Two weeks later...

4pm

Marina was lying outside in the shade, for the first time in weeks without a book or her wand in hand. Today had been the last day of the tests, History of Magic officially over with, and she'd returned the Time-Turner to McGonagall half an hour ago.

Carmen was lying next to her and had dozed off.

She was infinitely gratful that she wouldn't have to go through that again – she was so dropping a few courses next year... … all of two (if she didn't fail anything).

And she called Percy an overachiever.

Marina had been finished with her last test in time to watch Harry go though his D.A.D.A. exam. Remus had outdone himself with that creature-obstacle course. And Harry had certainly outdone himself, all but skipping through as if he couldn't even see the creepy beasts trying to kill him.

Then most the kids had gone up for their last exams (Divination for Ron and Muggle Studies for Hermione) while Harry had gone to lend moral support to Ron and Neville – he'd once again seemed grateful that he'd switched to Runes.

He'd tried to talk Marina into giving him an animagus lesson, but she'd refused. If he managed to fly away she couldn't exactly follow – and if he got stuck somewhere, then what?

But she'd told him that she'd already arranged for him and Carmen to have regular lessons during the summer; just like Marina herself would be visiting Hermione for the same – Richard and Katherine, her parents, had been … disconcerted, to say the least, to hear about their daughter turning feline.

As for Ron and Susan, Professor McGonagall had arranged for someone to tutor them during the summer, as it could be none of the animagi they knew; they were all predators, or plain too big in her Dad's case, and would scare the newbies into running.

Marina was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even notice she was speaking at first.

"It will happen tonight... The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless no more, his followers have returned to him. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight before midnight the servant will set out to rejoin his master."

Carmen, now wide awake, was staring at her with wide open eyes, gaping. A chill ran down her spine.

As per usual with a bigger Seeing, she didn't remember it, but her stomach was churning.

Marina pulled out her Scrying Mirror and channeled what was left of the psychic energy into it, hoping it was enough to let her rewatch what she'd said. Thankfully, it worked.

Watching herself go all empty-headed and mumble a prophecy was creepy, to put it mildly. But her words themselves were worse.

"Go tell Remus," Marina said quietly, so very grateful that Remus had given her the Marauder's Map after taking it from Harry – he hadn't had much choice what with Snape having caught him.

"What about you?" Carmen asked, fear rising in spite of having no clue what the prophecy actually meant.

"I'm getting my brother – and all of our friends I can round up – and taking them to the Common Room. They'll be safe there."

"You don't really think..."

"I don't know," Marina shook her head. "But Bella has been laying low for far too long – it's not like her. Now that she's with Crouch Jr … I've ignored my instincts the last two years and look where that ended. Better save than sorry."

"Who's the servant?" Carmen asked as they ran towards the castle, their sanguin mood forgotten.

"No clue. There are far too many Death Eaters to be sure... bloody hell," Marina added cursing, some of the vague dreams she'd been having over the year suddenly making sense. She stopped in her tracks.

"What?"

"Don't just tell Remus – get Remus. And McGonagall while you're at it. I can't take them to the Common Room... so Great Hall, I guess..."

She was rambling like a lunatic, and dimly aware of it too, but cold dread had turned her veins to ice. If she was right about this...

"Marina, what-?"

"Accio Marauder's Map!" Marina said loudly and pointed her wand in the general direction of the Gryffindor tower. She needed to be sure.

She needed... to get a grip already.

"Get Remus and hope Dumbledore is nearby somewhere," she told her very freaked out best friend calmly. "If I'm right we'll probably need him to restrain Remus."

Especially given that his temper was bound to be atrocious due to the full moon tonight. The timing was lousy. But she needed a Marauder to be sure – and she couldn't exactly magically produce her father in the next half hour.

A strange buzzing sounded behind her and she turned just in time to catch the map.

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," she gave the password and opened the parchment.

Remus was pacing his office, agitated already for some reason. Carmen took note.

Harry was still sitting outside the Divination classroom, waiting for Ron and Neville.

Hermione was sitting in Muggle Studies.

