Chapter 10

Just perfect. Just what I needed. Made my day, y'know?

I just woke up in a cage.

As if being stuck inside my room during summer break isn't enough ... now I'm caged in the school year too. And my memory is failing; I think ... I remember meeting a big black dog, which then turned into Sirius Black ... oh ... oh great. I was well and truly screwed now.

So ... being kidnapped isn't fun, especially not with my wand sitting across the other side of the room, in sight, out of reach. Just to make this all so much better for me. And Spark was in a cage, just out of reach of mine, watching me.

'You okay?' he asked me, tilting his head to the left. Hmm, he always did that when asking a question. Funny thing to notice in a time like this.

'Peachy.' I replied sarcastically. 'I just woke up in a cage, of course I'm freaking okay.'

'We have to get out.' Spark remarked, watching me.

'No shit-' I started replying sarcastically. He cut me off though. He cut me off ... I was shocked into silence.

'Not just for us, stupid, what will your brother think will have happened?' he paused frustratingly.

'He'll think its Draco's' fault.' he continued. My eyes widened, for he was right. Harry would blame Draco, which would end in disaster, need I explain how?

Frantically, I looked around. We were caged in an extremely shabby room; everything looked like an animal had been at it, but years ago. There was so much dust around; a thick, grey layer of it was everywhere, except parts of the floor and a scratched four poster bed, which were obviously the areas in use. Not all were human footprints either ... there were some paw prints as well. The blasted animagus, no one warned us about that, at school.

But do they know? I wondered. As and animagi, you had to be registered with the Ministry, but I wasn't. What if he was unregistered too?

Just thinking of the devil, however, Sirius Black walked into the room, as a human-shape now.

"Awake now, are we?" he said to me. "Interesting pet you have there. And an animagus too, better than I was in third year."

I glared at him. "Let me out."

"Sorry Amy, no can do. It wouldn't have for you to go blabbing to Dumbledore about where I am now would it?" he looked at me closely. "Or anyone else."

"How do you know my name? And why am I here in the first place? I couldn't have blabbed before you brought me here." I glared at him, kneeling in my cage, gripping the bars.

"I've known you for a long time, Amy Scarlett Potter. And you're here as bait." He grinned wolfishly- doggishly? -at me.

"Bait?" I asked suspiciously. Sirius Black nodded, pacing over to the window. The sun was starting to set, sinking behind the castle. Without warning, he turned and strode back out the door, down the stairs.

"Come back!" I called after him, rattling my cage in frustration. "Let me out, you bastard!" be he was gone.

About half an hour possibly, for I had no way of telling the time, about half an hour later, Sirius returned, still human, and dragging Ron by one arm. He looked in pain, one arm had a large, canine bite in it, and one of his legs looked broken. His eyes widened at seeing me in my cage though.

"Amy!" he called out, wincing as Sirius pushed him onto the four poster bed.

"Ron! What- what are you doing here?" I pressed up against the bars on the bed-side of the cage.

"He-" Ron nodded at Sirius, who stood by the door, leaning against the wall, watching us, "-kidnapped me. Hermione found Scabbers at Hagrids, and he got loose on the way back— went crazy. He bit me, even, see?" Ron showed me his hand, which did indeed have a bite mark. "Then this huge black dog showed up, and dragged me here, and it was him." Ron glared at Sirius. Hermione's orange cat, Crookshanks, entered then, rubbing Sirius' leg as he trotted over to the bed where he jumped up, and began to purr. Ron shifted away from the cat, and moaned in pain as he jolted his leg.

"Ron— are you okay?" Hermione and Harry had followed Crookshanks in, and rushed over to the bed.

"Amy, why are you here?"

"It wasn't Malfoy?"

"Where's the dog?"

"Not a dog," Ron moaned, gritting his teeth. 'Harry, it's a trap,, you shouldn't be here-"

"What-"

"He's the dog-" Ron looked imploringly at me. "He's an animagus ..."

With obvious difficulty, Ron pointed over Harry's shoulder. The door closed with a snap, and Sirius Black stepped out from the shadows.

"Expelliarmus!"

Harry's and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands, high in the air, and he caught them, already holding Ron's wand, and picking mine up off the beaten dresser. Then he took a step closer, his dark eyes fixed on Harry.

'I thought you'd come to help your friend," he paused, looking at me. "And you're sister. Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher."

Harry started forward, fists clenched, but both Hermione and Ron grabbed his arms.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too." Ron stated, glaring at him, though pale and swaying where he sat.

"There'll only be one murder tonight." Sirius Black grinned widely, watching them.

