "But that was fucking awesome." I looked back to Snape on the bed. Slowly walking up to him.
"You shouldn't have done that," said my father, looking at Harry. "You should have left him to me."
I pushed at the Potion's Professor's shoulder, his head bobbing slightly. He didn't stir. "Yeah. He is out cold." I confirmed, turning back to the centre of the room.
"We attacked a teacher... we attacked a teacher..." Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble –"
"I take back my compliment." I joined Sirius, standing on his left.
Lupin was still struggling against his bonds and as Sirius rushed to his side, I followed, pulling the rope from about his legs. Lupin straightened as we pulled him up. I hugged his arm tightly, turning back to the group.
"Thank you, Harry," he said.
"I didn't do it for you. Snape's wand was pointed at Lyra." He explained.
"Then I thank you even more. We both do." He looked back to Sirius for a moment.
"It's time we offered you some proof," Black started. "You boy – give me Peter. Now."
"No need to be so aggressive about it." I whispered, Sirius shrugging. Ron clutched Scabbers close 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 to Harry and Hermione 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. I released his arm. "You explained who it was, but not how you found him."
Black put one of his hands into his robes, taking out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat, and held out to show the others.
It was a photograph of Ron and what looked to be his family. It was a simple photo of the red-haired family in Egypt. I couldn't help but look at the rat sitting on Ron's shoulders.
"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.
"Is there someone who does newspaper rounds in Azkaban?" I asked sarcastically.
"Fudge," said Black simply. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me this paper. And there was Peter, on the front page... on this boy's shoulders... I knew him at once... how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts... to where Harry was..."
"My God," Lupin spoke softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw..."
"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.
I looked at the paper my father was holding, examining the rat sat comfortably on the boy's shoulders. "He's missing a toe." I observed, looking back to Ron.
"Of course," Lupin breathed, "so simple... so brilliant..."
"Are you complimenting the man who put my father in Azkaban?" I asked.
"He cut it off himself?" Lupin ignored.
"I should really be used to this by now." Muttering to myself, I scanned my eyes across the moving picture again.
"Just before he transformed," said Black in response to Lupin. "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 his wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself – and sped down into the sewer with the other rats..."
"The only thing they found left of him was his finger." I added, a picture forming in my head.
"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! 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!" Ron burst.
"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again..."
"He's been scared of her mad cat!" Ron pointed towards Hermione.
I watched Harry face scrunch together as he angled his head away from us. He was starting to get it. I watched as he eyes softened, his gaze meeting mine. I sighed, smiling softly at him. I watched his face harden again.
"And why did he fake his death?" he said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him, like you killed my parents!"
"No," said Lupin. "Harry –"
"And now you've come to finish him off!"
"Yes, I have," my father answered, his eyes locking on the rat again. I shook my head.
"You're supposed to sound non-threatening if you want someone to believe you." I told Sirius. He gaze didn't waver.
"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 HE KILLED THEM!"
"That isn't what he meant," I spoke up, the pieces clicking in my mind. "He meant that he as good as killed them." I turned to Sirius.
"It was the most logical option." I stated, watching him nod. "It's exactly what I would have done."
"What was the most logical option?" Harry asked, no longer screaming but his voice was still extremely loud.
"When someone is appointed Secret-Keeper, there are only three people that know. The Keeper themselves, the person the secret is being kept for and the person who appointed them. Dumbledore in this case, I assumed." Lupin nodded.
"It all makes sense. This is why we couldn't find evidence, because the only people who knew the truth were in Azkaban and presumed dead."
"Lyra, just spit out whatever ridiculous story you've come up with." Harry shot.
"Alright Potter, I get that your pissed, but do not talk to me like that." I pointed a finger at him. He didn't soften.
"They swapped. Last minute." I started. "Voldemort was looking for you. For your parents and Sirius, being your godfather was the most obvious choice on both sides, so last minute, Sirius asked Peter to be the Secret-Keeper, but I assume that this was after Dumbledore had prepared." My father nodded again. "Meaning that he believed it was Sirius they had chosen."
Sirius cut in, continuing, "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 a struggle. It didn't feel right, so I dropped Lyra off at Moony's and I set out for you parents' house. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies – I realized what Peter must have done. What I'd done."
I turned to Harry, watching as his face loosened. "My father didn't betray your parents, Harry. Pettigrew did." I moved towards him.
"Enough of this," said Lupin, and there was a steely note in his voice I hadn't heard before. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."
"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Lupin tensely.
"Force him to show himself," said Lupin. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."
Ron hesitated, then at long last held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.
"Ready, Sirius?" asked Lupin.
My father had retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.
I brought my fingers to the ring on my hand, beginning to fiddle with the metal band. My brain was finally catching up with my body and I soon realized that I was about to meet the man who took my father from me.
"Together?" he asked quietly.
"I think so," Lupin replied, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One – two – THREE!"
A flash of blue-white light erupted from both 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 speeded-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.
"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old schoolfriends around him. "Long time, no see."
I stood frozen to my spot; gaze locked on the cowering man in front of me. My hand stopped moving and I felt the air leave my lungs.
"S-Sirius... R-Remus..." His voice was squeaky. His eyes darted towards the door. Air entered my lungs as he spoke. So, the rat could talk. "My friends... my old friends..."
Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning look, then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.
I took my wand from my pocket, holding it by my side as I slowly started to move forward. My chest clenched as Remus continued.
"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed –"
"Remus," Pettigrew gasped, and I could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "you don't believe him, do you... He tried to kill me, Remus..."
I felt my hand tighten on the wand in my grasp. "So we've heard." I muttered. Pettigrew turned to me, gulping. I could only imagine the face of hate he was looking at.
"I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so –"
"He's coming to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew shrieked suddenly, pointing at my father. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me, too... you've got to help me Remus..."
"You won't give up, will you? He doesn't believe you Pettigrew. None of us do. This is going on too long, I'd be better off killing you myself. Take revenge for you ruining my life," I seethed, moving towards him, raising my wand.
Someone grasped my arm, halting me. I turned to watch my father shake his head. His hand dropped, slipping the wand from my grasp and pulling me into him. He held me against his side. I stood tense.
"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," Lupin continued.
"Sorted things out?" Pettigrew squealed, looking widely about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and the doors. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me. I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"
"I must admit Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," Lupin replied evenly.
"Innocent but scared!" squealed Pettigrew. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban – the spy, Sirius Black!"
My father's face contorted as he dropped his arm from around me. "How dare you," he growled. "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? Why would I risk losing everything I loved? Why risk losing my daughter?" Sirius' face hardened. "But you, Peter – I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends to look after you, didn't you? It used to be us... me and Remus... and James..."
Pettigrew wiped his face; he was almost panting for breath. "Me, a spy... must be out of your mind... never... don't know how you could say such a –"
"Lily and James only made you their Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backwards. "I thought it was the perfect plan... a bluff... Voldemort would be sure to come after me. He would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you. So I left my daughter with Remus and left to go into hiding, promising that I would be back, but now I realize that it must have been the finest moment of you miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."
Pettigrew was muttering distractedly. I caught words like 'far-fetched' and 'lunacy', but I couldn't help but pay more attention to the ashen colour of the rat's face, and the way his eyes continued to dart towards the windows and doors. He was trying to find a way out. I watched him carefully as my father spoke behind me.
"Believe me Harry," he croaked. "Believe me. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them. Before I left my daughter alone."
I felt his hand touch my shoulder and I broke eye contact with Pettigrew's figure, placing my hand atop his. I looked at Harry, watching as his expression completely softened, nodding slowly.