Diary of an Orphan (re-written)

by StrangeLittleWeirdo

Jenna grew up alone in an orphanage with no knowledge of who she was or where she came from. It wasn't until an owl arrived with a letter for her, and a man named Remus Lupin walked into her life, that she learnt she was so much more than she originally thought and her life would never be the same again.

19. The Dark Side of the Moon

Chapter 18

The Dark Side of the Moon

Before Lupin could stop me I had run out of his office, back through the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and all the way down the stairs in the Dark Tower. Pettigrew was somewhere near Harry in the grounds. If I caught him, I could prove Black was innocent! I had to go find him! I didn't stop running until I was racing across the Clock Tower Courtyard and had reached the Stone Circle. I stopped at the edge of the hilltop so I could see Hagrid's Hut. Walking down the hill I saw Professor Dumbledore was approaching Hagrid's home and he wasn't alone. Cornelius Fudge and the executioner were with him. They must be going to execute Buckbeak now and if Pettigrew was somewhere in Hagrid's Hut there was no way I'd be able to get to him until they were gone. I looked around desperately trying to think of what I could do. Then it hit me.

I cleared my mind and transformed. I shook out my fur and stood straight on my paws, a wolf now standing where I had been seconds before. I took one last look at Hagrid's Hut then ran off around the edge of the castle so that I had a better vantage point. I ran to a more sheltered outcrop of rocks near the Whomping Willow and climbed up their rough surface. The higher I was, the better chance of capturing Pettigrew I had. I lay low to the rocks and waited, ready to strike the moment I caught sight of whichever rat it was that Pettigrew was hiding as. In the distance I heard a loud howl that did not come from any animal. It must've been Hagrid meaning Buckbeak must've been executed.

My ears twitched as I heard something nearby. Squeaking and something rustling. I lifted my nose and took a sniff of the air. I could smell four different scents, three I recognised but the fourth I didn't. And finally I saw it, the thing that had been missing all along in my mind. From out of nowhere in the grass appeared a very familiar rat. Scabbers.

Pettigrew transformed into a rat, I thought to myself. Of course, Scabbers is Pettigrew!

I got to my paws, careful to remain crouched out of sight. I had to wait until Pettigrew had run directly below where I was before I could grab him. He was almost there. My muscles tightened, ready to pounce. But before I could someone else had appeared. Ron had sprung out from the cover of the Invisibility Cloak – meaning Harry and Hermione had to be somewhere nearby – and dove at the ground to grab Scabbers. He caught the squealing rodent and clutched him to his chest, his leg kicking away another creature who had been watching the rat. Crookshanks. That could mean only one thing. If Crookshanks was here, then that big black dog was somewhere nearby too.

'Harry, you do realise what tree this is?'

I looked up when I heard Hermione's voice. She and Harry were now visible, no longer hiding beneath the Cloak. They were both standing at the edge of the castle and staring at where Ron was sprawled on the ground keeping Crookshanks away from Scabbers. Right at the foot of the Whomping Willow.

'Ron, run!' shouted Harry.

'Harry, Hermione, run!' Ron shouted back at them. He was pointing wildly at something behind them while Scabbers squealed and writhed in his hand. 'It's the Grim!'

I got to my feet to see what Ron was pointing at. That large black dog was back. The dog was back –!

It couldn't be, I thought to myself. Could it?

Its grey eyes were narrowed upon where Harry stood before it and it let out a vicious snarl. I saw Harry draw his wand but he wasn't quick enough. The dog leapt at him and its front paws hit him square in the chest pushing him to the ground. The force of its leap had carried it too far though and it skidded round on its paws ready for a second attack. It squared itself ready but wasn't aiming at Harry. Its eyes were focused on Ron who was still holding a frantically squealing Scabbers. Suddenly the dog made its move. Without thinking I leapt down from the rocks and landed in between the dog and Ron. I let out a deep growl and bared my teeth, halting the dog in its tracks. It was then I realised just how big the dog was. It towered over me in my wolfish form, it's paws twice as big as mine alone. I stood over Ron blocking him from the dog's attack but kept my head lowered and ears folded back to show that I wouldn't hesitate to attack.

You hurt him and I'll hurt you, I growled. Of course, only the dog would understand me if it really was what I thought it was. To Harry, Ron and Hermione all they'd hear are my threatening growls. The dog seemed to hesitate. It eyes took me in before it copied my stance and growled back at me.

Move or you'll get hurt as well! it snarled at me, snapping its large teeth. I don't want to hurt you.

Behind me Ron scrambled to his feet. The dog saw this. He made to dart around me but I blocked him. We growled and snapped at each other, the dog attempting to bite me to get me to move. I dodged his attacks as best I could but he was too quick and managed to smack my muzzle with its large paw and knock me away. I let out a whimper as I hit the ground. I sat up and shook my head feeling dizzy from the impact. A few feet from me the dog made another lunge. Thinking it was going for Harry, Ron pushed him out of the way and the dog locked its jaws around Ron's outstretched arm. Its strength pulled Ron to the ground and it dragged him across the grass as if Ron was nothing more than a ragdoll. Harry attempted to stop it and grabbed a fistful of its fur, but it barely seemed to notice as it dragged Ron towards the Whomping Willow.

'Lumos!'

A wand lit up just to my left. Its light illuminated the base of the Whomping Willow's trunk where the dog was dragging Ron backwards into a large gap in the roots. Ron did his best to fight against it but it was too strong. He hooked his leg around a root in a last attempt to stop the dog pulling him underground. Harry made to go after them but was stopped by a large branch that suddenly struck the ground where he'd been seconds before. A horrible crack ripped through the air that sounded like something breaking; Ron's leg must have broken. I sprung to my feet and darted for the tree, not caring that I jumped on Harry's back to get to them. I dodged a branch that swiped the ground by mere centimetres, then dodged a second, and reached the base of the tree, disappearing into the hole between its roots.

My paws skidded on the earthy slope when I landed and I slid to the base of a very dark tunnel. I was suddenly very thankful that wolves had good sight in the dark otherwise I would have crashed at the bottom. I got back up and looked around. I could hear Ron's pained yells coming from deeper in the tunnel while above I could hear the violent whipping branches of the Whomping Willow above me. No doubt Harry and Hermione were going to try and follow us. Good luck getting through those, I thought to myself. I walked forwards a few paces and put my nose to the ground. From what I could smell of Ron and the dog's scents, there was only one way to go and that was forwards. As for where it led, there could only be one place: the Shrieking Shack. Steeling my nerves, I set off up the tunnel after Ron and the dog.

The tunnel was long and low. If I had been in my human form I would have had to be bent down so as not to hit my head on its roof. Every so often I smelt the ground to check that the dog and Ron hadn't turned off down an unseen passage. I kept walking on and on after them though I was unsure what I would do when I reached them. Confront Black? Try and protect Ron as best I could in this form until Harry and Hermione got there? Hope that Lupin had kept watching the Map and knew we were in trouble? I had no idea. Finally after what felt like a very long walk the tunnel began to rise; it then twisted sharply to the right and a mound of dirt sat at the base of a small opening. There was a dim light coming through the crack in what looked like a trapdoor. That had to be how Lupin used to get into the Shrieking Shack.

I climbed on to the mound and stood on my back paws so I could push the trapdoor open with my front ones. It opened up into a deserted and very dusty room. I hauled myself out of the tunnel and stood straight. I looked around the room, my tail causing the dust to stir as it swayed behind me. The room was dark as all the windows were boarded up and there were no lights at all. Paper was peeling off the walls that had long deep gashes scratched into them; there were stains all over the floor from blood that had dried many years ago; the furniture that had been set up here had been smashed into pieces, bits of broken wood lying splintered on the floor; everything was covered in a layer of dust from years of disuse apart from a single shiny strip that had been made by something being dragged through the room. I put my nose to it. One sniff told me it was fresh blood. My eyes followed the trail. To my right was the only door in and out of the room, which lead to a shadowy hallway where the trail disappeared.

Slowly I crept across the floorboards into the hallway. My ear twitched. I could just hear a faint moan coming from upstairs. It had to be Ron. Another voice told him to sit down or he'd cause himself more injury; that had to be Black. I padded silently across the hallway and started up the stairs when I suddenly hesitated. This was it. I was finally going to see my father for the first time. Certainly not the way I had imagined our reunion. I swallowed my nerves and continued upstairs. There was only one door open on this floor. I crouched low and approached it. I peered through a broken slat in the door. I could just see Ron leaning against the foot of an old broken bed; his leg stuck out at a strange angle and blood had soaked through his trousers, clearly broken. I couldn't see Black though.