"Why's that?" Harry spat at him, trying to pull free of Hermione and Ron. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those muggles to get at Pettigrew ... gone soft in Azkaban, have you?"

"Harry!" Hermione reprimanded him. "Be quiet, please!"

"He killed my mum and dad!" Harry yelled, breaking free of Hermione and Ron, and lunging at Sirius, who didn't raise any of the wands he held. Harry grabbed one of his wrists, forcing the wands away, punching Sirius with his other hand. Hermione screamed as they tumbled into the wall, and I threw myself against the bars of my cage. Sirius' free hand clasped around Harry's throat, squeezing. Crookshanks, gone unnoticed had brought me the key that had fallen off the dresser, where it was next to my wand. I struggled to unlock my cage as Hermione leaped forward and kicked Sirius, and Ron threw himself at the wands, which clattered against the floor and rolled away. Harry made a grab for his wand, but so did Crookshanks, Harry grabbing his wand and kicking at the cat, causing him to hiss and spit.

"Move!" Harry called to Hermione and Ron, coming to stand over Sirius, wand pointed at his chest. Sirius laughed.

"Are you going to kill me, Harry?" he looked in pretty bad shape, bleeding, and bruised.

"You killed my parents." Harry retorted, voice shaking.

"I don't deny it." He said quietly. "But if you knew the whole story-"

"The whole story? You sold them to Voldemort, that's all I need to know!"

"You've got to listen to me," he said, urgency entering his voice. "You don't understand ..."

A silence fell, Harry refusing to move, wand pointed at Sirius Black, who lay on the floor. A loud click broke that silence, as my cage door opened, and I unlocked Sparks' cage too, grabbing my wand off the floor. Crookshanks crawled over to Sirius, curling up on his chest over his heart, where Harry was pointing his wand. Sirius blinked, trying to push the cat off, but the cat didn't budge, looking up at Harry with his yellow eyes.

More silence, everyone was still. Then a new sound broke the silence-

Muffled steps coming up the stairs-

"We're up here!" Hermione suddenly screamed out. "Here, Sirius Black, quick!"

The door burst open in a shower of red sparks and Professor Lupin hurtled into the room, wand at the ready.

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted, catching everyone's wands as again they left their owners hands. He looked at Sirius. "Where is he?"

Harry looked at Professor Lupin in shock. I was pretty confused too.

Sirius Black remained motionless, then raised his hand and pointed at Ron. Ron, who looked as confused and Harry and I ... and Hermione too.

"But then ... why hasn't he shown himself until now? Unless-" Professor Lupin's eyes grew wide. "-he was the one ... you switched ... without telling?"

Very slowly, Sirius Black nodded.

"Professor Lupin-" Harry started loudly, trailing off as the teacher in question pulled Sirius Black to his feet, embracing him tightly.

"I don't believe it!" Hermione screamed, outraged. "You– you and him-"

"Hermione, calm down-"

"I didn't tell anyone! I covered up for you, and-"

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Professor Lupin shouted. "I can explain-"

"I trusted you!" Harry shouted at him. "And all this time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong; I haven't been his friend for twelve years now ... let me explain ..."

"No!" Hermione interrupted. "Harry don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle– he wants you dead too– he's a werewolf!"

There was a ringing silence, in which Spark beat his wings angrily.

Lupin looked remarkably calm. "Only one out of three there, Hermione. I haven't been helping Sirius, and I certainly don't want Harry dead, but – but I won't deny I'm a werewolf." He paused, continuing with effort. "How long have you known?"

"Ages. Since I did Professor Snape's essay ..."

"He'll be delighted." Professor Lupin remarked coolly. "He set that essay hoping someone would realise what my symptoms meant. Did you check the lunar chart and realise I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realise that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both." Hermione whispered.

Lupin forced a laugh. "You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."

"I'm not." Hermione whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already knew." I whispered, watching Professor Lupin. He nodded at me.

"The staff does, at any rate."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"

"Some of the staff thought so." Lupin replied. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy-"

'Snape.' I thought, and Spark agreed.

"And he was wrong!" Harry yelled. "All this time you've been helping him-"

"I have not been helping Sirius!" Lupin interjected. "If you give me half a chance, I'll explain. Here," he separated our wands and tossed them back to us, before sheathing his own. "Now you're armed, and I'm not. Now will you listen?"

Professor Lupin explained how he'd followed up using the Marauders Map, the map the twins had shown me the previous year. How he thought it malfunctioning when he saw impossibility ... how Ron's rat, Scabbers, was an animagus, by the name of Peter Pettigrew.