Disclaimer: Merlin's beard, for the 14th time, I don't own Harry Potter
A/N: Really? This far in the story, I still feel neglected by my readers? Seriously? Well you don't have to deal with me whining any more because this is going to be the last one for a loooooooooooooooooooong time. Hope you enjoy. And no this is not a threat for reviews, it's a warning that for personal reasons, I won't be able to update as often. So if you're an asshole who ignores all my other Author Notes, I really hope you acknowledge this one.
By the way. this one's over 8000 words. Yeah, you better enjoy it you ungrateful assholes. And I can get away with calling you that because you don't read author's notes anyway.
"Please, let's hurry. I can't stand it. I can't bear it…" whispered Hermione taking the lead back to the castle.
Almost halfway there, Ron stopped, almost exiting the cloak. "Oh, please, Ron," Hermione begged. "It's Scabbers- he won't- stay put-" I turned around seeing him shove the rat in his pocket, but it was putting up one hell of a fight, giant teeth and all. "Scabbers, it's me, you idiot, it's Ron."
In the distance, I could hear the cabin door creak open and many voices talking. "Oh, Ron, please let's move, they're going to do it!" Hermione wailed through her tears. "Okay- Scabbers, stay put-"
We made it a few more steps before he halted once more. "I can't hold him- Scabbers, shut up, everyone'll hear us-"
I closed my eyes at the sound of an axe meeting… well, I'd rather not say.
"They did it!" Hermione muttered as she gripped my shoulder. "I d-don't believe it- they did it!" Not caring if they saw, I wiped away the few tears that slid down my cheeks.
"Hagrid." I heard Harry say. I looked up to see Harry trying to leave the cloak, but all three pairs of our hands held him back.
"We can't." said Ron as I embraced the somber Harry. "He'll be in worse trouble if they know we've been to see him…" "How-could-they?" she managed through her sobs. "How could they?"
"Come on." prompted Ron. We took off again and I was so ready to tell him off when he stopped for the third time. We could be safe inside the castle right now.
"Scabbers, keep still." Ron held the animal to his chest.
"Maybe he's feral now." He pouted at the possibility, trying to shove him in his pocket again. "What's the matter with you, you stupid rat? Stay still- OUCH! He bit me!"
"Ron, be quiet!" hushed Hermione. "Fudge'll be out here in a minute-" "You could have rabies!" I gasped as he held the rat with one hand, not wanting to get blood on his pet, making sure to keep the digit away from us as well.
"He- won't- stay- put-" The rat was simply having a fit. Maybe he didn't want to be under Ron's care anymore. I didn't blame him.
"What's the matter with him?" Just a few meters away, we saw Crookshanks in total pounce mode. I know Scabbers was squeaking, but that would confuse most cats without an image to match the sound.
"Crookshanks! No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!" Hermione demanded. "Scabbers- NO!" It had finally gotten free, scampering off despite his fading health, the feline of course chasing after it.
Ron slipped out from the safety of the Invisibility Cloak before any of us could even lift a finger to stop him. "Ron!" Hermione shouted before the three of us broke into a sprint, having no choice but to leave the cloak as well.
"Get away from him- get away- Scabbers, come here- Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat-" We almost toppled over the boy, but stopped ourselves before gravity got the chance. He was sprawled on the ground, guarding Scabbers in his pocket.
"Ron- come on- back under the cloak-" panted Hermione. "Dumbledore- the Minister- they'll be coming back out in a minute-" I screamed as loud as my lungs would let me, not caring about getting in trouble.
The grim was running straight towards us. I pushed Harry to the ground, landing right next to him. Hermione had ducked out of the way as well, but that left Ron…alone…with the grim.
The dog growled and charged at Ron, biting his arm like a last meal. Harry scampered to help him, but it was already dragging the teenaged redhead away.
I hunched down, trying to go after it, but I was greatly distracted by the sound of a very loud WHACK followed by "Lumos!" Harry was bleeding out of his cheek, right by his eye. He didn't seem to be fazed, looking in the direction of where the dog had gone.
I followed suit, eyes settling at the trunk of the Whomping Willow. Its branches were swinging everywhere. A rather large one slammed down centimeters away from my leg. I stood up, not really having much of a tolerance for pain.