I got to my paws once more to enter the room when I heard something stir below me. A wand light appeared at the foot of the stairs and I heard a voice speak.

'Ghosts didn't do that,' said Harry.

Quickly I backed into the shadows of the landing and hid beneath a nearby side table. The stairs creaked as Harry and Hermione ascended them, their wand lights passing over the floor in front of them. When they reached the landing the lights were extinguished. Next moment Harry strode forwards and kicked open the door separating him from Black. He and Hermione ran inside the room. I crept out of my hiding place and hurried over to the door, stopping it with my paw before it slammed shut. I watched as Harry and Hermione rushed to Ron's side.

'Ron – are you OK?'

'Where's the dog?'

'Not a dog,' moaned Ron. 'Harry, it's a trap –'

'What –'

'He's the dog … he's an Animagus …'

From out of the shadows behind the door stepped Black. If I had been in my human form I would have gasped at the sight. He looked nothing like the man in the photos with my Mum. His neat black hair was thick and matted with dirt, and hung lankly round his face reaching down to his elbows. His grey eyes, once full of laughter, were darkened liked the skin was around them and shone out of their sockets. His waxy skin was stretched so slightly over the bones of his previously handsome face, he looked almost skeletal. His yellowed teeth were bared in an almost mad grin. I had been right though; that dog had been Black. That's why he'd been so familiar to me, because I must have seen that dog before when I was a baby all that time ago. In his hand I saw he had Ron's wand.

'Expelliarmus!' croaked Black.

Harry and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands and were caught by Black. Black then took a step closer, his eyes observing Harry very closely.

'I thought you'd come and help your friend,' said Black, his voice hoarse from years of not being used. '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 …'

The mention of Harry's father must have riled Harry as he suddenly lunged at Black. Hermione and Ron both grabbed his arms to hold him back while Black barely reacted to Harry's anger. Hermione looked positively terrified while what little colour had left Ron's face from the effort it took to stand up.

'No, Harry!' hissed Hermione frantically.

'If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us, too!' said Ron weakly.

Black's eyes flickered. He glanced at Ron.

'Lie down,' he said quietly. 'You will damage that leg even more.'

'Did you hear me?' said Ron, his voice even more strained. 'You'll have to kill all three of us!'

'There'll only be one murder here tonight,' said Black. His grin widened.

'Why's that?' spat Harry. He pulled against Ron and Hermione's grip but they wouldn't let go. '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!' whimpered Hermione. 'Be quiet!'

'HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!' bellowed Harry.

With a huge effort Harry broke free from Ron and Hermione's restraint and ran at Black. Instantly I leapt from behind the door and jumped in front of Harry to stop him from reaching Black. I'm not sure what made me do it but something compelled me to act. I couldn't let Harry hurt him, nor could I let Black hurt Harry. I bent low and arched my back as I growled at Harry in warning, my teeth bared and my fur on end once more. Harry stopped in his tracks. Black also stepped back from me. Both stared at the wolf before them, unsure whose side it was on having gone from defending Ron from the dog to defending Black from Harry. Behind Harry, Hermione had rushed to Ron's side and was helping him back on to the bed. They two stared at me warily. I looked between the three of them then stood straight and stopped growling. Well, it had been a good secret while I'd kept it. I cleared my thoughts and allowed my body to transform back to my normal self. I shook out my hair once I was back to human form then looked straight at Harry, unmoving from my position between him and Black.

-o-

'HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!' bellowed Harry.

With a huge effort Harry broke free from Ron and Hermione's restraint and ran at Black. The door suddenly burst open and from the shadows of the hallway leapt the wolf from before. It darted in front of Harry and faced him, positioning itself between him and Black so that Black could not be reached. It stood with its paws spread wide and its back arched. It let out a vicious growl and bared its teeth at Harry, almost daring him to attempt to get at Black. Harry hesitated; behind the wolf Black too took a step back from it, surprised by the creature's change of allegiance. Its fur, a stone grey with strange markings of black and reddish-brown along its back, stood on end while its tail hung still between its back legs. That's when Harry noticed its eyes. They were blue, a blue Harry recognised.

The wolf carefully eyed Harry then Ron and Hermione behind him. It stopped growling and ran its tongue over its muzzle before standing straight. It blinked. Then, in one smooth movement, the wolf stood straight and vanished before them, being replaced by a very familiar face. Jenna shook out her long hair and opened her eyes, having now revealed herself to be the wolf that had stopped him from getting to Black and had protected Ron from him earlier, and looked straight at Harry. Harry stared back at her, a strange pain going through his chest at the sight of his best friend now defending the man who had killed his parents.

Behind her, Black felt his heart jump at the sight of the girl now standing in front of him; he'd always hoped his daughter would take after Tala, and there before him was the proof having finally got a proper look at her. He stared unblinkingly at her profile as she protected him from Harry. The same face shape, the same long glossy hair, the same kind determined blue eyes, even her actions of defending him when she didn't even know him, all the things that Black recognised from his teenage love. There was no doubt about it. This was his daughter.

-o-

'Get out of the way, Jenna,' said Harry slowly. I swallowed and shook my head, standing my ground.

'No,' I said defiantly, 'not until you listen to me.'

Harry glared at me, anger clearly visible on his face. I thought remaining calm would be enough to deter Harry from continuing his attack on Black long enough for me to be able to reason with him but I was wrong. Harry lunged at me and pushed me out of the way. I fell against the wall, Black now open to his attack.

'Harry, stop!' I shouted desperately.

Black, caught by surprise by Harry's attack, failed to raise the wands in his hand in time to defend himself. Harry threw the full weight of his thirteen year old self against him. His hand grabbed Black's withered wrist and managed to force the wandtips away from him while his other punched Black hard in the side of his face. They fell backwards against the wall, Black crumpling on the ground with Harry struggling to stand up over him. Hermione screamed for Harry to stop while Ron yelled at Harry to watch out as sparks flew from the three wands in Black's hand, missing Harry's face by mere centimetres. Black tried to push Harry off him, his hand circling Harry's throat. I forced myself back to my feet and ran over to them, my hands grabbing Harry's upper arms and pulling him back to stop him from hitting Black any more.

'No,' he hissed. 'I've waited too long –'

From nowhere Hermione's foot swung at Black and kicked Black hard in the gut. He let out a grunt of pain and released Harry. With Harry free I pulled him back as best I could away from Black. Ron, meanwhile, had regained enough strength to launch himself at Black and attempt to grab the wands in his hand. He knocked them out of his grasp, the three wands rolling across the floor away from them. Seeing his wand was free Harry threw me off him once more and dove for his wand only to be stopped by Crookshanks who had sunk his front claws into Harry's arm.

'NO YOU DON'T!' roared Harry and he kicked out at Crookshanks. The cat leapt into the air, hissing and spitting. Harry grabbed his wand and spun round, pointing it at Black. 'Get out of the way!' he shouted at Ron and Hermione.

I remained were I was, staring at the sight before me. Hermione, lip bleeding and breathing heavily, hurried out the way and grabbed hers and Ron's wands; Ron heaved himself back over to the four-poster bed and collapsed on it, his face white with pain. Black lay where he was on the floor, his chest heaving as he fought to regain his breath. His eyes didn't leave Harry standing over him as he approached him, his wand pointed straight at Black's heart.

'Going to kill me, Harry?' Black asked quietly.

'You killed my parents,' said Harry. His voice was shaking. His wand, however, was still.

'I don't deny it,' replied Black. 'But if you knew the whole story –'

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

'Harry, please,' I begged. 'Listen to him!'

'The girl's right,' said Black. He spat the trickle of blood that had dripped into his mouth from his bleeding nose. 'You've got to listen to me. You'll regret it if you don't … you don't understand …'

'I understand a lot better than you think,' said Harry, his voice shaking even more. 'You never heard her, did you? My Mum … trying to stop Voldemort killing me … and you did that … you did it …'

A streak of ginger ran past Harry. Crookshanks leapt on to Black's chest and positioned himself in a way that would block any attack Harry attempted. He glared up at Harry, his squashed face contorted. Hermione gave a dry sob at the sight. Black blinked and looked down at the cat.

'Get off,' he muttered. He tried to push Crookshanks off him but the cat wouldn't budge.

Harry raised his wand once more. The seconds ticked by and yet … he didn't attack. I watched, my heart in my throat, as Harry just stood there with his wand pointed at Black but did nothing. Suddenly the sound of muffled footsteps came from below. Someone else had entered the Shrieking Shack.

'WE'RE UP HERE!' screamed Hermione. 'WE'RE UP HERE – SIRIUS BLACK – QUICK!'

