Understairs
That Name
"Peter Pettigrew?" Dumbledore asked, an eyebrow raising. "There's no need to prove further you've knowledge you should have as a first-year with your particular family circumstances."
"Yes, but…" Alisha took a deep breath, the cogs in her mind going. Peter Pettigrew was why many things ended up happening over the years, including the return of Voldemort. "He's alive."
To which the look Dumbledore gave her wasn't surprising, as what she said wasn't believable.
"That rat Scabbers, owned by Ron Weasley. It's Peter Pettigrew, but he was the secret keeper for mom and not Sirius Black for Harry's parents. And he was the one who killed the Muggles. Which, I don't understand?"
"Understand what?" Dumbledore didn't react, didn't do anything, simply sat there.
"Understand why anybody would believe Sirius Black, given his family's rejection, would be believed to have killed Muggles."
"Well, it's because we assumed he'd gone insane."
"But why?"
"But why?"
"What would have driven him mad, or…"
"Why, the death of his younger brother," Dumbledore said. "Though, from…"
"But he doesn't care about his brother. When he talked about him in the books, he called his brother an idiot."
"Ah. Regulus Black." Dumbledore glanced at one of the pictures.
"There isn't a Black alive that is an idiot!"
"And that would be Phineas Nigellus Black, former Headmaster," Dumbledore said. "And Regulus was no idiot."
"No. For the…" Alisha clamped her mouth shut.
"He what?" Dumbledore asked. "Or is this something we shall talk about later on?"
Alisha frowned. "He did become a Death Eater."
"That's because of that mother of his," Phineas snorted. "Sweat, child. There is even more reason for me to hate those Death Eaters, taking that child of ours away from us."
"Ah. Yes. A sore subject among the Black family," Dumbledore said.
"Yes. A sore subject among the Black family. And it wasn't just the fault of that boy's mother. It's also the fault of that Sirius. It was his job to protect the family, but instead, he let it go to rot. And to think, he's named after my beloved brother but couldn't care about his own."
"He did care about Regulus."
"Well, this puppy says otherwise, that he didn't go mad because of Regulus. That was Walburga's one peace of mind, thinking he had gone mad, even if it meant…"
"Begone," Dumbledore waved his hand. "And we don't need this repeated."
"As if I'd repeat the idea of a Dark Lord using Horocrux and give people the wrong idea," the man said before disappearing, but not before muttering about how Sirius was an ungrateful whelp of a child and that things would be better off in Regulus hands.
"So. I guess I shall have to look into that Scabbers?" Dumbledore said. "It's a good thing the boys got into trouble, as we can bring Scabbers here with little to no incident."
He smiled before sending a message, to which—Lily, Alisha, sat there waiting. McGonagall and Snape came, with Ron Weasley in toe. "You wanted to see…" She paused, looking at Lily. "Are both Potters going to be trouble?"
"Quite possibly," Dumbledore said, making Alisha's mouth twist.
"I didn't do anything," Ron stammered. "I mean, I did come up with the idea of using the car, and I should have known better and all…"
"Can I see your rat, Mr. Weasley?" Dumbledore said.
"My rat?" Ron looked at him bewildered as his rat struggled in his hands.
"You can hand Scabbers over to Professor McGonagall and return to your dorm."
"If she said my rat bit her or something, that would be impossible!" Ron said. "After all, he was with Harry and me."
"Mr. Weasley."
"Fine," Ron said, handing his rat over before leaving for the dorms.
Professor McGonagall looked at the rat, far from pleased, before looking at Dumbledore. "And what is this about, I might ask?"
"Well, if it's nothing, then the spell for reversing an Animagus spell wouldn't work, right?"
"True, but…"
"If you'll hand the rat to me and perform the spell…"
"Are you sure?"
"Well, if I'm wrong, then Mr. Weasley will be able to have his rat back, but if I'm right, we have a whole new problem to deal with."
And with that, the rat was handed over, struggling, as Dumbledore noted the missing digit, the one Pettigrew was missing, while McGonagall was left wondering—that is until she used the spell, and there in front of them was a simpering man.
To which Alisha felt afraid, rather than relieved, mainly when he turned to her as McGonagall also looked on in horror. "Lily. You're little Lily, right?"
"How are you alive?" McGonagall said.
"Because he was actually the secret keeper as they'd switched," Dumbledore said.
"Oh no. That's not true," Pettigrew said, to which Alisha frowned.
"If that weren't true, then why were you hiding for so many years," Snape said as McGonagall sniffed, obviously disgusted with seeing the man.
"Because Sirius Black is mad. I mean, he killed…"
"Yes, but he's in Azkaban, and you should know that," Dumbledore said as Snape quickly threw out a binding spell. "We'll be summoning the Ministry now, and you'll be going to Azkaban, I believe."
"Lily. Please. Your mother…"
It was like what he'd done in the third book, pleading to Harry.
"You're the reason my mum and dad are dead," Alisha said, no Lily, as in that moment, she felt as she'd finally taken on the role of Harry's sister, a position she could no longer run from and that Alisha was simply a part of her past, which made her feel sick. Yet, it had to be over.
"I'll take you back to your dorms," the head of her house said.
"Oh. Yeah." Lily stood up, trying to still mesh Alisha and Lily together in her head, yet realized there was nobody here who could call her Alisha anymore, that she was stuck as Lily.
"Lily," Dumbledore said, which made her turn. "I know it seems like it is over with this, but perhaps not. Things may instead be even harder to predict."
"Yes, sir," Lily said, following after McGonagall, glad to be rid of the journal and delighted to be rid of that frustration at the back of her mind. However, she still wondered if she'd taken the easy route out for having an easy school life at Hogwarts rather than one worried about the dangers her brother Harry might bring on.
The head of her house led her to her dorms, to which Harry and the others greeted her. Fred smiled. "We wondered where you had gotten to."
"But where's my rat," Ron muttered.
"I'll have a word about that in the morning," McGonagall said.
"But what did she say…" Ron frowned. "It was my rat."
Lily stared. " But, he hated that rat. During Harry 's third year, he went nuts, suddenly caring about what he'd snubbed because it was a hand-me-down. And now, he's not liking me. "
"Hey. Professor McGonagall said she'd talk to you in the morning," Harry said, frowning.
"If mom doesn't send you a howler first," Fred laughed.
"Oh. I so do not want to be you."
Percy sighed. "To me, all of you. And Lily, please don't worry about us being perfect like that. Or Ginny. She was frantic, having seen you slip away. But you've class tomorrow. Are you looking forward to that?"
"Yeah," Lily said, smiling, pleased that she didn't have to worry about what would happen her first year, let alone what might happen to Harry, to which she realized something. "It's not just that I'm scared of what will happen to me, but he is my brother. But I'm glad it's finished. This Chamber of Secrets business. And the business with Pettigrew, so the events of year two aren't going to happen."
She felt free. And if she were to go back to the world where Alisha was from at any time, she would have no regrets.