I crept closer to the tree where the dog had just dragged Ron. "Ron!" I shouted, trying to see him through the darkness, but I was floored by a branch. I tensed at the sound of a bone breaking, but it wasn't mine. It had come from inside the Willow.
"Harry- we've got to go for help." Hermione was bleeding from her shoulder.
"No! That thing's big enough to eat him; we haven't got time-" "Harry- we're never going to get through without help-"
We were all standing now, dodging branches left and right. "If that dog can get in, we can." Harry said, inching closer.
Hermione looked to me before ducking under a branch that wasn't long enough. "We're just as big. Come on." Harry and I were almost there, but Hermione lagged behind obviously wanting to retreat. "Oh, help, help." She whined. "Please." If we could make it this far, then so could she.
With ease, Crookshanks dodged the branches and nudged a knot on the base of the tree with his paws. Suddenly, the tree halted as if turned to stone. We were saved.
"Crookshanks!" whispered Hermione. "How did he know?" she asked, clenching Harry's arm desperately.
"He's friends with that dog." said Harry darkly. "I've seen them together. Come on- and keep your wands out."
I laughed at Harry as we walked towards the tree. "Do you know how daft you sound, Harry." I shook my head and crouched down. "Cats and dogs just don't get along, ok. Not even in the magical world." I followed Crookshanks into the hole, yelping as I slid down a tunnel. Moments later, Harry and Hermione met me at the bottom.
"Where's Ron?" whispered Hermione as we got up to follow her very clever cat. "Where does this tunnel come out?" Hermione asked as if she actually thought we knew.
"I don't know… It's marked on the Marauder's Map, but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it… It goes off the edge of the map, but it looked like it was heading for Hogsmeade…"
Within minutes, the tunnel began to rise and I couldn't see Crookshanks anymore, but I could see a faint light instead. We exited in a dirty room.
The floor was filthy, the windows were boarded up, the wallpaper was falling off and all the furniture was broken into bits. I linked my fingers through Harry's once I saw the dark hallway.
Hermione was gripped to his right arm which held his illuminated wand. "You guys," she whispered. "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."
"Ghosts didn't do this." My jaw dropped at the sound of a creak above us.
"Someone's here." I mouthed, not wanting to make any noise. Both us girls removed ourselves from Harry, but stayed close as we made our way up the ancient stairs.
"Nox."
"Nox."
"N-nox."
In the absence of light, all I could hear was purring and breathing behind the closed door in front of us. Harry kicked it in, slowly making his way in, Hermione and I followed behind at a gradual pace.
Crookshanks was comfortably perched on the bed, purring loudly. In this state of constant confusion, I didn't care to figure out why. The cat was just incomprehensible. It was a bit eerie really.
Not too far away, Ron was clutching his leg that jutted out at an odd angle. Harry and Hermione rushed to his side, but I stayed a few feet away from the dull light of the doorway, not exactly comfortable with being immersed in the dark.
"Ron- are you okay?" asked Hermione.
"Where's the dog?" questioned Harry.
"Not a dog." He groaned through his clenched teeth.
He looked at me and winced. "It's a trap-" I raised my eyebrows. Why was he telling me this?
"What?" I asked uncomfortably.
"He's the dog… he's an Animagus…" My breathing was irregular as he looked over my shoulder. The light from the hallway had disappeared and my body grew rigid with fear. Someone had closed the door…
His hair was long and matted just like in the poster. Eyes glistening in their sunken sockets. He looked to be nothing, but skin and bones. His lips were parted, bearing his yellow teeth in a wicked smile.
I was literally petrified in front of the serial killer Sirius Black who was much more daunting in person than any wanted poster or boggart could make him out to be. I was sure there was no way in hell that I was going to make it out alive tonight.
"Expelliarmus!" He yelled, stepping forward to catch my wand, then used the accio charm to retrieve theirs. He must've been using Ron's.
He walked right past me, attention fixated on Harry. I quaked in my spot, not having moved an inch, still facing where he once stood.
"I thought you'd come and help your friend." His voice was raspy with lack of use. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful… it will make everything much easier…" I gasped realizing that Harry was about to die and there was nothing I could do.
I began to sob, listening to my friends behind me.