Black made a startled movement at the sound of Hermione's shout for help. Whoever it was must have heard her as the footsteps got louder as whoever it was ran up the stairs. The door burst open in a shower of red sparks. Harry wheeled round, his attention broken. I gasped in relief. Lupin ran into the room, wand raised and ready, and took in the sight before him. His eyes flicked from me on the floor in the corner, to Hermione and Ron by the bed and Ron's broken leg, to Harry with his wand pointing at Black, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet.

'Expelliarmus!' shouted Lupin.

Harry's wand flew out of his hand as did the two in Hermione's. Lupin caught them then raised his own once more but not at them. Lupin walked slowly into the room, his wand on Black. He stared at the ragged form of his former friend, his eyes observing the sight before him.

'Well, well, Sirius,' said Lupin quietly, 'looking rather ragged, aren't we. Finally the flesh reflects the madness within.'

'Well, you'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you, Remus?' countered Black. I was almost taken aback by Black's calm response. Though clearly a dig, it was almost as if … he was joking with Lupin.

Lupin didn't react to Black's comment.

'Where is he, Sirius?' asked Lupin, his voice calm and steady.

Black's face remained neutral but he seemed to know exactly what Lupin meant. At first he didn't move. Then, very slowly, he raised his hand and pointed it straight at Ron. While the others were baffled by Black's answer, I knew exactly what he meant. He wasn't pointing at Ron but pointing at something Ron had. Scabbers.

'But then …' muttered Lupin, glancing at Ron then back at Black, '… why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless –' Lupin's eyes caught mine; I nodded, '– unless he was the one … unless you switched … without telling me?'

Slowly, Black nodded. A wave of relief rushed over me. I had been right! And now Lupin finally believed what I'd been telling him for the past year.

'Professor Lupin,' Harry started, 'what's going –?'

Harry's question remained unasked as what he saw next must've shocked him to his core. Lupin lowered his wand and approached Black. He held out his hand to Black who took it and was pulled to his feet. A silent acknowledgement passed between them as the two old friends forgave each other and they embraced like the brothers they were.

'I DON'T BELIEVE IT!' screamed Hermione. I looked at her startled by her outburst. Lupin let go of Black and turned to see her pointing wildly at him, her eyes wide in shock. 'You – you –'

'Hermione –'

'– you and him!'

'Hermione, calm down –'

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

'Hermione, don't do this –' I pleaded, dread consuming me once more.

'Hermione, listen to me, please!' shouted Lupin. 'I can explain –'

'I trusted you,' shouted Harry; he took looked as hurt and as angry as Hermione did, 'and all this time you've been his friend!'

'You're wrong,' said Lupin. 'I haven't been Sirius' friend for twelve years, but I am now … let me explain …'

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

A ringing silence followed Hermione's exposition of Lupin's secret. I stared at Hermione, shocked by her actions when she of all people I thought would be someone who wouldn't be prejudice to someone like Lupin who couldn't help who he was. Eventually I broke it.

'Hermione,' I breathed, 'you promised …'

'Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione,' said Lupin calmly, although his complexion had paled. '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 …' A shiver crossed Lupin's face. 'But I won't deny that I am a werewolf.'

'Lupin!' I got up and ran over to him. I grabbed on to the front of his robes and looked pleading at him.

'No, it's all right, Jenna,' said Lupin. 'It's time they knew.'

By the bed Ron attempted to stand but fell back from the pain in his leg. Concerned, Lupin made towards him but Ron rebuffed his gesture.

'Get away from me, werewolf!'

I stared at my friends, shocked by their reactions. It hurt so much to see them turn against a man they all once admired just because they'd found out what he was. Lupin stopped in his tracks. I watched as he swallowed his disappointment at their reactions then forced himself to face Hermione.

'How long have you known?'

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

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

'Both,' replied Hermione. 'You're just lucky Jenna made me promise not to tell anyone.'

Lupin forced a laugh as he glanced at me.

'You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione.'

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

'Then why didn't you?' asked Lupin curiously. 'What made you keep your promise?'

'Because,' Hermione hesitated. She glanced at me. 'Because Jenna swore that you would never hurt Harry …' I stared back at Hermione and nodded, confirming her statement. 'But still,' she continued, her voice regaining her confidence, 'people have the right to know what you are!'

'But they already know,' said Lupin. 'At least, the staff do.'

'Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?' gasped Ron. '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!' yelled Harry. 'YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!' Harry shouted, pointing at Black.

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

'Lupin,' I interrupted, pulling the sleeve of his robe, 'Lupin, don't do this,' I whispered. 'Please, don't –'

'Jenna, calm down,' said Lupin. He looked at me. 'You don't need to protect me anymore. It's going to be all right.' He then turned to the others. 'Look –' He separated Harry, Ron and Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner. 'There. You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?'

'If you haven't been helping him,' said Harry cautiously, glancing angrily at Black, 'how did you know he was here?'

'The Map,' answered Lupin. 'The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it –'

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

'Of course I know how to work it,' said Lupin, waving an impatient hand. '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 and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his Hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?'

Lupin began to pace as he spoke, keeping his eyes on Harry, Ron and Hermione closely.

'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 disappearing under it …' said Lupin, waving his hand again to dismiss Harry's question. 'The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak you show up on the Marauder's 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?' said Harry. 'No we weren't!'

'I couldn't believe my eyes,' said Lupin, still pacing back and forth. 'I thought the Map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?'

'No one was with us!' said Harry.

'And then I saw another dot, moving fast towards you, labelled Sirius Black … I saw him collide with you and knock another one of you away, I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow –'

'One of us!' said Ron angrily.

'No, Ron,' said Lupin. 'Two of you.'

Finally Lupin stopped pacing. He turned and faced Ron.

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

'What?' said Ron. 'What's Scabbers got to do with it?'

'Everything,' said Lupin. 'Could I see him, please?'

Ron hesitated. Then, slowly, he reached inside the pocket of his jacket and pulled out Scabbers. The rat thrashed and squealed in fear as Ron took hold of his tail to stop him from escaping again. Across the room Crookshanks let out a soft hiss. Lupin stepped closer to Ron and bent down to get a better look at Scabbers.

'What?' said Ron again. 'What's my rat got to do with anything?'

'That's not a rat,' croaked Black, who until now had been silent.

'What d'you mean – of course he's a rat –'

'No, he's not,' confirmed Lupin. 'He's a wizard.'

'An Animagus,' said Black, 'by the name of Peter Pettigrew.'

It seemed to take a few moments for this new information to sink in. Well, I guess if you thought about it, it was pretty absurd; a thirty-three-year-old wizard hiding as a rat for twelve years for some unknown reason. Then again they had also just witnessed me transform from a wolf in front of them and yet this they were struggling with. Harry, Ron and Hermione were staring at Lupin as if to question his sanity and the validity of his statement. Black was still eyeing up Scabbers with murderous intent clear in his eyes. Scabbers was squealing in Ron's grip making every attempt to break free.

'You're both mental,' said Ron finally.

'Ridiculous!' agreed Hermione.

'Peter Pettigrew's dead!' said Harry. 'He killed him twelve years ago!'

Harry pointed at Black. Black's face twitched.

'I meant to,' he growled, his yellowed teeth visible, 'but little Peter got the better of me … not this time, though!'

Black lunged at Scabbers, Crookshanks leaping out of the way as he threw his weight on to the bed, right on top of Ron's broken leg. Ron yelled in agony but managed to keep Scabbers out of Black's reach. Lupin grabbed hold of Black's shoulders and dragged him back from them.

'Sirius, NO!' he shouted, getting a firm grip on Black around his chest. He pulled him away from bed to the other side of the room. 'WAIT! You can't do it just like that – they need to understand – we've got to explain –'

'We can explain afterwards!' snarled Black. He tried to throw Lupin off but his weakened frame meant that Lupin was able to keep a firm grip on him. He clawed at the air trying to reach for Scabbers like a rabid dog would scratch at any cage it might get trapped in.

'They've – got – a – right – to – know – everything!' insisted Lupin. Black jerked forwards in his arms but Lupin still held on to him. 'Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand! Harry – you owe Harry the truth, Sirius! And your daughter!' Something must have stirred in Black's head at Lupin's words. He broke free of Lupin's grip with a sudden burst of strength and backed away from him. He stared at Lupin, his anger momentarily replaced by shock and something else which I couldn't quite identify. 'Your daughter,' repeated Lupin. 'You owe it to your daughter.'

I swallowed, watching Black carefully for his reaction. His grey eyes seemed to cloud over almost as if he was torn by Lupin's words. Torn between getting his revenge and the thought of his lost child. I wasn't even sure if he knew that that lost child was standing right in front of him and I didn't dare say anything.

