𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒔 - pjo x hp

xvii. rats that aren't really rats

"𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋," Ron said, clutching his rat.

"Ridiculous!" said Hermione faintly. 

"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" said Harry. "He killed him twelve years ago!"

He pointed at Black, whose face twitched convulsively.

"I meant to," he growled, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me... not this time, though!"

And Crookshanks was thrown to the floor as Black lunged at Scabbers; Ron yelled with pain as Black's weight fell on his broken leg

"Jesus!" Raya exclaimed, putting forth her wand and levitating Sirius Black with a simple non-verbal spell. Ron crawled off the bed, clutching Scabbers as Black wriggled uselessly in the air.

"Let — me — at — him!" Sirius' face contorted as he reached for the rat, stuck in the air.

"I can do this for as long as it takes you to calm down," Raya grinned, sounding bored. "You can't just attack Ron's rat—"

"—not a rat—"

"—Ron's rat that's not really a rat," Raya amended, "without explaining everything. They deserve to know the truth, and you deserve to have your name cleared. Especially in front of Harry."

At the mention of his godson's name, Sirius stopped writhing. He froze, still suspended in the air, before flopping miserably.

"Make it quick," he said. "I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for."

"Well don't say that in front of people," Raya rolled her eyes.

"Let me down," Sirius said, still floating in the air.

"Fine," Raya pursed her lips, letting him fall to the bed. She lifted her wand in warning as he tried to make a move towards Ron. Sulking, he fell back onto the bed.

"You're nutters, all of you," said Ron shakily, looking round at Harry and Hermione for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off."

He tried to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin raised his wand again, pointing it at Scabbers.

"You're going to hear me out, Ron," he said quietly. "Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."

"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, trying to fore the rat back into his front pocket, but Scabbers was fighting to hard; Ron swayed and overbalanced, and Harry caught him and pushed him back down to the bed.

Then, ignoring Black, Harry turned to Lupin.

"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," he said. "A whole street full of them..."

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" said Black savagely, still watching Scabbers struggling in Ron's hands. 

Raya kept her wand trained on him just in case.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. "I believed it myself — until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's map never lies... Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."

Harry and Ron met eyes, and Raya realized they both thought they were crazy.

Raya realized the story wouldn't make much sense to her either, not if it weren't for the voices and the fact that she was good at puzzles.

"You're a werewolf," she turned to Lupin suddenly.

He smiled thinly, "I believe we've established that, yes."