"No, Harry!" shouted Hermione.
"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" said Ron valiantly.
"Lie down." Black said to Ron. "You will damage that leg even more."
What in the bloody hell? I expected to hear the words Avada Kedavra, not caring advice on how to salvage a limb.
"Did you hear me?" growled Ron, sounding weak and frustrated. "You'll have to kill all four of us!"
I looked over my shoulder in time to see Black's grin widen in profile. "There'll be only one murder here tonight."
I could see Harry clench his jaw tightly. He only did that when he was furious. "Why's that?" He struggled against Ron and Hermione. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew… What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?" He dared the murderer.
"Harry! Be quiet!" she urged, but even I knew it was no use.
"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" And in a flash, Harry lunged at the grown man.
Their scuffle seemed to revive my limbs. My eyes darted around the room, looking for something to use as a weapon.
"No, I've waited too long-" I bent down to rip a plank from the already destroyed floorboard and crossed the room, whacking Black across the back of his head, sending him to the floor.
We all leapt forward, pinning him to the floor. He had dropped Harry's wand and Harry reached for it, but was attacked by Crookshanks.
"Argh!" He shouted at the cat. If he was even in fact a cat.
The furball went after the wand, but Harry kicked at it. "No you DON'T!" He yelled snatching it off the floor.
Black still struggled beneath us, but his weakened body was no match for two teenage girls and a fairly strong yet injured boy.
"Get out of the way!" Harry shouted at us and we immediately removed ourselves from the criminal.
Hermione swooped up our wands before moving aside, us kids now having the upper hand. I helped Ron onto the bed, giving him his wand from Hermione and nearly crushing mine within the grasp of my thin fingers.
Black panted on the floor and whispered. "Going to kill me, Harry?" The man looked pitiful, taunting Harry like that.
"You killed my parents." Harry reminded as he towered over him.
"I don't deny it. But if you knew the whole story." I gripped the post next to me, crying at his sickening words.
"The whole story?" Harry asked. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."
Black feigned urgency in his tone. "You've got to listen to me. You'll regret it if you don't… you don't understand…"
Harry's voice shook, but he was determined to say it. "I understand a lot better than you think. You never heard her, did you? My mum… trying to stop Voldemort killing me… and you did that… you did it…"
In the midst of the dire situation, Crookshanks jumped on Black, proving me wrong about the whole cat-dog thing and curled up on his chest, right over his heart, just like he used to do to me at midnight. I wanted to vomit.
"Get off." He murmured, trying to get rid of the cat, but its claws just sunk further into his ratty Azkaban robes.
Crookshanks looked up at Harry, cutely, causing Hermione to sob. If anything, it only seemed to piss Harry off.
A pool of blood started to seep from Black's head and as I stared at it, footsteps could be heard on that exact spot parallel from the floorboards below.
"HELP! PLEASE, HELP!" I screamed, hoping that whoever it was would either put or take Black into custody so Harry wouldn't have to commit an unforgivable curse.
"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed with me. "WE'RE UP HERE- SIRIUS BLACK- QUICK!" The footsteps became quicker, louder, matching the state of my frantic heart.
I gasped as the door burst open. My hand flew up to my chest and I rushed over to him, sobbing in his arms.
Lupin was the most comforting person in the existence of mankind. I gripped onto him like there was no tomorrow. His left arm held me safely and he lifted his right one towards what I hoped was Black.
"Expelliarmus!" He shouted, disarming all of us and using the accio charm to obtain them just like Black had.
"What the hell?" I yelled, squirming out of his strong grip and backing up to the bed. "What are you doing?" He ignored me, walking in the room towards Black.
"Where is he Sirius?" The way my gut shifted, I could tell that something didn't feel right. What the fuck was going on right now?
Black looked at the professor before lifting his hand to point to Ron on the bed with me. He was going to kill Ron all along!
"But then… why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless-" His eyes widened, making him look more concerned than I ever thought I'd see him. "-unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?" Black nodded, furthering my confusion.
"Professor." Harry spoke up. "What's going on-" Lupin answered the question by lowering his wand and pulling Black to his feet and into a hug, Crookshanks dropping to the floor.