Dumbledore was just returning to the castle with Hagrid – which was a relief all in its own, because if the Ministry had just executed Buckbeak, their Gamekeeper would more likely be drowning in whisky instead of joining everyone for dinner in... an hour.

Crookshanks and Starlight were out on the grounds running, presumably chasing mice. Hedwig and Iris were up in the Owlery.

And then Marina found it – the first piece of evidence that she was, unfortunately, right.

She showed Carmen and her friend paled dangerously.

Because unless there was something seriously wrong with the Map, Bellatrix was in the Forbidden Forest, waiting for something.

5pm

Marina had never been so grateful for the aurors' presence as right now.

After she'd explained her theory to Carmen, her friend had run off to alert every teacher and auror she could find – well, except Snape maybe.

Ron's pet rat Scabbers was missing a front toe. And according to the twins, Percy had found the animal – about twelve years ago. Garden rats didn't live that long. Also, for some reason, Scabbers was appearing and disappearing on the Map, as if the artefact wasn't entirely sure the rat was actually there.

How could she have been so impossibly thick?

Her Dad had, as far as she knew, never laid eyes on Scabbers, and neither had Remus given the rat had been conveniently missing most of the year. This one was all on her.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, she berated herself as she was running up the Divination tower.

She'd had that traitorous bastard underneath her nose for five years and hadn't noticed. At the very least she should have figured it out this year, after she'd seen her Dad's memories.

Dear Merlin, how many times had she discussed security measures at Grimmauld Place with Carmen while that miserable coward had been in the room? And how much had he managed to tell Bella? Why else would she have attempted to break in? She was well aware of her aunt's wards afterall.

5:20pm

Marina reached the top just in time for Ron to be done.

Harry took one look at her face, heavily breathing as she was, and was up with his hand on his wand. She had a death-grip on hers.

She'd given Carmen the Map so she could show Remus, but she handed her Scyring Mirror to her brother and turned, knowing they'd follow.

Hearing the prophecy again, while hurrying down those blasted stairs, did not lessen the impact any.

Hermione and Susan Bones had joined them halfway down, after finishing with Muggle Studies, and a very grim looking Harry had proceeded to show them.

Susan had gasped in shock and when Marina had looked over her shoulder, Ron had slung an arm around the fellow redhead so she wouldn't take a tumble.

Hermione, while awfully disbelieving of Divination, obviously had more faith when it was coming from Marina and had frozen too – accepting it without a fuss when Harry took her hand to pull her along.

"So we're going to the Headmaster?" he finally asked when they'd descended the stairs.

"No, Carmen's rallying the teachers and all the aurors she can find. You're all going to dinner as if nothing's wrong: it'll be easier to defend you when all the kids are in one place."

"What?"

Marina wasn't sure if it was such a smart idea to tell them but, on the other hand, they needed to know.

"Bellatrix is in the Forbidden Forest," she told them grimly. "Remus has been checking the Map daily to make sure you didn't sneak around in the middle of the night again. He would have seen it if she'd been here before."

"Which means she wasn't," Hermione nodded, rallying despite the fear Marina sensed.

"I have a suspicion why she's here now but I have to prove it – which is why it's your job to find Neville," she told them seriously and stopped to look at them. "I don't care if you have to knock him out and levitate him into the Great Hall. You make sure he gets in there and stays there. Bella would happily do to him what she did to his parents, just for kicks."

Neville had told his friends what had happened to Frank and Alice after that New Year's article in the Prophet. Everybody had been so appalled they'd even tried to hex Marina and Draco – the only relatives of Bella they could get their hands on.

"He'll want to help once he finds out," Harry warned her as they hurried along.

"If he wants to help, tell him not to get seen by Bellatrix."

5:41pm

"Why is my sister running around as if she's lost her head?"

Marina almost slumped in relief. The kids had taken off running after she'd been done ordering them around – she must really have freaked them out.

Thank Merlin David was still stationed near the Great Hall today.

"If everyone is listening, half the castle will be by now," she muttered and told him everything.

The prophecy she'd made was enough for him and his partner – Sanders, she thought – to switch into full auror mode. When she explained her suspicions about Scabbers and the fact that Bellatrix and cohorts were in the Forbidden Forest, more than likely waiting for the rat, their collective anger made her own blood boil.

