Uncontrolled (Remus Lupin x oc)

19. Friendships Shattered

Willow, whose mind worked quicker than the rest, gasped, turning to look at the rat. "But," she whispered, looking back at Remus in shock. "But then...you were wrong. They were - reversed?" Remus nodded. The shield fell.

"What're you doing?" Harry shouted.

"I believe him," Willow stated.

"You're mental," Ron yelped, looking between the three adults.

"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." Sirius lunged for the rat, but Willow held him back.

"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, Willow said, "Sirius, they think you're crazy and want to kill Harry."

"But I don't-" Sirius sputtered.

"I understand," Willow interrupted, "but they need to as well." He sat with rising impatience as Remus pieced together and explained what really happened between Sirius and the Potters and how Pettigrew was the real secret keeper. Willow listened until she was suddenly broke out of it by a loud creak and the door opening of its own accord.

Frowning, Willow stared at it a moment before tuning back into the conversation. "So, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."

"Snape?" Sirius repeated quickly.

"He's potion's master here," Willow explained. Fixing her eyes on Remus, she added, "He told me that you and your friends plotted to kill him."

With a sigh, Remus explained, "Professor Snape went to school with us. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I'm not to be trusted. He had his reasons...you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him. A trick, which involved me. That's likely what he was referring to, Wills."

"Served him right," Sirius spat.

"Watch it," Willow snapped warningly, raising her wand ever so slightly. "Severus is my friend."

"Severus was very interested in where I went every month," Remus continued, gently grabbing Willow's wrist to lower her wand from Sirius' face. "We were in the same year, you know, and we, er, didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James' talent on the Quidditch field...anyway, Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform."

"So Sirius told him to follow after," Willow said tensely with a scoff.

Nodding, Remus resumed, "James, who had learned what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life. Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was."

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," Harry concluded. "Because he thought you were in on the joke."

The next moment, Willow felt a wand pressed to her temple as a sneering voice said, "That's right."

"Severus," Willow said softly. Sirius jumped to his feet and Hermione screamed.

Sirius began to move forward until Snape snapped, "Move and I kill her."

"Severus," Willow said again, slight pleading in her tone.

"Severus you're making a mistake," Remus said urgently. "You haven't heard everything - I can explain - Sirius is not here to kill Harry."