I shook, feeling as if I could no longer trust a soul. If one would've asked me thirty seconds ago if I would trust Lupin with my life, without hesitation, I would've shouted 'YES!' and called you an idiot for asking me such an obvious question.
Now, here I am cursing my judgment, thinking about a stupid boggart instead of my poor mum who will surely be the only one at my funeral.
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione stood up, pointing at Lupin angrily. "You-you-"
"Hermione-"
"-you and him!"
"Hermione, calm down-"
"I didn't tell anyone!" She shrieked, her face red and wet from her tears.
"I've been covering up for you-"
"Hermione, listen to me, please! I can explain-" She was in on this too?
"I trusted you, and all this time, you've been his friend!" Harry shouted, his voice shaking violently in rage. "You're wrong. I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now- Let me explain…"
"NO!" Hermione screamed. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too- he's a werewolf!"
I didn't know who to believe anymore, but Lupin paled at her accusation, so she must be right… even in a time like this.
"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione." He calmly stated. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead… but I won't deny that I am a werewolf."
Ron leaned on me to get up. I almost fought him, forgetting he was there.
"Ron." I said as he stooped over in pain. I walked him back over to the bed and Lupin tried to help. "Get away from me, werewolf!" I stepped away from Ron, disgusted by his prejudiced tone.
"How long have you known?" Lupin asked Hermione.
"Ages." she confessed. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay…" That made me feel awfully moronic, seeing as how I'd done it too.
"He'll be delighted. He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant… Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"
"Both." she said quietly, as if ashamed.
Lupin gave a laugh at that. "You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione." Oh, how bittersweet I found that sentence to be.
"I'm not." she rejected the compliment. "If I'd been cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"
"But they already know. At least, the staff do." I didn't think anyone could steal the spotlight from Black, but Lupin had just succeeded.
"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron spat. "Is he mad?"
"Some of the staff thought so." Lupin answered. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy-"
"AND HE WAS WRONG!" interrupted Harry. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!" He pointed to Black who moved to sit on the bed, shoving his face into his palms.
Not wanting to be anywhere near him, I pulled Ron off the bed, allowing him to lean against me as we moved to an empty corner and sat with him, carefully sliding to the floor. Crookshanks had leapt into Black's lap, purring the entire time.
"I have not been helping Sirius. If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look-" Lupin threw us all our wands back, me catching Ron's and my own, passing him his once more.
What was he trying to prove? That he was insane? "There." Said Lupin, putting his own into his belt. "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?" He could still reach for his own, but Harry seemed to overlook it.
"If you haven't been helping him, how did you know he was here?"
"Snape made you Wolfsbane! That's the steaming goblet you were drinking when Harry couldn't come with us to the first Hogsmeade trip!" I blurted out, but he smiled, not soothing me like it used to.
"Precisely." He nodded to me before turning back to Harry. "The map. The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it-"
"You know how to work it?" I don't know why Harry was surprised, he did say he knew the manufacturers.
"Of course I know how to work it." I could tell he was annoyed at the constant interruptions. "I helped write it. I'm Moony- that was my friends' nickname for me at school." So, he was the manufacturer… kind of hard to believe. He's clever enough to do it, but I doubt he was ever that mischievous.
"You wrote-?" This time he interrupted. "The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you four might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?" He started to pace and I couldn't help but to think that he would definitely make a great detective.
"You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry-" "How d'you know about the cloak?"
"The number of times I saw James disappear under it…" he waved his hand to stop the digression. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauders Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid and set off back towards the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."
"What?" Harry questioned. "No we weren't!"
"I couldn't believe my eyes." He went on, blocking the disruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?" Lupin refused to look anyone in the eye as he walked to the length of the room.
"No one was with us!"
"And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black… I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow-"
"One of us!" Ron shouted from next to me.
"No, Ron. Two of you." Lupin stopped in front of us, staring at Ron.
"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" What the hell was he getting at?
"What?" Ron asked, pressing his back against the wall as far as he could. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"
"Everything." Lupin said, not willing to explain. "Could I see him, please?"
Ron took his rat out of his robes by the tail because it was writhing so much. Crookshanks hissed from Black's lap upon seeing his prey.