'I've waited …' breathed Black, suppressed anger audible in his voice, 'for years, I've waited …'

'I know, but you've got to wait just that little bit longer,' said Lupin calmly but it would not placate him.

'I did my waiting!' bellowed Black. 'Twelve years of it in Azkaban! You of all people know how much I lost!'

I stared at Black. Was he talking about James and Lily? Or was he talking about … me?

'They have the right to know why,' repeated Lupin firmly. 'You owe them.'

Black stared at Lupin, his eyes narrowed, as Lupin stared back at him resolute in his opinion. Finally Black relented.

'All right, then,' said Black. He looked away from Lupin, returning his gaze to Scabbers in Ron's hands. '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,' said Ron. He looked at Harry and Hermione for support. 'I've had enough of this. I'm off.'

Ron made to get up but Lupin pointed his wand at Scabbers to stop him.

'You're going to hear me out, Ron,' he said quietly. 'Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen.'

'HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!' yelled Ron.

He tried to take a step forwards while also forcing Scabbers back into his front pocket and overbalanced. Harry just managed to catch him before he fell on to his damaged leg. He moaned in pain as Harry helped him back on to the bed. With Ron safely back on the bed, Harry turned to Lupin.

'There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die,' said Harry. 'A whole street full of them …'

'They didn't see what they thought they saw!' snapped Black.

'Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter,' confirmed Lupin. 'I believed it myself – until I saw the Map tonight. Because the Marauder's Map never lies … Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry.'

Harry and Ron shared a look. Then, to my surprise, Harry looked at me. It was as if he was trying to ask me a silent question: were they telling the truth? While I couldn't vouch for Black, I knew Lupin wouldn't lie and he knew everything that I did. I, however, didn't react. I hadn't managed to convince Harry so far. I knew I wouldn't be able to convince him now. He had to hear it from Lupin and Black.

'But Professor Lupin …' said Hermione, her voice shaking. I looked at her. 'Scabbers can't be Pettigrew … it just can't be true, you know it can't …'

'Why can't it be true?' asked Lupin calmly. It was almost like we were back in the classroom, and Hermione was questioning something Lupin was trying to teach us.

'Because … because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus,' said Hermione. 'We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework – the Ministry keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things … and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have only been seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list –'

'Right again, Hermione!' laughed Lupin. 'But the Ministry never knew that there used to be four unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts, nor that one still does today.' Lupin looked very pointedly at me standing beside him. I glanced at him, then looked at the other three and nodded. 'Jenna inherited a rather rare gift that allows her to shape-shift into any animal of her choice. You may have noticed the wolf from before had black and red tufts of fur exactly like Jenna's hair? They are one of her particular markings that appear whenever she transforms. There was another just like her at Hogwarts along with three other Animagi, back when I was at school.'

'If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus,' snapped Black impatiently. 'I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer.'

'All right … but you'll need to help me, Sirius,' said Lupin, 'I only know how it began …'

A loud creak came from the door behind where I stood. I looked round. It swayed independently on its hinges. There was nothing there though. Beside me, Lupin approached the door with his wand raised. He peered out of it into the landing, his eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of movement. It was strange. The door couldn't have opened on its own accord but there was no sign of anything that could have done so.

'No one there …' murmured Lupin.

'This place is haunted!' said Ron.

'It's not,' said Lupin, his eyes still examining the door. 'The Shrieking Shack was never haunted … the screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me.'

Lupin pushed back his hair and turned away from the door.

'That's where all of this starts – with my becoming a werewolf,' said Lupin heavily. 'None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten … and if I hadn't been so foolhardy …'

I looked at Lupin. I'd never seen him look this distressed before. He never had told me what happened when he got bitten. I only knew various details from what Granddad had told me. A sharp "Ssh" from the opposite side of the room told me Hermione had shushed someone to stop them from interrupting.

'I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, they even separated my younger sister and me to stop her from getting bitten too, but in those days there was no cure. The Potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. I keep my mind when I transform … I am able to curl up in my office with Jenna's wolf form as company, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again.'

Hermione sent a startled look in my direction while the boys stared at me. I guess now they knew why I'd appear with random scratches every so often. Hermione was clearly questioning the safety of me being with Lupin when he was transformed. If I was correct, Lupin was going to get to that.

'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 to be 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 …' Lupin sighed. He then looked at Harry. 'I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I had come to Hogwarts. This house –' Lupin gazed miserably around the dilapidated wooden shack, '– 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.

'My transformations in those days were – were terrible,' continued Lupin. '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 rumour … even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it …

'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. A year later, my younger sister also joined the school and we were reunited after being apart for over a year, much to our joy. Nothing could be better.

'Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month, nor that my sister would get random scratches without any explanation of how she got them. I'm sure you three must have seen the same with Jenna,' he added. '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. When they heard about how my sister would stubbornly join me during the full moon using her own gift to protect her, they came up with a plan to do so too. They became Animagi.'

'My Dad, too?' said Harry, surprised.

'Yes, indeed,' said Lupin, a smile almost appearing on his face. '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.'

'But how did that help you?' said Hermione, confused. 'How does – Jenna help you?'

'They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals,' said Lupin. 'A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak and followed my sister, transformed into a cat so as to go by unnoticed by others, as a guide to make sure they didn't get caught. 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 influence, 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,' snarled Black. He was clearly getting nettled with how long this was taking but by the sounds of it, there was a lot that Lupin needed to tell us for us to completely understand the situation.

'I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there,' retorted Lupin, again in that almost bickering tone they had shared earlier. 'Well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius, James and Tala 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 Marauder's Map, and sign it with out nicknames, although Tala chose not to include her nickname, Hooves. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs.'

'What sort of animal –' Harry began to ask but Hermione cut him off with her own question.

'That was still really dangerous!' she gasped. 'Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?'

'A thought that still haunts me,' admitted Lupin. 'As much as my sister was experienced in tracking my movements, especially when in her own wolf form, without Sirius and James's strength, she wasn't always able to keep control of me on her own even as a horse. And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless – carried away with out own cleverness.

'I sometimes feel guilt 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 fellow 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 … even leading my niece to do the same …'

I stared at Lupin. I never knew Lupin had felt so guilty about this. None of this was his fault. James, Black and Pettigrew had made the decision themselves to help him through his transformations and become Animagi, just like my Mum decided to be there for her brother and use her gift to be with him. Just like I had done so too. None of this was on his shoulders.

Lupin's face had hardened and I could see the self-disgust on it.

'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 has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and gave me a job, when I have been shunned all of my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am when I had a child to provide for. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using Dark Arts he learnt from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it … so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along.'

'Snape?' repeated Black harshly. For the first time since Lupin had started his story, he looked away from Scabbers. He stared at Lupin, confused. 'What's Snape got to do with it?'

'He's here, Sirius,' said Lupin. 'He's teaching here as well.'

I didn't understand. How did Black know Snape? I mean, I knew they knew each other because I knew about the prank James had pulled on Snape that had led to him and my Mum almost being killed, but that could have happened at any point. How did they know each other? Harry, Ron and Hermione were as confused as I was.

'Professor Snape was at school with us,' answered Lupin. 'He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defence 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 snorted.

'It served him right,' he sneered. 'Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to … hoping he could get us expelled …'

'Need I remind you that same trick almost killed Tala too?' said Lupin quietly. Black's glare suddenly changed to be replaced by a wave of what looked like guilt. He turned away from Lupin, focusing his attention back on Scabbers.

'I know …'

'Severus was very interested in where I went every month,' Lupin told us. '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 pitch … anyway, Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me towards 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 as the only person there who could protect them both was Tala … Snape glimpsed me and my sister, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden to tell anybody by Dumbledore, but from that time on he knew what we were …'

'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 where Lupin and I stood.

I span round to see Snape appear from nowhere, pulling off Harry's Invisibility Cloak and revealing himself. That must have been what had made the door move earlier! Snape had snuck into the Shrieking Shack without us knowing because he'd been using Harry's Cloak. A look of pure hatred was in his black eyes as he stared at Lupin and levelled his wand directly at Lupin's chest. I felt my blood run cold. Hermione scream. Harry and Ron both jumped in surprise. Black also leapt to his feet beside Lupin. Lupin instantly pushed me behind him.

