A.N: Finally set aside some time to work on this. College is sort of like Hogwarts...except for, y'know, the whole magic thing...

Oh, and since most of the people who read my stuff read this story, I'm gonna announce it here...for quite awhile ago, I sort of stopped using the nickname Catalina on the Internet, but I was reluctant to change it here, because I thought it would confuse people.but, in light of this whole people getting numbers put on their name so that nobody has the same name anymore thing, I'm going to go ahead and change it to Jezrana, which is the name I use almost everywhere now. Savvy?

Sorry if it throws anyone off at first...

Chapter 14

Peter crouched behind a sofa in a neglected parlor, breathing heavily, two thoughts running through his mind over and over. Thoughts that had become apparent to him within the first minute of the battle.

One-he was completely and totally out of his league here.

Two-Sirius and Alexandra were not.

He'd watched them in disbelief, and then in amazement, and then with vague feelings of betrayal. They moved and dodged and reacted and adjusted like seasoned duelists. They shouted curses and counter- curses Peter had never even heard of. It was like they had done this before-or had somehow been prepared for it in ways he had not been.

Where had they learned all of this?

And why hadn't he learned it with them?

"Now, where have you run off to?" Peter froze as he heard Bellatrix enter the room. "No fair hiding...come out and play..."

All Peter wanted was to get out of here. He could transform! In this old house, she'd never guess that the rat scurrying across the floor was him-but his friends, he couldn't turn his back on his friends- could he?

"Answer me something, little Peter." The woman's tone was sweet, conversational. Her steps were drawing closer to the sofa, but she seemed to be taking her time. "Why is it that my dear cousin and his precious Alexandra remain out in the halls fighting like Aurors, but Peter runs and hides? Didn't they teach you the same little tricks in that Order of yours?"

"...Order? What-" Peter spoke before he could stop himself, then clapped a hand over his mouth, realizing he'd given away his position. But his frightened mind was still asking, What "order"?

Bellatrix stopped short, and a tone of sinister delight crept into her voice. "Oh, is that it? Has little Peter not been a part of the Order's big, secret Junior League? Have Dumbledore and his friends not trusted him enough to-"

Anger flared inside Peter, making him speak up again. "I don't know what you're talking about, but my friends don't keep secrets from me!"

She laughed. "Ask them, then! See if they deny it. Oh, and next time you're trying to hide from someone..." Suddenly, she was around the sofa, staring triumphantly down at him, "it might be a good idea not to talk-"

"Stupefy!"

While not as resourceful as any of the others, Peter had his moments. Especially when it came to surprise attacks.

....................................

"Snape, c'mon. Really. I'm bored just sitting here and I want to know! Why?"

"You're a Slytherin and you have to ask me that? Only fools turn away from power when it's offered them."

"There's ways of gaining power that don't involve killing people, you know."

Snape snorted and shook his head. "I am not going to sit here and debate with an eleven year old."

"I'm twelve now, thank you very much. And what else have you got to do?"

He ignored her, but Celina wasn't giving up that easily. "Really, I mean it-why join up with someone whose idea of ambition involves so much...violence?"

Snape's black eyes shot toward her, narrowed. "You want to know about violence? Talk to-to those 'friends' of yours." Something in both his face and the posture of his body seemed to tighten up, as if he'd come close to revealing things he wanted to stay locked down inside, and was on his guard to make sure nothing more slipped out.

Celina raised an eyebrow. "Okay...look, anyone who knew you could guess you probably had a painful childhood...and yeah, they were jerks toward you at school. A lot...and I know you're not going to believe me saying this, but I think they're starting to be sorry for it now. Anyway, all that still doesn't have to add up to...this. I mean, my childhood hasn't exactly been sweetness and light, and-"

"Don't pretend like you know what I've gone through, child." he hissed.

She drew herself up, offended. "Don't pretend like you know what I've gone through! I mean, come on, man, both my parents are dead. My brother's afraid of me. I can talk to snakes. Would you like to hear all the lovely things I've been called for that? But do you see me joining a group that kills innocent people?"

"There are no 'innocent people' in this world. The sooner you learn that-" he broke off. "Quiet."

"I wasn't talking, you were-"

"Quiet! I heard something-" Snape rose to his feet, drew his wand-but never had a chance to do anything with it, as three Stunners hit him in the chest.

As Snape dropped, unconscious, James, Lily, and Remus threw off the Invisibility Cloak. Immediately, Remus rushed over to Celina, who jumped up and threw her arms as far around him as the chains would allow. He hugged her close with one arm, using his wand to unlock her chains with the other.

"You alright?"

Everything Voldemort had said came surging back to the surface of Celina's mind. No, Remus, she thought. I haven't been alright since the day I was born, and I'm less alright than ever now. "I'm-they didn't hurt me or anything."

....................................

"Well." Sirius prodded Malfoy hard in the ribcage with his foot, both to make sure he was unconscious and just for the sake of kicking him. "That was fun."

Alexandra glanced up from where she was tying the third Death Eater's ankles to the banister of the staircase. They'd done the same to Malfoy and Bellatrix, to buy themselves more time after their unconscious enemies awoke. "Fun?...You do know you're crazy, don't you?"

Peter said nothing. Inside, he seethed with questions, with accusations, but he couldn't bring himself to voice them. He didn't have it in him to confront his best friends-not yet, anyway.

There was a noise at the top of the stairs, and all three whipped around, wands at the ready, then relaxed in relief as James, Lily, Remus, and Celina came down the stairs. Ally ran up to meet them, and Celina let her sister hug her for a good five seconds longer than usual before squirming away.

"That Malfoy?" James asked, surveying the vanquished Death Eaters.

Sirius nodded. "Yep."

"Well, fancy that. We ran into Snape."

"Pardon me while I reel in shock."

"Sure, mate, but d'you mind reeling in shock while we get the bloody hell out of here?"

"But of course..."

They began moving back towards the front door, only to be halted by a cold voice.

"Leaving before you've even paid your respects to the host? Dumbledore should have taught you all better manners."

Sirius froze. "Shit."

A.N.: Okay, I'm bound and determined to make the confrontation with Voldemort un-cheesy-and-cliché, so the next chapter might take awhile...