Lupin glared at Scabbers, holding his hand out. "What?" Ron asked again. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"
"That's not a rat." Sirius croaked, finally lifting his bloody head from his hands. "What?" I asked this time. "What do you mean- of course he's a rat-" I said open-endedly awaiting their explanation.
"No he's not. He's a Wizard."
"An animagus." added Black. "By the name of Peter Pettigrew."
We all stayed silent, trying to process what the adults were trying to tell us. "You're both mental." Ron said confidently.
"Absolutely witless." I chimed in.
"Ridiculous!" said Hermione.
"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" explained Harry. "He killed him twelve years ago!" He pointed at the shifty Black.
"I meant to." He growled. "But little Peter got the better of me… not this time, though!" Black launched from the bed, Crookshanks falling from his lap. He kneeled on Ron's leg, trying to pull Scabbers from his grip.
I pushed Black with my left arm and tried to pry his fingers from Ron's with my right. "Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him back. "WAIT! You can't do it just like that- they need to understand- we've got to explain-"
"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, trying to shove Lupin off. Scabbers was crawling all over Ron and me- mostly Ron, thank god- trying to escape.
"They've- got- a – right- to- know- everything!" Lupin gasped for breath, nearly wrestling Black now.
"Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand! And Harry- you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!" Black stopped struggling, yet still glared the rat to death.
"All right, then." He started. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for…"
"You're nutters, both of you." Ron looked to us for encouragement, but we gave him none. "I've had enough of this. I'm off." I reached out for him as he used my knee as leverage, but Lupin raised his wand, pointing it at Scabbers.
"You're going to hear me out, Ron. Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."
"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" While he yelled, I stood up, noticing him sway. Harry and I caught him and set him back down on the bed.
"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die." reminded Harry. "A whole street full of them…"
"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" shouted Black, making as much sense as Trelawney at the moment.
"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter." Lupin nodded before going on. "I believed it myself- until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauders Map never lies… Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry." Harry looked down at us, silently agreeing that these two were bonkers. Azkaban and being a Werewolf must take a toll on one's mind.
Hermione faked calm, trying to talk some sense into the Professor. "But Professor Lupin… Scabbers can't be Pettigrew… it just can't be true, you know it can't…" Well, that was a waste of a rebuttal.
"Why can't it be true?" Lupin questioned with a tone of patience, obviously willing to let us take our time to figure it out, like we were in class. Sirius was more restless, shifting next to the logical brunette.
"Because… because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Anamagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework- the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on Witches and Wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become and their markinsg and things… And I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list-" Lupin cut her off by laughing. "Right again, Hermione! But the Ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."
"If you're going to tell the story, get a move on, Remus." urged Black, only proving what I observed about him, minutes ago. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."
"All right… but you'll need to help me, Sirius. I only know how it began…"
A creak and the opening of the bedroom door stopped his words from going on. "No one there…" I squinted my eyes at Lupin's words before saying, "Don't you know it's haunted?" It seemed to be common knowledge to everyone I knew.
"It's not." said Lupin, still observing the doorway. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted… The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me." I watched in awe as he pushed his hair out of his eyes. I always thought most loons handsome, take Lockheart for example.
"That's where all of this starts- with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten… and if I hadn't been so foolhardy…" I could tell Ron was about to interrupt, but I nudged him before he could get it out.
"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days, there was no cure. As long as I take Wolfbane in the week preceeding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform… I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf and wait for the moon to wane again. Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me. But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school…" He sighed and looked Harry in the eye.
"I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted because I came to Hogwarts. This house," –he gestured to our surroundings- "the tunnel that leads to it- they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous." Despite the gloomy situation, I was really enjoying the story. Maybe Lupin should be an author instead.
"My transformations in those days were- were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor… Even now when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it…" He paused to glance at me as if he could feel my eyes wandering the area of his face. I know minutes ago, we found out he was a werewolf, but only now was I making sense of the scars. I couldn't imagine his kind face without them.
"But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black… Peter Pettigrew and, of course, your father, Harry- James Potter. Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her… I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth… And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi." Harry put a hand on his chest, astounded. "My dad too?" "Yes, indeed." answered Lupin.
"It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong- one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will." Simply amazing, I had to admit.
"But how did that help you?" wondered Hermione. "They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals." Lupin explained.
"A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed… Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influences, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."