'I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow,' said Snape, throwing the Cloak to one side. He didn't, however, remove his wand from pointing at Lupin's chest. 'Very useful, Potter, I thank you …'

I swallowed, scared at what was going to happen. I glanced between Snape and Lupin, worried for Lupin's safety and at the thought of Snape attempting to get revenge for a grudge he'd held for many years. Snape didn't seem like the sort of man who would let something like that go so easily. He stood there, breathless in his glee that he'd managed to corner two men from his youth who'd been continual thorns in his side. While I didn't doubt Black might have had something to do with the reason Snape hated them so much, I found it hard to believe Lupin would have done anything to directly antagonise Snape.

'You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?' said Snape, his black eyes glinting with triumph. 'I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your Potion tonight, so I took a 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.'

'Severus –' Lupin began but Snape overrode him.

'I've told the Headmaster again and again that you've been 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,' said Lupin, his tone urgent. 'You haven't heard everything – I can explain – Sirius is not here to kill Harry –'

'Two more for Azkaban tonight,' said Snape. I held in a gasp at the almost gleeful note in his normally measured voice as he mentioned Azkaban. No, he couldn't, he couldn't' take Lupin away from me. I felt Lupin's grip tighten on my arms as he felt me shake in fear. 'I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this … he was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin … a tame werewolf …'

'Brilliant, Snape,' hissed Black. He stepped round Lupin and in front of Snape. 'Once again, you've put your keen and penetrating mind to the task and as usual come to the wrong conclusion. Now, if you'll excuse us, Remus and I have some unfinished business to attend to.'

Snape's face twitched. In one quick motion he moved his wand so that its tip dug into Black's neck. I jumped, Lupin merely tightening his grip on me even more.

'I could do it, you know,' Snape sneered. 'I could do it right here and now …'

'Don't be a fool, Severus,' said Lupin quietly.

'He can't help it, it's habit by now,' spat Black.

'Sirius, be quiet –' Lupin warned him.

'Oh, go bite yourself, Remus!' snapped Black.

'Listen to you two, quarrelling like an old married couple,' said Snape, a hint of amusement in his voice.

'Why don't you run along and play with your potion set,' growled Black. Snape's glare darkened. He pushed the tip of his wand harder into Black's neck, causing Black to flinch.

'I could do it,' repeated Snape slowly, 'but why deny it the Dementors? They're so longing to see you.'

'You fool,' repeated Lupin quietly. 'Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?'

BANG. I screamed when I felt Lupin push me back from him. Ropes like snakes shot out of Snape's wand and wrapped themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists and ankles causing him to fall to the ground, bound and gagged.

'Lupin!' I screamed. I ran forwards to help him only to stop when I saw Snape had now turned his wand on me.

'One more move, and I'll personally make sure you're expelled for helping a werewolf and a murderer.'

I froze. Malice flashed in Black's grey eyes like never before and he lunged at Snape.

'How dare you threaten her!' Black bellowed at Snape, his voice deadly. I stared at him. He was … defending me? Black's attack was easily countered, however, as once again Snape pointed his wand back into Black's throat, stopping him in his tracks. The anger remained though.

'Give me a reason, I beg you,' Snape whispered. 'Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will.'

I stared between Snape and Black from where I was crouched beside Lupin. Fear was rushing through my body like I'd never felt before. I couldn't think of anything that could be done to help the situation and all I could think of were images of Lupin being dragged to Azkaban and taken away from me.

'Professor Snape,' said a timid voice behind me. I looked round. It was Hermione. '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,' spat Snape. '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 –'

'KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!' shouted Snape. A series of small sparks shot from his wand, grazing Black's neck. 'DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!'

Hermione fell silent. Snape turned back to Black.

'Vengeance is very sweet,' breathed Snape. 'How I hoped I would be the one to catch you …'

'The jokes on you again, Severus,' retorted Black. 'As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle –' he jerked his head at Ron, '– I'll come quietly …'

'Up to the castle?' repeated Snape. His thin lips twisted into a smile. '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 …'

I felt my face whitened at the thought of the Dementors performing their Kiss on Black. What little colour there was left in Black's face too vanished.

'Do I detect a flicker of fear? Oh yes, the Dementors Kiss. One can only imagine what that must be like to endure. It's said to be nearly unbearable to witness but I'll do my best.'

'You've – you've got to hear me out,' said Black. 'The rat – look at the rat –'

Something told me Snape was beyond reason and there would be no way to convince him to hear Black out.

'Come on, all of you,' he said. Snape clicked his fingers. The ends of the ropes binding Lupin flew into his hands. 'I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the Dementors will have a kiss for him, too –'

'No!' I shouted. Before I could stop myself, I jumped forwards so I stood in front of Lupin, protecting him from Snape like he protected me earlier. 'Lupin – he hasn't done anything! He –'

'You are already treading on very thin ice, Miss Black,' said Snape, glaring at me. 'Do not make the situation worse for yourself. You are facing expulsion from this school for being in the company of Black and this werewolf as well as for the use of illegal self-transfiguration in breaking several school rules including being out of bounds. You will be back home in an orphanage in no time and you will be lucky, dare I say it, to be taken in by another wizarding family if someone should make it known who your relatives are and what you are.'

I flushed. He couldn't! I didn't want to go back to another orphanage! He couldn't take Lupin away from me!

'Get out of the way, Potter.' I looked up to see Harry was blocking the doorway so Snape couldn't get through it. 'You're in enough trouble already,' snarled Snape. 'If I hadn't been here to save your skin –'

'Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year,' said Harry. 'I've been alone with him loads of times, having defence 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,' hissed Snape. 'Get out of the way, Potter.'

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

'SILENCE!' bellowed Snape. 'I WILL NOT BE SPOEKN TO LIKE THAT!' He glared at Harry, undeniable hatred evident in his eyes. 'Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck, you should be thanking me on bended knee, you and your pathetic half-breed friend!'

I stared at Snape, unable to believe what he'd just said. I mean, I'd always known what I was, that I was a half-breed in the eyes of anyone who had prejudice against people like Lupin – like me – but to actually be called it and by a teacher, someone who I was meant to look up to and trust, I was shocked. And it hurt. It hurt being called those words. Half-breed. It made me feel like I wasn't even human. It made me sad, like how I felt when I saw Harry, Ron and Hermione's reactions earlier to Lupin being a werewolf, and it made me angry.

'You would have been served well if he'd killed you!' continued Snape. 'You'd have both died like your parents, too arrogant and blind to believe you might be mistaken by Black – now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!'

'Expelliarmus!'

The words came from my lips without a second thought as I drew my wand and aimed it directly at Snape. And I wasn't the only one. Harry too had raised his wand at Snape and shouted the same spell. So had Ron and Hermione. The power of our four spells combined hit Snape like a bullet square in the chest. He was thrown backwards off his feet and slammed into the wall behind him. From beneath his greasy black hair a small trickle of blood ran down his forehead. He had been knocked unconscious. Across the room I could hear Hermione already panicking about the fact we had attacked Snape. I didn't care.

'We attacked a teacher … we attacked a teacher … Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble …'

'You shouldn't have done that,' Black was saying. 'You should have left him to me …'

I remained where I was, panting slightly from the sudden rush of adrenaline, before I remembered Lupin was still tied up on the floor. I quickly turned to him and attempted to pull the ropes off him. Something took my hand. I looked up. Black was knelt beside me. I looked nervously at him as he looked back at me, before Black released Lupin's binds. Lupin pushed the ropes off him and got back to his feet, rubbing his wrists. Instantly I hugged him, glad as he was all right. Lupin hugged me back, holding me close. He then turned to Harry, grateful for his actions.

'Thank you, Harry,' said Lupin.

'I'm still not saying I believe you,' Harry retorted.

'Then it's time we offered you some proof,' said Black firmly. 'You, boy – give me Peter. Now.'

Ron gaped at Black, holding Scabbers closer to him.

'Come off it,' he said weakly. 'Are you trying to say you broke out of Azkaban just to get your hands on Scabbers? I mean …' he looked desperate at Harry and Hermione. 'OK, 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?'

'You know, Sirius, that's a fair question,' said Lupin, sending a frown in Black's direction. 'How did you find out where he was?'

Black reached a hand into the pocket of his tattered prison robes and pulled out an old piece of paper. He unfolded it and flattened it out then handed it to Lupin. It was a clipping from the Daily Prophet. I stared at it, recognising the photograph he was showing us. It was the one of Ron and his family that had been in the Prophet last summer, from their holiday to Egypt. There stood the seven Weasley children and their parents, beaming out at us, and perched upon Ron's shoulder was Scabbers.

'How did you get this?' asked Lupin, astounded.

'Fudge,' replied Black. '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 has I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts … to where Harry was …'

'My God,' breathed Lupin. He had been examining the photo very closely. 'His front paw …'

'What about it?' demanded Ron.

'He's got a toe missing,' said Black.

