As the door to the master bedroom cracked open Naruto saw that it was Hermione's ginger cat Crookshanks, who lightly rubbed itself against his leg before hopping onto the bed next to an injured Ron.

"Get ready there here," Sirius said from a corner of the room where he was holding Ron's wand. A few seconds later the door to the room burst open as Harry and Hermione dashed across to Ron.

"Ron — are you okay?" Hermione asked. "Where's Naruto?"

"What about the dog?" questioned Harry.

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain. "Harry, it's a trap —"

"What —" Harry didn't understand what was Ron trying to say.

"He's the dog . . . he's an Animagus. . . ." Ron was staring over Harry's shoulder. Harry wheeled around. With a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them. Tall and if a bit too thin. Dressed in a simple set of black robes with shaggy shoulder-length hair and dark eyes that shun with excitement. Whatever Harry had expected Sirius Black, a wanted criminal escaped from Azkaban after twelve years of incarceration this was not it.

"Expelliarmus!" he called out, pointing Ron's wand at them. Harry's and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands, high in the air.

"I got them," Naruto called out from the other side of the room as he caught them. He stepped around them so that he and Sirius were standing side by side. As Harry and Ron shot him hateful looks but it was Hermione's look of betrayal that was strong the most. None of them had expected to see the two of them together.

"They've been working together this whole time." Ron spat out viciously through gritted teeth.

"No Naruto you couldn't have. . . tell me he's wrong. . . please, tell me that it's not true," Hermione pleaded as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

"Hermione, listen to me, please," Naruto said. "I can explain —" Harry could feel himself shaking with fury.

"I trusted you," she shouted at Naruto, her voice wavering out of control, "and all the time you've been working together!"

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way Hermione but I've been helping Sirius for most of the year," Naruto solemnly said meanwhile Sirius took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on Harry.

"Why! you're supposed to be our friend! how can you help him!" Harry shouted at the blond teen. However, Naruto remained silent.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," Sirius spoke gently. "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. . . ."

Then the mention of Harry's father Naruto saw the anger rise in the boy as he started forward, but he was stopped by two pairs of hands that grabbed him and held him back

"No, Harry!" Hermione gasped in a petrified whisper; Ron, however, spoke to Black.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" he said fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of still more color, and he swayed slightly as he spoke. "And same for you traitor," he added as he looked to Naruto.

"Sit down, before you hurt yourself, Ron," Naruto said ignoring the boys' words.

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, though he was clinging painfully to Harry to stay upright. "You'll have to kill all three of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Sirius, and his grin widened.

"Why's that?" Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of 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?"

"Harry!" Hermione whimpered. "Be quiet!"

"Harry you don't know what you're talking about," Naruto interjected. "What going on."

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS," Harry roared. "HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" and with

a huge effort he broke free of Hermione's and Ron's restraint and lunged forward —

BANG!

There was a flash of light from Naruto's wand and Harry was knocked back onto the bed.

"Harry!" Ron and Hermione called out in shock while Ron fell lost his balance.

"Sirius, we've got the rat lets just finish this already," Naruto said quickly starting to get a bad feeling.

"Why Naruto you know he killed my parents," said Harry, his voice shaking slightly.

"I don't deny that I'm responsible," Sirius said very quietly looking back at Harry. "But if you knew the whole story."

"Sirius," Naruto interjected. "Were waisting time." They had spent months looking for Peter. They should be heading to the castle to show Dumbledore not here.

"He deserves to know the whole story," Sirius snapped back at the blond.

"The whole story?" Harry repeated furiously "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me," Black said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now. "You'll regret it if you don't. . . . You don't understand. . . ."

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Harry, and his voice shook more than ever. "You never heard her, did you? My mum . . . trying to stop Voldemort killing me . . . and you did that . . . YOU DID IT!"

Suddenly the door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks they all wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurtling into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready. His eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the floor, over Hermione, cowering next to the door, to Harry on the bed, and finally, Sirius and Naruto standing over them with their wands out. Then Lupin spoke, in a very tense voice.

"Where is he, Sirius?" Lupin asked.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked quickly at Lupin. They didn't understand what Professor Lupin meant. Who was Lupin talking about? They turned to look at Black again. Sirius's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his hand and pointed straight at the rat Naruto was holding.

"But then . . . ," Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, ". . why hasn't he shown

himself before now? Unless" — Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of

the rest could see, "— unless he was the one . . . unless you switched . . . without telling me?" Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, Black nodded.

"Professor," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going on — ?" But he never finished the question, because what he saw made

his voice dies in his throat. Lupin was lowering his wand, gazing fixedly at Sirius. Professor Lupin then walked to Sirius and they embraced Black like a brother. Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his

stomach.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed.

Lupin let go of Black and turned to her. She was pointing at Lupin, wild-eyed. "Professor you, Black and Naruto!" Hermione shouted.

"Hermione, calm down —" Lupin spoke.

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

"Hermione," Naruto tried to cut in.

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "Naruto, I can't believe I trust you, and you you're a werewolf !" There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said. "Only half correct, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius

get into the castle "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf." Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped,

"Get away from me, werewolf !" Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione and said, "How long have you known?"

"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay. . . ."

"He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant. . . . Did

Do 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," Hermione said quietly. 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 know," said Lupin. "At least, the staff do."

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

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

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!" He was pointing at Sirius,

"I have not been helping Sirius," said Lupin. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain."

"How did you know to find us here Moony?" Sirius' asked trying to piece together how the man was here.

"The map," said Lupin. "The Marauder's Map. I had confiscated from Harry, I was in my office examining it —"

"You know how to work it?" Harry said suspiciously.

"Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin, waving his hand impatiently. "I helped write it. I'm Moony — that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

"You wrote — ?" Harry asked.

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening because I had an idea that you, Ron, Hermione, and Naruto might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?" He had started to pace up and down, looking at them. Little patches of dust rose at his feet.

"You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry —" Professor Lupin quickly spoke.

"How d'you know about the cloak?" Harry was shocked by this.

"The number of times I saw your father James disappearing under it. . . ," said Lupin, waving an impatient hand again. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched the four of you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, five of you ran out then Sirius showed up. I watched as three of you pulled Ron into the Whomping Willow —"

"It was only three!" Ron said angrily.

"No, Ron," said Lupin. "four of you." He had stopped his pacing, his eyes moving over to Naruto

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he said evenly.

"Padfoot?" questioned Naruto as he pulled the rat closer.

"It's alright Kit, you can trust Moony," Sirius reassured him. Trusting the man he presented the rat. It thrashed desperately; trying to escape him. Crookshanks stood up on the bed and made a soft hissing noise. Lupin moved closer to Naruto. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.

"What?" Ron said, "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," spat Sirius suddenly.

"What d'you mean — of course, he's a rat —" Rein tried to interject.

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

"An Animagus," said Naruto, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink in. Then Ron voiced what Harry was thinking.

"You're both mental." the ginger boy said.

"Ridiculous!" said Hermione faintly.

"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" said Harry. "He killed him twelve years ago!" He pointed at Black, whose face twitched convulsively.

"I meant to," Sirius growled, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me."

"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Sirius," Naruto said, as the sinking feeling started to fill up his stomach.

"All right, but you'll need to help me, with this Remus," said Sirius, "We'd best start where it all began . . ." just then there had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All Six of them

stared at it. Then Lupin strode toward it and looked out into the landing.

"No one there . . ."

"This place is haunted!" said Ron.

"It's not," said Lupin, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted. . . . The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me."

He pushed his graying hair out of his eyes, thought for a moment, then said,

"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 we hadn't been so foolhardy. . . ." and so Professor Lupin and Sirius spent the next hour recanting their childhood misadventures at Hogwarts that almost lead to the death of Severus Snape and finished with that past few months of Naruto's attempts at helping Sirius.

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Harry slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin. Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Sirius.

BANG!

"NARUTO!" Hermione screamed as a flash of light filled the small room, Professor Lupin instinctively place himself between the newest arrival and the remaining students. As thin, snake-like cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Naruto's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Sirius started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.

"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.

"Severus —" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you were not to be trusted Uzumaki a trained killer raised to server the heights binder, here's the proof," Snape said as he looked down at the struggling teen, before turning to face his colleague.

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything — I can explain — Sirius is not here to kill Harry —"

"Three more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. "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," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man and a child inside Azkaban?"

BANG!

Another set of thin, snake-like cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and this time twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move.

Hermione, however, took an uncertain step toward Snape and said, in a very breathless voice, "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," Snape spat. "You, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."

"But if — if there was a mistake —" Hermione tried to explain.

"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face. Hermione fell silent.

"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you. . . ."

"The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled. "As long as they bring this rat up to the castle I'll come quietly. . . ."

"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "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. . . ." What little color there was in Sirius's face left it.

"You — you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat —look at the rat —" But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that Harry had never

seen before. He seemed beyond reason.

"Come on, all of you," he said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Naruto and Lupin flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf and the Black's accomplice Perhaps the dementors will kiss them too —"

Before he knew what he was doing, Hermione had crossed the room in three strides and blocked the door.

"Get out of the way, Granger, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape.

"You can't Naruto was only doing what he thought was right by helping an innocent man and bringing the true criminal to justice." Hermione pleaded her face had gone sheet white at the thought of Naruto receiving the dementor kiss. While this was going on Naruto had managed to grab a hole in one of his knives he kept in his kunai pouch on him at all times. He was difficult to work with his hands bound behind his back but very slowly it was beginning to meticulously work the edge of the blade on the ropes.

"You silly little girl can't you see the lies this boy had been feeding you and the headmaster." Snape spat out.

"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN —"

"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "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!"

"HEY SEVERUS!" Naruto had called out and before anybody knew what had happened but now untied blonde team had to come up right behind Professor Snape and just as the man turned around and being addressed his face met with a rocketing left hook from Naruto that had enough force behind it that it

With a sickening crunch, the Potion Master's nose was broken as he dropped onto the floor of the room like a sack of potatoes. However, Naruto wasn't done yet has he delivered a Swift heel kick to the man's head completely knocking him out. They all watched the unconscious Snape as a trickle of blood oozed from under his hair. He had been knocked out.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked over that the blond teen in shock. They all knew that Naruto trained and could fight but never had they seen him use the skills he worked every day to maintain. It was safe to say that the blonde Gryffindor was as dangerous with or without his wand.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Black, looking at Naruto. "You should have left him to me. . . ."

"And what let you have all the fun and besides I was getting sick of hearing this bastard's voice," Naruto said with a satisfied grin.

"You attacked a teacher. . . . You attacked a teacher . . . ," Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble —"

Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Black bent down quickly and untied him. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them.

"Thank you, Naruto," he said.

"I am glad you're starting to believe me," Sirius said.

"I'm still not saying I believe you," Harry told Lupin.

"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Lupin. "Naruto, give me Peter, please."

"Now will force him to show himself," said Lupin. "If he is a rat, it won't hurt him." Once Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.

"Together?" Sirius said quietly.

"I think so," said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One — two — THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly —. There was another blinding flash of light and then it was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a

a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling

on the bed; the hair on his back was standing up.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes.

He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. They all saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.

"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."

"S — Sirius . . . R — Remus . . . My friends."