"Hurry up, Remus." Black rushed, shaking his shoulders as if preparing for a battle.
If what they were saying was true, I could understand his impatience, but he was still getting on my nerves. "I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there… well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon, we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did… And that's how we came to write the Marauders Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail, James was Prongs."
"Bad-ass!" I proclaimed as Harry started "What sort of animal-" but we were both interrupted by Hermione.
"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?" His voice was weighted when he answered.
"A thought that still haunts me. And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless- carried away with our own cleverness. I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course… he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure and I haven't changed…" He sounded completely revolted.
"All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me… and Dumbledore's trust meant everything to me. He led me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using the dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it… so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along." I now was convinced that he was spewing the truth. He was putting his heart into what he spoke, effortlessly. No liar would say such things, not even the best ones.
"Snape?" snapped Black, finally taking his eyes off the rat and looking to his friend. "What's Snape got to do with it?"
"He's here, Sirius. He's teaching here as well" Black looked appalled at that.
"Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons…you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me-" Black interfered with a grunt.
"It served him right. Sneaking around, trying to find out what we're up to… hoping he could get us expelled…" "Severus was very interested in where I went every month." Lupin agreed.
"We were in the same year, you know, and we- er- didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field… anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to Transform. Sirius thought it would be- er- amusing to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it- if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf- but your father who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life… Snape glimpsed me, though at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was…" That story matched the incident he was yelling at Harry during detention.
"So that's why Snape doesn't like you." said Harry. "Because he thought you were in on the joke?"
"That's right." spat a new voice.
We all turned to the doorway to see the black hearted Professor himself, pulling off Harry's Invisibility Cloak, wand pointed to Lupin of all people.
Hermione screamed, but Black was the most frightened, now shaking in the presence of his school rival.
"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow. Very useful, Potter, I thank you…" I couldn't believe he was gloating right now.
"You're wondering perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he asked rhetorically behind his smirk.
"I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took the gobletful along. And very lucky I did… lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight." I didn't see a goblet in either of his hands.
"Severus-" Lupin pleaded.
"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout-" "Severus, you're making a mistake." Lupin tried to convince him. "You haven't heard everything- I can explain- Sirius is not here to kill Harry-"
"Two more for Azkaban tonight." He jeered. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this… He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin… a tame werewolf-" "You fool." Lupin declared. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"
In a split second, metal coils wrapped their selves around Lupin's wrists and ankles and covered his mouth. Black started towards Snape, but froze once the wand was pointed at him.
"Give me a reason." warned Snape. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will." They stared each other down, ignorant of Hermione approaching them slowly.
"Professor Snape- it – it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w- would it?"
"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school. You are all out of bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tounge."
"But if- if there was a mistake-" "KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, completely unhinged. Until now, I didn't believe that shutting her up was a possible task.
"Vengeance is very sweet." He teased Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you…"
"The joke's on you again, Severus. As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle," -he jerked his head at Ron- "I'll come quietly." My mouth was completely open at the moment, for Black, the supposed criminal, was putting justice before his revenge!
"Up to the castle?" Snape scoffed. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black… pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay…" Black's skin changed from ivory to snow.
"You- you've got to hear me out." He was no doubt sullen by the mention of the grim beasts that have traumatized him over the past dozen years.
"The rat- look at the rat-" he begged, but I could tell that Snape wouldn't budge.
"Come on, all of you." He snapped his fingers, releasing Lupin from his constraints. Quickly, while Snape wasn't looking, Harry ran to the doorway in an attempt to block it.
"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already. If I hadn't been here to save your skin-" "Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year." defended Harry. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"
"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works. Get out of the way, Potter." Snape demanded.
"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" yelled Harry. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN-" "SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" His desolate expression now terrorized me as much as Black did at first.
"Like father like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black- now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY POTTER!" I sat up straight, clenching my wand, ready to defend my friend.
"Expelliarmus!" I heard Harry say, but I said it too and so had Ron and Hermione. What were the odds of that?
Having one spell cast on you by four different people must make it more powerful, because not only did Snape's wand land on the bed, but he went flying to the back wall unconscious.
"You shouldn't have done that." Black said, particularly to Harry. "You should have left him to me…"
"We attacked a teacher…" Hermione whimpered, probably overwhelmed by today's events. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble."