"How come no one noticed?" Sanders asked through clenched teeth.

"The Forest doesn't have wards," she replied drolly. "Normally, the werewolves and acromantulas are enough to keep any sane person out. Add the dementors to the mix... but then, Bellatrix isn't exactly sane, is she?"

"So Carmen's getting Remus?" David asked her, forgetting the formal titles. It was more than ridiculous at this point, she conceded.

"Him and everyone else she comes across. I'm not all that worried about the rat... I think. Between Carmen and me, we could probably take him on our own – according to Dad he was never all that good at duelling. But he has a whole lot of backup out there – Crouch alone..."

"Be careful," David said quietly when Sanders went off to alert everyone who wasn't alerted yet.

"You too," she said and swallowed. "It was your testimony that put her away."

6:25pm

Everybody was at dinner, down to the last student. The kids had done a stellar job and engaged everyone who'd been about to leave again in conversation.

Carmen and Marina were standing up front at the teacher table and discussing matters with a very furious Remus.

Even worse? Someone, she suspected David, had sent a Patronus message to her father who'd promptly apparated as close to the castle as possible before turning into Padfoot and running the rest of the way.

As soon as the aurors were also all present, Dumbledore stood and sealed the doors.

The students descended into stunned silence and nobody so much as moved a muscle.

Marina checked the Map again and saw that Scabbers was still in Ron's pocket.

"Half the wards are all but broken," Elias reported grimly. "It must have taken weeks to weaken them like this."

"Try months," Marina countered darkly – Dumbledore had erected most those wards himself.

"Didn't you say he wasn't all that powerful?" Carmen asked mildly.

"Obviously we didn't know him as well as we thought," Remus growled angrily. They were running out of time. This full moon was one of the worse ones, otherwise he wouldn't be in such a mood already, rat or no rat.

She looked at Elias questioningly and he nodded; at least Remus had drunk the Wolfsbane.

"Could it be that's what she's waiting for?" Marina asked, almost whispering. "The full moon? She'd have to know about you what with Pettigrew..."

"It would be a diversion she'd go for," her father nodded. "Let lose a werewolf on the grounds and no one will notice why you're really here."

The other Prefects seemed slightly ill – they had been filled in along with the Head Boy and Girl. Even Percy looked greenish.

Harry, however, had apparently had enough of waiting and joined them at the head table when Dumbledore started explaining what was going on to the school.

6:40pm

They had taken the news of a bunch of infamous Death Eaters lurking outside amazingly well. As Harry had predicted, Neville had been up and straining to help in minutes.

It had taken the Chasers, bless them, to talk him down. He was a great kid, and uniquely talented in Herbology, but he wouldn't last ten seconds against Death Eaters.

Minnie – McGonagall's cat form – stalked into the Hall through a side door and transformed back.

"Ms Black is quite correct, I'm afraid," she reported with anger clouding every word. "The three Lestranges and Crouch Jr are indeed in the Forest. With reinforcements."

"No one else shows on the Map," Marina said silently, shocked.

"They must be outside the Map's boundaries," her Dad muttered. "We didn't include all of the Forest – even we weren't that reckless."

"Unfortunately, they are wearing masks," McGonagall continued. "So I was unable to identify the others."

Marina snorted. Bloody cowards. She had a good idea who one of them might be – a wand hidden inside that stupid cane would prove her right.

"First things first," Carmen at least tried to sound like her usual self. "We need to deal with the rat."

"Pettigrew?" Harry echoed, surprised. "You mean he's here?"

Marina pinched the base of her nose.

"Ms Black believes he might be the rat called Scabbers," one of the aurors answered, obviously not knowing what he was doing.

Harry stilled. She could feel the anger in him rising fast and grabbed his arm before he could do something stupid.

"Easy there. We don't know for sure yet and you don't want to end up killing Ron's pet if I'm wrong, do you?"

"And if you're right?" he countered angrily. "Then I've been sharing a dormitory with my parents' murderer for three years."

"Well, there is one way to find out," her Dad announced darkly and pulled his wand. The fury she sensed in him scared her.

