The two of them arrived at the door of Dumbledore's office, and Dumbledore opened it directly.
"Good morning, Severus, Miss Rhea. Would you like a glass of honey milk?"
"No."
"I hardly think that's necessary, Headmaster." Miss Rhea shot Dumbledore a glare.
"Ahem. It seems Severus already has a rough idea of what happened, so let's get straight to the point. I truly wish the Ravenclaw diadem were a fake, but unfortunately, it really has been turned into a Horcrux. In a few months, Harry will be starting at Hogwarts, and the wheels of fate are about to turn. In my view, the best time to deal with the Horcruxes is after Harry Potter starts school. Am I right, Miss Rhea?" Dumbledore gave an awkward cough and hastily changed the subject.
"Yes, Headmaster. Aside from Harry Potter and that dead snake, all the other Horcruxes can be destroyed as soon as possible after Harry Potter enters school. The soul fragment inside Harry Potter and that snake will be eliminated by me later on." When Rhea mentioned the snake, she spoke with the bitter hatred of a mortal enemy.
Both Dumbledore and Snape knew she was talking about the snake that killed Snape, though the latter couldn't quite fathom where such intense hatred came from.
"Very well, Miss Rhea. I would like to know if there are any details you haven't shown me yet?" Dumbledore had a lingering feeling that Rhea was still holding something back, as many things didn't add up—for instance, how Sirius Black had managed to escape Azkaban.
"There is indeed one rather important matter that I need to tell you and Professor. I didn't tell you before because this, too, must wait until after the school term begins; I kept it hidden in the deepest recesses of my memory. Peter Pettigrew did not die. He betrayed Lily and the Potters, and when Sirius Black pursued him, he faked his own death to frame Mr. Black. Racked with guilt over having suggested changing the Secret-Keeper—which led to the deaths of his dear friends James and Lily—Mr. Black went to Azkaban without ever defending himself." Rhea paused when she reached Azkaban, thinking it best to let the two men, especially her professor, vent a little before she continued.
Dumbledore's expression turned solemn as he pondered the gravity of what Rhea had revealed. Peter was not dead; he had faked his death to frame Black, which meant Black was innocent. Yet Black couldn't be rescued before Harry started school, though there was no great rush.
"Damn that rat, I knew he was no good from the start! Where is he? I'm going to rip him apart. How dare he? How *dare* he?!" Snape had grown increasingly unhinged from the moment Rhea said Peter was not dead, and by the time he heard that Peter had betrayed Lily's family, he was forcing himself to stay calm on the very edge of madness.
"Miss Rhea, you know where he is hiding, don't you?"
"Yes. He is currently a pet belonging to the Weasley family, named Scabbers. He is an unregistered Animagus in the form of a rat. He will come to Hogwarts along with Ron Weasley, and when the time comes, we can use the Animagus Reversal Spell to force him to take his true form."
"Professor, please calm down and listen to me. In a few months, he will undoubtedly pay the price he deserves—please trust me! Right now, he is the only one who can clear Sirius Black's name, and Mr. Black's release from prison is to our advantage. Professor, I know you loathe them, and I don't care for those people either, but we have no choice. The more people protecting Harry, the safer and freer you will be. Besides, we still have to destroy the Horcruxes; every extra person adds to our strength, doesn't it?" Rhea knew her professor detested them, and she disliked those men too, but there was no help for it—only by having more people protect Harry could her professor remain safe and free.
Snape remained silent. Although he utterly loathed those men, he had to admit that Rhea was right. They still had to destroy the Horcruxes, and since they currently held the upper hand, they might even be able to bring this global crisis to an end early.