"Thank you, Harry." said Lupin, rubbing his wrists.
"I'm still not saying I believe you." I couldn't believe him right now. What was it going to take?
"Then it's time we offered you some proof. You boy- give me Peter, please. Now." Lupin ordered, either being rude, or forgetting Ron's name in haste. Beside me, he was clutching Scabbers to his chest.
"Come off it." his voice cracked in fear. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean…" He held my gaze for a moment.
"Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat- there are millions of rats- how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"
Lupin lightly scrunched up his face and turned to Black. "You know, Sirius, that's a fair question. How did you find out where he was?" I leaned forward, feeling the commencement of a pivotal moment coming on.
He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper with a lot of redheads on it. "How did you get this?" asked the perplexed Professor.
"Fudge." he simply stated. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page… on this boy's shoulder… I knew him at once… how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to where Harry was…" As usual, Fudge was the one to blame.
"My god," Lupin started, observing the picture and Scabbers, simultaneously. "His front paw…"
"What about it?" defied Ron. I shifted a bit to see him shaking tremendously whereas I was relatively calm.
"He's got a toe missing." said Black with a tone of finality.
"Of course. So simple… so brilliant… he cut it off himself?" Lupin seemed to be the only one who got it.
"Just before he transformed." confirmed Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself- and sped down into the sewer with the other rats…" As I developed it in my head over and over again, I began to have faith that there were absolutely no flaws in their story.
"Didn't you hear, Ron?" inquired Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."
"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right-" He was fighting for a lost cause.
"Twelve years, in fact. Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?" Now this, I didn't know.
"We- we've been taking good care of him!" I rolled my eyes and swatted his shoulder.
"Oh, come off it, Ron. Scabbers isn't Scabbers!" Lupin smiled at me.
"Not looking too good at the moment, though- is he? I guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again…"
"He's been scared of that mad cat!" He nodded to Crookshanks behind us on the bed.
"This cat isn't mad." Ron and I leaned apart so Black could reach out and pet the creepy cat. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me… Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me…"
"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.
"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't… so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me… As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table… But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it…" So if Hermione never had a cat, or was in Ravenclaw where she belonged, none of this would've ever happened.
"This cat- Crookshanks, did you call him?- told me Peter had left blood on the sheets… I suppose he bit himself… Well, faking his own death had worked once…"
"And why did he fake his death?" spat Harry, back on his defensive side. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
"No, Harry-" sighed Lupin.
"And now you've come to finish him off?"
"Yes, I have." said Black, backing up and returning to his spot next to Lupin.
"Then I should've let Snape take you!" I looked over to the forgotten Professor as they went on.
"Harry, don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down- but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father- Sirius tracked Peter down-" "THAT'S NOT TRUE! HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP! HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!" Although innapropriate, my mind shifted to the famous scene in Empire Strikes Back when Luke pretty much says the same thing to Darth Vader. And I'm pretty sure if he still had his hand, he'd be pointing at the bad guy like Harry was. Except, I'm 95% sure Black wasn't evil… or Harry's father.
"Harry… I as good as killed him." Maybe I spoke too soon.
"I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me… I'm to blame, I know it… The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I'd arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared, I set out for your parents house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies… I realized what Peter must've done… what I'd done…" He turned away, finished with the memory.
"Enough with this." Lupin said in a dire tone, completely out of character for him. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."
"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron said, actually considering surrendering his rat to the vengeful duo.
"Force him to show himself. If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him." Ron was hesitant, but I just wanted to get it over with.
"Fair enough." I stood up and ripped Scabbers from his grip with ease and handed him to my elder crush.
"Ready, Sirius?" Did he really need to ask? Black had already snatched up Snape's wand on his way over to the less than attractive rodent.
"Together?" he asked his friend who nodded in response. "I think so."
Lupin held the rat outward in the line of the two wands. "On the count of three. One- two- THREE!"
Scabbers stopped struggling after the exposure to the blue light.
Ron yelled helplessly as Scabbers started up again.
Lupin let him fall to the floor and again… another flash of light.
I couldn't believe it, yet I could, willingly.
Scabbers was turning into an unsightly man and Crookshanks was hissing and meowing fiercely than ever before.