"Dad..." It wasn't like she was completely against killing the damn rat, and aurors had license to execute Death Eaters. But there was a whole lot of kids here.

"Don't worry, Kitten."

She really tried not to blush when he called her that in front of... oh, everyone. Him and Remus had completely adopted it as her Marauder nickname, whether she agreed or not – and even if there was nothing infant about her animagus form anymore.

7:05pm

Harry POV

He couldn't remember ever having been this angry. To think that he'd been sleeping with the rat next to him for years... …

Marina was trembling, not that she seemed to notice. One second she was clenching her hands in anger – his, Remus' and Sirius' he guessed –, the next she was holding her stomach – as Carmen was doing.

Harry didn't think he truly understood what the Empathy was like, beyond irritating. But Marina was clutching that ebony wand of hers as if her life depended on it, reigning in everybody's emotions.

And in addition she was worried herself as they watched Sirius and Remus walk down the Gryffindor table towards a very confused Ron.

He was not going to take this well, for all he complained about the rat.

Harry hastened after them – there was no way they were doing this without him. He heard Marina mutter something under her breath before she joined him.

As soon as they were standing near Ron, Marina put a hand on Sirius' arm in order to hold him back. Whatever she sensed must really have been freaking her out – normally she wouldn't doubt her father around any of them.

"Ron-," his sister said firmly. "-give us your rat."

"Scabbers?" his friend echoed, shocked. "Why?"

But nobody had to explain. As if the rat had heard them – come to think of it, he probably had – it clawed its way out of Ron's robes and scuttled away; no one was fast enough to catch the bugger.

No one but Marina's cat.

Just before his sister could turn and run after the coward – Harry was sure she would have accepted exposing her secret for this cause – her cat had the rodent under her paw.

"Starlight, no!" Marina ordered, relieved. "We need it alive."

Starlight purred as if in agreement.

"Cats aren't that smart," a first-year mumbled confused. Obviously muggle-born.

Not that all muggle-borns remained ignorant of the differences for long.

"She's half kneazle," Hermione explained authoritatively. "Kneazles are magical creatures similar to muggle cats – but they're a lot smarter and live longer."

Obviously she had read up on it when the saleswoman at the Magical Menagerie had told her that Crookshanks was part kneazle.

Harry himself had wondered the same thing and Marina had given him Fantastic Beasts to read.

Anyhow, he focused back on the drama unfolding in front of him. Crookshanks had joined Starlight and both of them were hissing at the rat trying to wriggle out of the latter's grip.

"Dad, now. There is only so much restraint my cat has," Marina remarked dryly and pointed her wand at the rat at the same time Sirius and Remus did.

Marina whispered the spell – Harry couldn't catch it – while the other two cast it silently. Blazing blue light shot out of their wands and hit the rat as one.

Scabbers let lose a terrible shriek, the cats fled the spell.

Ron was already on his feet in outrage, when Scabbers started to grow.

"The spell forces an animagus back to human," explained Marina grimly.

From the corner of his eye, Harry saw Susan put a hand on Ron's arm in comfort, even as Hermione put one on his – to restrain him.

When the magic had done its work, there was a man in place of Scabbers.

Peter Pettigrew was small, no taller than Harry from what he could tell. His skin looked awfully grubby; he had tiny, watery blue eyes and a pointy nose. The brown hair Harry had seen in Sirius' memories had become colourless and very thin – he was almost bald.

All and all, Harry couldn't help but compare him to a rat even in human form.

7:11pm

The collective anger was making Marina so furious she could barely see straight. She was immensely grateful to Hermione and Susan, who – outraged though themselves – had firm grips on Harry and Ron, who in turn were both shaking with fury.

Not for the first time tonight, she was grateful for the aurors. As part of their training, they'd been taught how to control their emotions in the most stressful situations. So focusing on them gave Marina an anchor.

Whatever else Peter was, he was not stupid. He must have known what was going on the second she had asked Ron for his rat, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to escape so hectically.

Now, fully back to human, he was faced with his former best friends and all of the Hogwarts staff, as well as a whole bunch of aurors.