'Of course,' said Lupin, 'so simple … so brilliant … He cut it off himself?'

'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 …'

'Didn't you ever hear, Ron?' said Lupin. 'The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger.'

'Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something!' said Ron desperately. 'He's been in my family for ages, right –'

'Twelve years, in fact,' said Lupin. 'Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?'

'We – we've been taking good care of him!'

'Not looking too good at the moment though, is he?' said Lupin. 'I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again …'

I thought through Lupin's words. And he was right. Scabbers had been looking ill since last summer. When we went to Diagon Alley and we went to Magical Menagerie to get something for him. Black escaped just before Ron and his family had come back from Egypt so by the time we'd met up in Diagon Alley he would have heard Black had escaped and started to fall ill. It all added up.

'He's been scared of that mad cat!' said Ron. He nodded at Crookshanks, whom had been crouched on the bed beside Ron keeping a close eye on Scabbers throughout this.

'This cat isn't made,' said Black. He reached out and gently scratched Crookshanks behind the ear. 'He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognised Peter for what he was straight 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 …'

Neville, I thought. So he hadn't lost them!

'But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it … 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?' said Harry suddenly. His anger seemed to have returned after being calm enough to take on Snape and stop him from taking Black and Lupin to the Dementors. 'Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!'

I sent Harry an irritated look. Had he not listened to anything that had just been said?

'No,' said Lupin. 'Harry –'

'And now you've come to finish him off!'

'Yes, I have,' said Black. He sent a dark glare in Scabbers's direction.

'Then I should've let Snape take you!' shouted Harry.

'Harry,' said Lupin quickly, '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!' shouted Harry, pointing at Black. 'HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP, HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!'

Something stirred in me at Harry's words. Something in his voice, it wasn't as confident as before regardless of how much he shouted. Cautiously I stepped away from Lupin towards Harry, my eyes not leaving his.

'You don't believe that, Harry,' I said quietly, speaking for the first time since just before Snape got knocked out. 'I know you don't.'

Harry stared at me. His glare had softened just slightly and it looked like I was getting through to him. No one knew Harry like I did, after all, and I knew something in him was telling him that Lupin and Black were telling the truth. He looked at me with a mixture of anger, disbelief and uncertainty, as if he wanted me to tell him whether or not they were telling the truth.

'How can you still defend him?' Harry hissed at me. 'He admitted it. You heard him!'

I swallowed, then said, 'Because Pettigrew was one of the Death Eaters who killed my mother.' At my words, Harry's eyes widened, the anger finally dissipating from his face. He knew I wouldn't lie about something to do with my Mum. 'He betrayed the Marauders long before he betrayed your parents, the day my mother died.'

'Jenna …' breathed Harry, 'I –'

'Harry …' Harry and I looked away from each other when Black spoke, 'I as good as killed them,' croaked Black. 'I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as the 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 arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a 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 realised what Peter must have done. What I'd done.'

Black's voice broke and he looked away. I stared at him. He looked so broken, nothing like the madman who'd been in the papers. This was a man who'd lost everything he'd cared about in one night: his best friends. And then to add salt to an already open wound, his daughter vanished the same night, leaving him with absolutely nothing but a desire for revenge on the person who'd been responsible.

'Enough of this,' said Lupin abruptly. I jumped, surprised by his tone. I'd never heard Lupin sound so cold before. '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?' asked Ron.

'Force him to show himself,' replied Lupin. 'If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him.'

Ron still didn't seem convinced, but finally, he relented and held Scabbers out for Lupin to take. The rat squealed and wriggled in a last desperate attempt to escape. Lupin took hold of him around the scruff of its neck.

'Ready, Sirius?'

Black was more than ready, having already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He aimed it at Scabbers as Lupin held him out, his own wand pointing at him as well.

'Together?' said Black quietly.

'I think so,' agreed Lupin. 'On the count of three. One – two – THREE!'

A bright blue-white light burst from both wands and consumed Scabbers when they hit its body. For a moment Scabbers appeared frozen in midair, his body floating there still. Suddenly it started to twist and writhe. Ron yelled, worried for the welfare of his pet. But I knew the spell wasn't hurting him. Lupin had used the same spell on me before to force me back into human form whenever I got into trouble while transforming. All it was doing was forcing Scabbers to revert to his natural human form. There was another flash of light and sure enough, the rat vanished, it's body growing to that of a fully-grown adult man.

I stared unfazed at the revealing of Peter Pettigrew. Crookshanks hissed and spat at the sight of him. Harry, Ron and Hermione stared in shock. Pettigrew continued to cower for a couple seconds longer as he had done in his rat form before he finally looked around, realising he was no longer a rat. He was a short man, much shorter than either Lupin or Black and barely taller than Harry, and he bore an uncanny resemblance to the rat he'd previously been. His hair shared the same dirty brown of Scabbers's fur and had a very prominent bald patch spreading on the back of his head; his blue eyes were watery but darted around in a similar way to a rat's scanning its environment; it was obvious he'd lost a lot of weight from his shrunken appearance and his clothes were filthy from years of being worn under his transformed state; even his fingernails and pointed face resembled Scabbers's claws and nose. Pettigrew stared bewildered at all of us, his breathing fast and shallow, before his eyes darted towards the door.

'Well, hello, Peter,' said Lupin mildly. It was as if Pettigrew had only just arrived, not having been a rat seconds previously. Lupin always did have the ability to stay calm in the strangest of situations. 'Long time, no see.'

'S-Sirius … R-Remus …' squeaked Pettigrew. It was quite unnerving just how much Pettigrew resembled Scabbers in human form. 'My friends … my old friends …'

Black made to raise his wand but Lupin seized his wrist and sent him a warning look. He then turned back to Pettigrew.

'We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed –'

'Remus,' gasped Pettigrew, 'you don't believe him, do you … He tried to kill me, Remus …'

'So we've heard,' said Lupin. His voice had turned colder, less restrained as usual. 'I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so –'

'He's come to try and kill me again!' Pettigrew shrieked suddenly. Beads of sweat were trickling down his forehead as he pointed wildly in Black's direction. I saw he used his middle finger to point with, his index finger missing from his right hand. 'He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me, too … you've got to help me, Remus …'

Black glared at Pettigrew, a look of a mixture of disgust and pure loathing.

'No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out,' said Lupin.

'Sorted things out?' repeated Pettigrew. I watched as his eyes darted back and forth between Lupin and Black, the boarded up windows, and the door. He was desperately trying to look for a way out but he couldn't see one. A part of me wished I'd transformed again into my wolf form so that I could stop him if he did try to transform back into a rat, my wolfish reactions fast enough to catch an escaping rodent. 'I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!'

'You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?' said Lupin. His brow furrowed. 'When nobody has ever done it before?'

'He's got Dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!' squeaked Pettigrew. 'How else did he get out of there? I suppose He Who Must Not Be Named taught him a few tricks!'

Suddenly Black laughed.

'Voldemort, teach me tricks?' laughed Black loudly. Pettigrew flinched. 'What, scared to hear your old master's name?' asked Black mockingly. 'I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?'

'Don't know – what you mean, Sirius –' stuttered Pettigrew.

'You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years,' snarled Black. 'You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter … they all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them … I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information … and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways … If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter –'

'Don't know … what you're talking about …' said Peter again, more frantic than ever. He wiped the sweat from his brow with his dirty sleeve. 'You don't believe this – this madness, Remus –'

'I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat,' mused Lupin.

'Innocent, but scared!' exclaimed Peter. 'If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban – the spy, Sirius Black!'

Black's face darkened.

'How dare you,' he growled, his voice deadly. It made him sound exactly like the dog from before, its low bark deep and booming. 'I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter – I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us … me and Remus … and James …'

'Me, a spy … must be out of your mind … never … don't know how you can say such a –'

'Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it,' hissed Black so viciously it made Pettigrew take a step back from him. 'I thought it was the perfect plan … a bluff … Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you … it must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand them the Potters. No doubt after you helped corner and hand him my wife!' bellowed Black.

'I never – this is ridiculous –' stuttered Pettigrew. 'Far-fetched stories – completely lunacy – Remus –!'

Pettigrew turned to Lupin for support. Lupin, however, was set in his decision.

'I'm sorry, Peter,' he said calmly, raising his wand, 'but I'm with Sirius on this one. You wronged me the moment I found out you were involved in my sister's death.'

'Professor Lupin?'

I looked round, surprised to hear Hermione speak. Lupin also looked at her.

'Can – can I say something?'

'Certainly, Hermione.'

'Well – Scabbers – I mean, this – this man – he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You Know Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?'

'There!' shouted Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Hermione with his injured hand. 'Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?'

