SIRIUS BLACK.

"SCABBERS!" Ron ran down the stairs and glared at me and Harry. "I can't find Scabbers."

"He's a rat," I shrugged. "He probably is underneath someone's bed or something. He's old, that rat. You need a new pet. I suggest an owl."

"No, he's not under someone's bed!" Ron yelled.

"Okay then!" I replied.

"I reckon Crookshanks ate him. You know how Hermione's cat hates Scabbers. He hasn't done anything!" Ron grumbled something under his breath and sat down on the couch. "Hermione needs to get rid of that stupid cat."

"Shut up, Ron," I said and Hermione exited the dormitory and walked down the hard steps, stroking her cat. Crookshanks jumped from her arms and settled on the carpet in front of the fire. "Come on. It's time to go to Hagrid's. We haven't seen him in a while."

Ron, Hermione, Harry and I ran down the pathway to Hagrid's and when we knocked on the door, his eyes went wide. He ushered us in and we all sat down. "Look at him," Hagrid sighed. We all looked through the window at Buckbeak. "Loves the smell of the trees when the wind blows through them."

"Then let's just set him free," I said.

"Dumbledore would know we're up to something," Hagrid replied.

"Then we'll stay with you," I continued.

"No you won't!" Hagrid shook his head. "I don't want you four seeing something like this! Dumbledore said he'd stay with me. So you best just finish your tea and be on your way… but before you do, Ron, I found something…" He reached into a jar and pulled out a squirming rat, handing it to Ron.

"Scabbers!" Ron grinned.

"I suppose you owe someone an apology." Hermione crossed her arms.

"Right," Ron rolled his eyes. "Next time I see Crookshanks, I'll let him know."

"I meant me!" Hermione argued.

I glanced out the window and saw Fudge, the executioner, and Dumbledore walking slowly down the path towards Hagrid's. I gripped my teacup tighter and looked back at everyone. Hagrid's eyes flicked at me for a moment and I looked at the ground. There was a knock on the door and Hagrid stood up. "I'll be with you in a minute!" he yelled and we all stood up. "Go, quickly!"

I put my teacup down beside a vase and it suddenly exploded and broke. I jumped and covered my mouth. "What the hell was that?" I whispered. I then felt something on the back of my neck and I flinched. "Ouch! Let's go guys."

I went out the back door first, followed by the three. I watched as the executioner entered Hagrid's house first and we all hid behind a stack of giant pumpkins. Buckbeak saw us and let out a small roar.

"We have to get out of here," I said. "Before they see us."

We me in the lead, we sprinted up the steps so we were far enough away that we wouldn't be seen. After a few seconds, the three plus Hagrid filed out of the house. I couldn't even see Buckbeak, but I didn't want to. The executioner raised his axe slowly and then it came down strongly. There was a thud and then silence.

Hermione and Ron held each other, Harry holding onto Hermione's arm. I felt my stomach go weak and I cringed, running my fingers through my hair. "Ow! Scabbers!" I looked at Ron. "He bit me!" Scabbers jumped out of Ron's hands and began to run away. Ron followed him.

"Wait! Ron!" Harry cried. We all began to follow him. Ron got closer and closer to the rat and he dove headfirst, catching Scabbers with his hands. Hermione, Harry and I stood back and we looked up at the tree Ron was under.

"Ron – Ron?" I screamed. "Do you realize what tree this is?"

Ron looked at us and his face turned white. "No, no! Darcy – Hermione – Harry, run! It's the grim!"

I spun on my heels to see the giant black dog that had saved me from Lupin that one night. I froze and the dog jumped and pounced on me, knocking me to the ground and then it ran towards Ron, sinking its teeth in Ron's leg and dragging him towards the entrance of the tree. The same hole that Lupin and I had gone through on the full moon…

"We need to save him," I said, pulling my wand out of my pocket. "I know where that hole goes." I began to run forward, but the branch of the Whomping Willow came down and knocked me back, sweeping Harry and Hermione off the ground in the process. "Immobulus!"

"Good thinking," Hermione said to me and I nodded. We ran and jumped down the hole, Harry and Hermione following me. I stood up and brushed myself off. "Where does this lead to?"

"The Shrieking Shack," I answered quietly. I was going to explain why, but I decided against it. "Let's be quick. Who knows what Ron's gotten himself into…"

We ran up the flight of narrow, stone steps and then up wooden ones. I hoisted myself up a hole and then stood up, helping Harry and Hermione up too. I followed the dog tracks and mud until we found Ron lying on the hard ground. "Ron! Ron!" Harry shouted. "Ron, where's the dog?"

"It's not a dog!" Ron cried, pointing behind us. "It's a trap – he's an Animangus!"

The three of us turned around and watched the door slam shut. In the corner of the room stood Sirius Black. I jumped and felt my heart race. I stepped in front of Ron, protecting him, as Harry and Hermione huddled together in the adjacent corner.

Holding Ron's wand, Sirius pointed it at me and stepped closer. My heart beat faster and faster. "Expelliarmus!" he shouted and my wand flew out of my hand and he caught it. He did the same for Harry and Hermione. He stepped closer again, holding all four wands. I closed my eyes tight. "I knew you'd come help your friend. 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…"

"If you want to kill them, you have to kill us too!" Hermione shouted. I stood still in front of Ron, while Harry and Hermione stood frozen in the corner.

"No, no," Sirius grinned. "There will only be one murder tonight."

"What's that?" Harry spat. "You didn't care about killing all those Muggles to get to Pettigrew… What's the matter? Gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Harry, shut up!" I hissed.

"HE KILLED MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared and he leaped towards Sirius and grabbed him around the neck. He backed Sirius into the wall, but Sirius retaliated and pushed Harry on the ground. They rolled over and Sirius kept Harry pinned to the ground, one hand around his thin neck.