So what did that snivelling, spineless, traitorous bastard do? Well aware he wouldn't have the time to draw his wand, he reached left – and pulled a second-year in front of him as a human shield.

"Coward!" Marina spat before anyone else could. How he had ever made Gryffindor was beyond her.

"Let me leave and you can have him," the rat squeaked – even as a human.

But the moron had chosen the wrong hostage: Tyler.

Not about to end up a victim ever again, he'd asked his siblings to train him over the summer after the whole Chamber of Secrets debacle. Obviously that had been wise.

Prepared, Tyler had had his wand out as soon as the rat had started becoming human, and now he silently cast as Leg-Locker Curse directly at the coward's feet – while using his free right arm to ellbow the rat in the ribs at the same time.

As soon as Wormtail started to stumble, bound legs and all, Ty kicked him for good measure and darted to the side.

"Did you have him with you at Dad's trial?" Marina asked Ron without ever taking her eyes off the traitor.

"Yes," Ron forced out, disgust lacing his tone.

"Did you ever talk about your study group with him there?" she asked Harry quietly – it was the cover for their animagus training.

"No, he was already gone by that time," he answered just as quietly.

"Harry-," Wormtail started in a begging, desperate tone but stopped when her Dad took a furious step forwad, Remus by his side.

"Don't you dare talk to him," he growled deeply. "Don't you dare even look at him."

"It's your fault he never knew his parents!" Hermione accused in an impressive show of courage, given how scared she really was.

"The Dark Lord-" Peter attempted a whiny defence, but Harry evidently didn't want to hear it.

"Was a maniac! You were their friend! They trusted you and you betrayed them!" her brother yelled, and angry sparks shot out of his wand.

"You coward were more concerned about saving your own skin," Marina ground out, desperately trying to keep a hold of her own magic, which was coiling angrily inside her.

"You don't understand!" the rat whined. "He would have killed me!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!", roared her father, finally exploding. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" ²

You could have heard the first-years' newly transfigured needles drop in the ensuing silence.

"I was never like you," Wormtail finally whispered. "There was never any choice but to serve him."

"Like, I suppose, there was no choice but to frame my father?" Marina forced out through her clenched teeth, the windows rattling as she lost her grip on her magic.

The younger students gasped, even as Wormtail tried to wriggle away from her.

All the emotions she was experiencing from everyone involved only amplified her own power, which explained how the torches went out. Dumbledore reignited them with a wave of his hand.

"He came after me!" Wormtail proclaimed accusingly – as if any of it had been her father's fault.

Marina took an angry step forward but someone pulled her back by her shoulder. There were only so many people who would be brave enough to do that in her current state, and most of them were in her line of sight. That left...

"Let go, David," she ground out – a bad sign all in itself.

"No," he replied firmly. "As angry as you are, you'd do something stupid."

Outrage flooded her – the rat had cost her both parents, even if she'd gotten her Dad back – and she whirled around to argue.

"What exactly do you think I'd do?" she asked, shrugging off his hand. "I'm obviously not going to kill him."

"How is that obvious?" Elias asked somewhat dryly, a few steps behind – guarding Carmen from the looks of it.

"Because we'd much rather toss him to the Dementors," Harry answered coldly.

They'd hypothesised before about what they'd do if they could get their hands on the rat and agreed on prison, thinking if anyone deserved the hell that was Azkaban, it was the rat.

Marina wasn't entirely sure her Dad and Remus would have agreed if they had suspected in just how much danger Harry had been in for three years.

Wormtail burst into tears, terrified, and Marina had never hated her Empathy as much as in that moment. She didn't want to sense any of his emotions.

Then cold dread hit her from another direction, and she snapped her head around to look at Carmen. Her friend had paled dangerously, the Map was shaking in her hands.

"They're coming," she answered Marina's unanswered question. Fear hit her from all sides.

"Bellatrix must have cast an Alerting Charm³ to let her know when he transformed," Remus ground out – the pain she was sensing told her they needed to get him to his office soon. The moon was rising.

² I had to put it in, I always loved that line in the books.

³ That one is not from the books, movies or canon in general.