'I'll tell you why,' snarled Black. 'Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for twelve years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained his strength, and it was safe to rejoin him …'

Pettigrew gaped. He attempted to say something but every time he tried, words failed him.

'Er – Mr Black – Sirius?' continued Hermione. Black jumped, surprised at being addressed like that. So did I for that matter. I wouldn't have thought Hermione would be the first or brave enough to call Black by his name. 'If you don't mind me asking, how – how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?'

'Thank you!' gasped Pettigrew. 'Exactly! Precisely what I –'

Lupin silenced him with a single look. Black meanwhile was thinking through Hermione's question.

'I don't know how I did it,' said Black slowly. 'I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me … but it kept me sane and knowing who I am … helped me keep my powers … so when it all became … too much … I could transform in my cell … become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know …' Black swallowed. 'They feel their way towards people by sensing their emotions … they could tell that my feelings were less – less human, less complex when I was a dog and so didn't affect me … like they didn't when I saw this girl as a wolf in the grounds …' Black pointed at me. I gave him a startled look. I knew when he meant. That day Harry had found out Black was my dad and I'd had to sneak back into the castle grounds as a wolf. 'But they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand …

'But then I saw Peter in that picture … I realised he was at Hogwarts with Harry … perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again … ready to strike the moment he could be sure of allies … to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honours …

'So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive …'

'That's right,' I breathed. Black glanced at me. 'Mr Weasley said you were heard muttering only one thing in your cell … He's at Hogwarts … You didn't mean Harry, though. You meant Pettigrew.'

A smile almost came to Black's face. He nodded in confirmation.

'It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the Dementors couldn't destroy it … it wasn't a happy feeling … it was an obsession … but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog … it's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused … I was thin, very thin … thin enough to slip through the bars … I swam as a dog back to the mainland … I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog … I've been living in the Forest ever since … except when I come to watch the Quidditch, of course … you fly as well as your father did, Harry …' Black glanced at Harry, again that almost smile still there. 'Believe me,' finished Black. 'Believe me. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them.'

I watched Harry, concerned about what his reaction might be now Black had finished his story. My throat was dry and my heart racing from fear at what he would do. Harry stared at Black, his eyes focused upon the wasted man before him. Finally, he nodded. Relief washed over me and I let out the breath I didn't know I'd been holding. Harry believed him.

'NO!' shrieked Pettigrew. He fell to his knees, eyes streaming with tears. He crawled forwards on his knees, his hands clasped together, and begged his former friends to reconsider.

'Sirius – it's me … it's Peter … your friend … you wouldn't …'

Black kicked out at Pettigrew. He fell back, panic wide in his eyes.

'There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them,' Black sneered down at him.

'Remus!' Pettigrew then squeaked. 'You don't believe this … Wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?'

'Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter,' said Lupin. He glanced towards Black. 'I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?'

'Forgive me, Remus,' said Black.

'Not at all, Padfoot, old friend,' said Lupin. 'And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy? And …' Lupin paused, closing his eyes, 'and about Tala?'

Black stood there silent for a moment, then said, 'Of course.'

My heart lifted. Finally a smile came to my face. Pettigrew had been exposed; Black had been cleared of his crimes; and Harry had finally been told the truth about what had happened that night twelve years ago. It looked like everything was going to be OK.

'Shall we kill him together?' Black then said, rolling up his sleeves.

'Yes, I think so,' agreed Lupin grimly.

My smile vanished the moment Black said that. No, he couldn't! We hadn't just spent the last hour standing here fighting to clear Black's name nor had I spent the last year trying to figure out what had happened just to have Black and Lupin commit the original murder Black was imprisoned for. They couldn't kill Pettigrew! He had to be given to the Dementors if there was any chance of clearing Black's name once and for all.

'You wouldn't … you won't …' gasped Pettigrew, his hysteria growing worse by the second. He scrambled over to Ron, begging for mercy once more. 'Ron … haven't I been a good friend … a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you … you're on my side, aren't you?'

Ron stared at Pettigrew with pure disgust on his face.

'I let you sleep in my bed!' he said.

'Kind boy … kind master …' begged Pettigrew, 'you won't let them do it … I was your rat … I was a good pet …'

'If you made a better rat than human, it's not much to boast about, Peter,' commented Black.

Seeing he had no support from Ron, Pettigrew looked wildly around, his eyes finding Hermione. Again he crawled forwards and began to beg her for help, grabbing at her clothes.

'Sweet girl … clever girl … you – you won't let them … help me …'

Hermione too backed away from Pettigrew's reach. In a last attempt for mercy, Pettigrew turned to Harry.

'Harry … Harry … you look just like your father … just like him …'

Instantly Black blocked Harry from Pettigrew's reach.

'HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?' roared Black. 'HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?'

'Harry,' begged Pettigrew again. 'Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed … James would have understood, Harry … he would have shown me mercy …'

Black and Lupin strode forwards and seized Pettigrew under the arms. The dragged him back away from Harry and threw him down to the floor. He cowered at their feet, again his rat-ish side clear in his human form. They kept their wands on him so he couldn't escape.

'You sold Lily and James to Voldemort,' said Black. 'Do you deny it?'

'Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done?' wept Pettigrew, tears steaming down his filthy face. It was almost unpleasant to watch, a grown man bawling like a child. 'The Dark Lord … you have no idea … he has weapons you can't imagine … I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen … He Who Must Not Be Named forced me –'

'DON'T LIE!' bellowed Black. 'YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!'

'He – he was taking over everywhere!' gasped Pettigrew. 'Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?'

'What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?' repeated Black, fury shaking him. 'Only innocent lives, Peter! Did you even stop to think what would happen when you told him of James and Lily's whereabouts? Or when you handed Tala to him?'

'You don't understand!' whined Pettigrew. 'He – he wanted them for their skills! I didn't mean for him to kill them! You don't understand! He would have killed me, Sirius!'

'THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!' roared Black. 'DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!'

'You should have realised,' Lupin continued, his voice much more controlled than Black's. 'If Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter.'

'NO!'

Harry and I both ran forwards, Harry standing in front of Peter while I stood in front of Lupin, both of us stopping him and Black. I couldn't let them do it. I couldn't let them commit murder.

'You can't kill him,' said Harry. 'You can't.'

Black and Lupin stared at us. I stared resolutely in Lupin's eyes, hoping he would know why I was stopping him as much as I had every reason to hate Pettigrew too. He watched me silently then sighed.

'Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents,' said Black coldly. 'This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die, too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family.'

'I know what he is,' said Harry. 'We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors. He can go to Azkaban … just don't kill him.'

'Harry!' breathed Pettigrew wetly. He flung his arms round Harry's knees. 'You – thank you – it's more than I deserve – thank you –'

'Get off me,' spat Harry, jumping back from him. 'I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because I don't reckon my dad would've wanted his best friends to become killers – just for you – nor would my friend want her father and uncle becoming ones either …'

Harry looked at me when he said this. I stared back, thankful for his actions. I then looked back at Lupin. I looked at him pleadingly, my eyes begging him not to do it. Behind us Pettigrew wheezed and whimpered as he cowered at our feet. Black and Lupin shared a look, neither liking the situation, but nonetheless they lowered their wands.

'You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry,' admitted Black. 'But think … think what he did …'

'He can go to Azkaban,' repeated Harry. 'If anyone deserves that place, he does …'

'Very well,' said Lupin. 'Stand aside, Harry.' Lupin gestured his wand for me to move as well. I did so, stepping back away from them. Harry, however, was still hesitant. 'I'm going to tie him up,' said Lupin. 'That's all, I swear.'

With Lupin's assurance, Harry moved aside so that Pettigrew could be tied up. Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand and wrapped themselves round Pettigrew's arms, body and wrists and he was lying on the floor bound and gagged as Lupin had been previously.

'But if you transform, Peter,' said Black warningly, 'we will kill you. You agree, Harry?'

Harry took one last look at Pettigrew and nodded.

'Right,' said Lupin. His tone had changed once more, now almost business-like as he attempted to sort out the mess before him. 'Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the Hospital Wing.'

With a simple tap of his wand, bandages spun their way round Ron's leg and the piece of wood Lupin had held against it, strapping it tightly in a splint. The relief that spread on Ron's face told me that was more than enough to make the pain more bearable until we were back up at the castle.

'That's better,' he breathed. 'Thanks.'

'What about Professor Snape?' asked Hermione nervously.