"No," Sirius muttered. "I've waited too long."

Hermione then stepped forward, her foot swinging out of nowhere. Sirius let go of Harry and fell backwards. I gasped. Harry and Hermione were now on top of the criminal, but I intervened and pulled everyone off each other.

Harry grabbed his wand off the ground and kneeling on Sirius' body, he pointed it at his chest. I held Hermione back, breathing heavily. Sirius cackled. "Are you going to kill me, Harry?"

Sirius' nose was bleeding and he already was forming a black eye on his left eye. "You killed our parents," Harry said through gritted teeth.

"I don't deny it," Sirius said quietly. "But if you knew the whole story…"

"The whole story?" Harry screamed. "You sold our parents to Voldemort! That's all I need to know!"

"You've got to listen to me," Sirius continued with an urgent voice. He glanced at me and then back at Harry. "You'll regret it if you don't… You don't understand."

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Harry. "You never heard her, did you? My mum… trying to save us from Voldemort… and you did that… you did it…"

I watched as Harry kept his wand pointed at Sirius' heart, but his hand was shaking. Harry was debating whether to kill him or not. Deep down, I knew Harry couldn't do it. The three of us kept back, hoping that no one was going to die at all. My heart rate quickened and I shut my eyes, not wanting to see Sirius injured by Harry.

Just then, the door burst open and I saw Lupin rush into the room, wand raised and ready. His eyes flicked from Harry to Sirius, to Hermione, to Ron, and then to me. "Expelliarmus!" Lupin shouted and Harry's wand flew out of his hand.

"Professor Lupin!" I screeched.

He didn't look at me; he looked down at Sirius the whole time. "Where is he, Sirius?" Lupin asked Sirius in a tense tone.

I looked quickly at Lupin, who didn't look up at me. He stared down at Sirius, who pointed in my direction. I spun around and looked at Ron, who was pale and dumbstruck.

"But then…" Lupin muttered. "Why hasn't he shown himself until now? Unless –" Lupin's eyes suddenly widened when he looked back at the convict on the ground. "Unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?"

Sirius nodded. "Professor," I interrupted loudly. "What's going on -?" But I never got to finish because Lupin lowered his wand and grabbed Sirius' hand, pulling him up and embracing him like a brother. I licked my lips.

I felt like my heart had sank down to my stomach and then out my ass.

"I don't believe this!" I screamed. Lupin let go of Sirius and turned to me. I was pointing at Lupin, my breathing inconsistent. "You – you –"

"Darcy –"

"You and him!"

"Darcy, calm down –"

"I didn't tell anyone!" I shrieked. "I've been covering up for you –"

"Darcy, listen to me, please!" Lupin shouted. "I can explain!"

I was shaking with fear. "I trusted you!" I yelled. "And all this time, you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius' friend – but I am now. Let me explain…"

"NO!" I screamed. "Harry, don't trust him! He's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants us dead too – he's a werewolf!"

There was an awkward, dead silence and Lupin took a step towards me. He looked very calm, but pale. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius into the castle and I certainly don't want you two dead – why in the world would I want you dead…" He shivered. "But I don't deny that I'm a werewolf."

Ron tried to get up, but his broken leg made him flinch and he fell back down. Lupin stepped even closer to me and I clenched my fists. "Get away from me, werewolf!" Ron shouted.

Lupin stopped dead in his tracks and sighed. "I knew you couldn't keep that secret forever."

"You knew?" Harry asked.

"Yes I knew!" I replied.

"Oh yes," Lupin looked at Harry. "She followed me in here one night and watched me transform… I really did a number on her – not on purpose, of course."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Harry exclaimed.

"Because they already know," Lupin explained. "Well, at least the staff do."

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

"Some people thought so," Lupin replied with raised eyebrows. "He had to work very hard to convince the staff that I was trustworthy –"

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry bellowed. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM THE WHOLE TIME!" He was pointing to Sirius, who had crawled across the room to a broken bed. He laid down on it and sighed.

"I have not been helping Sirius," Lupin sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "If you give me a chance, I'll explain. Look –"

He picked up the four wands off the ground and handed them out to each of us. I took mine and looked away. Lupin was only about three feet away from me.

"There," he said, sticking his own wand into his belt. "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

"If you haven't been helping him," Harry began, pointing his wand at Lupin. I wanted to scream at Harry and tell him to put his wand away, but I said nothing. "How did you know he was here?"

"The map!" Lupin answered. "The Marauders' Map! I was in my office examining it –"

"You know how to work it?" I asked.

"Of course I know how to work it!" Lupin threw his hands up in the air. "I helped write it! I'm Moony – that was my friends' nickname for me at school!"

"You wrote -?"

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening because I had an idea that you, Ron, Hermione, and Harry might try to sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?" He looked right at me and I nodded. He paced back and forth. "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 accompanied by someone else."

"What?" I raised my eyebrows. "No we weren't!"

"I couldn't believe my eyes," Lupin replied, still pacing. He ignored my remark. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"No one was with us!" I yelled and Harry held up his wand again. I stuck my hand out and lowered Harry's arm.

"And then I saw another dot, moving fast towards 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 told him.

"No, Ron," Lupin turned to face him. "Two of you. Do you think I could have a look at that rat?"

"What?" Ron asked. "What's Scabbers got to do with this?"

"Everything. Could I see him, please?"

Lupin stepped past me, closer to Ron, and Ron reached in his pocket and pulled out Scabbers. "What?" Ron asked again, holding Scabbers close to his chest. "What does he have to do with it?"

"That's not a rat," Sirius croaked finally.

"What do you mean? Of course he's a rat!"

"No, he's not," Lupin said quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animangus," said Sirius. "By the name of Peter Pettigrew."