'There's nothing seriously wrong with him,' said Lupin. He bent over the unconscious form of our teacher and checked his pulse. 'You were just a little – over enthusiastic. Still out cold. Er – perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this … Mobilicorpus …'

Snape's body lifted off the bed and hung in midair under the power of Lupin's spell. He looked like some grotesque Muggle puppet, hanging limply by invisible strings with Lupin as his puppeteer. With Snape moveable, Lupin picked up Harry's Invisibility Cloak and put it safely into the pocket of his robes.

'And two of us should be chained to this,' said Black, nudging Pettigrew with his foot. 'Just to make sure.'

'I'll do it,' said Lupin instantly. I frowned but didn't attempt to object.

'And me,' said Ron tersely. He clearly was still nettled that his former pet rat had been a murderer all this time.

Black conjured some heavy black manacles into his empty hand. He got Pettigrew to his feet then attached one of the manacles to his left arm, connecting the other end to Lupin's right arm; he then attached the second manacle to Pettigrew's right arm and to Ron's left. I didn't like the idea of either Ron or Lupin being chained to him but Ron's face was set and I knew I couldn't changed Lupin's mind. With Pettigrew secure, Crookshanks leapt off the bed and led the way out of the room and back downstairs to the tunnel entrance. One by one we followed him with our wands lit to return back to the castle.

I had to admit in the three years I'd been at Hogwarts this was the strangest company I'd ever kept. Being the least injured (both Harry and Hermione had various cuts from trying to get past the Whomping Willow earlier) I followed after Crookshanks, my wand tip illuminating the tunnel ahead of us as Crookshanks led the way; behind me were Lupin, Pettigrew and Ron shackled together, hobbling along in some strange six-legged form; next came Snape's unconscious form being levitated by his own wand and controlled by Black though a part of me had the suspicion that Black was not trying to be too careful to stop Snape from hitting the edges of the tunnel; and at the rear were Harry and Hermione, both carefully watching the group in front of them. After a long walk we reached the slope leading us back out of the tunnel into the castle grounds. Crookshanks climbed up first. I waited for the sound of the Whomping Willow's branches to stop meaning they had been frozen by Crookshanks pressing down on the knot in the roots. When I was sure they had stopped, I climbed out the hole. The sight of Hogwarts before me gave me a renewed feeling of hope that soon this would all be over and I'd finally have my dad back.

I stood back from the Willow's base to allow for the others to get out the hole. I watched as Black emerged after Snape, Harry and Hermione behind them. I saw Harry had a grin on his face for some reason. I looked at Black to see he too was smiling for some reason. I hesitated. A part of me wanted to go up to Black and ask him about the daughter he'd lost, to tell him that I was that child and reveal myself to him at last. But I didn't have the nerve. I mean, how could I just turn around and tell a man I'd just met under really bad circumstances that I was his child?

I made to lead the group away from the Whomping Willow and around the edge of the castle. The grounds were dark, the night sky littered with thick clouds, the only light coming from the castle windows above us or from our wands. I thought I was still walking alone and the others were just behind me when I heard footsteps catch up to mine. Nervously I glanced through the strands of my long hair to see Black had joined me.

'I want to thank you for defending me back there,' said Black quietly. I stopped walking and turned so I could see him properly. 'You showed real bravery, as reckless as it was, defending a murderer. But I must ask, why did you do it?'

'I did it because I had to,' I replied. I looked away. I couldn't bring myself to look at him, knowing what I knew. 'I couldn't let him hurt you.'

Black watched me carefully, then said, 'I believe there's more to it than that. You're name's Jenna, is it?' I nodded. 'Remus said that you can transform into animals. That's a very rare gift to have.'

'I inherited it from my Mum,' I muttered.

'She must be very proud of you,' said Black, 'to have gained such control over such a rare talent.'

I swallowed, a lump forming in my throat. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lupin had noticed Black talking to me. He gave me a cautious look before dragging Pettigrew onwards, his wand still pointing at the traitor and with a sharp warning about making an escape attempt, and Ron hobbling behind. Harry and Hermione also past us. I looked away when I thought I saw Harry glance in my direction. Although he knew the truth now, he still hadn't said anything to me in regards to whether or not he forgave me for my behaviour this year even though he could no longer blame me for anything I'd done.

'I guess, I never really got the chance to find out.' Black's eyebrows arched in curiosity. 'My Mum – she died thirteen years ago when I was a baby. I never really knew her.'

'What about your father?' persisted Black.

I swallowed again. I just couldn't say it. How could I tell a man I didn't even know that I was his daughter? I couldn't physically say it.

'He – he was sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit,' I eventually stuttered, trying desperately to keep calm. 'He was charged with the murder of his best friends and was sent to Azkaban without trial.' Finally I braved looking at Black. I was waiting for the moment Black would deny it and claim otherwise. 'Tala Lupin was my Mum and she was married to Sirius Black.'

Black watched me closely, his face still emotionless. I closed my eyes and looked away.

'When I was at school, I knew a girl just like you,' said Black slowly. I took in a sharp breath and looked up. 'The same strange gift, the same reckless bravery. It was what inspired my friends and I to become Animagi, to help her brother. She died thirteen years ago too, the same night I lost my wife. A year later when James and Lily were murdered, I also lost my daughter. I named her Jennifer … but my wife insisted on calling her Jenna.'

I held my breath. I didn't dare hope that he was saying what I thought he was saying. We stared at each other, neither of us saying a word. Then –

'I've been waiting for this moment for twelve years …'

I couldn't help the tears that were suddenly streaming down my cheeks or the smile that suddenly appeared on my face. Without a second's hesitation I threw my arms around Black's neck in a hug as he did the same, wrapping his protectively around my small frame. I couldn't believe it. I'd finally got my Dad back! I was so overcome with happiness that words left me and I couldn't speak for the following few minutes, just crying silently with my face buried into his shoulder. After a few moments I regained enough control to let go of Black – my Dad – and he held me at arm's length.

'You look so like your mother,' said Sirius, his eyes looking me up and down. Gently he touched my cheek, his thumb brushing away the tears. It felt rough on my skin but comforting all the same. 'I still can't believe you're alive, after all these years. I thought I'd lost you forever.' The smile that had been on Dad's face faded slightly. 'I'm so sorry, about everything,' he then said. 'I never meant to abandon you, nor did I want you to think I was a murderer. Harry must have hated you when he found out who I was.'

'I worked out the truth,' I breathed. 'Mum's diaries, something about them just told me that you wouldn't have done what they said you'd done. And yeah,' I glanced at Harry ahead of us. He was whispering quietly to Hermione beside him. 'Harry and I … we've barely spoken since Christmas, when he found out who you were and I admitted I thought you could be innocent. But I didn't stop trying to find a way to convince him, or Lupin, that something wasn't right and that you had to be innocent.'

'Your mother wouldn't have stopped at anything either,' said Sirius. 'I see you've inherited more than just her looks and abilities. You have her recklessness and – unsurprisingly – my stubbornness. Quite a mixture, indeed. Remus must have had his hands full with you these last few years.'

'Yeah, sort of,' I laughed quietly. 'I don't think I've gone a year at Hogwarts without breaking several school rules.' Dad laughed. As much as he could see I looked like Mum, I was clearly just like him too. Then, braving it, I said, 'I've really missed you.'

'I've missed you, too,' said Sirius softly, 'and as soon as my name's cleared, I'm taking you home. It's been good of Remus to take care of you while I was imprisoned but it's time I took on my responsibilities.'

The smile on my face grew at that thought, of going home with my Dad once his name was clear. My happiness, however, didn't last long.

Above us in the sky a cloud shifted. The grounds around us all of a sudden were illuminated in a bright glow as the full moon shone down on to us. My heart sank when I saw it and I suddenly remembered what Snape had said when he first appeared in the Shrieking Shack. He had gone to Lupin's office to take him his Potion that he hadn't taken tonight. Instantly I looked away from Dad over to where I saw Lupin had stopped walking ahead of us, panic setting in. His entire body had gone rigid and he was starting to shake. Lupin wasn't safe and Ron was still chained to him and Pettigrew!

'Oh my –' gasped Hermione in front of me. 'He didn't take his Potion tonight! He's not safe!'

Dad leapt back to his feet and ran over to where Harry and Hermione were stood a few feet back from Lupin. I followed but instead of stopping beside him, made to run at Lupin only to be pulled back by Dad grabbing my arm. He pulled me back so that the three of us were behind him, his arm keeping us back.

'Run,' whispered Sirius. 'Run! Now!'

I watched as Lupin's silhouette began to shake more and more. He gripped at his hair as he attempted to fight it, falling to his knees in pain. The same fear and sadness swept me as I watched it, unable to bear seeing the pain Lupin had to be in. In a matter of moments though a full-grown werewolf would be standing in Lupin's place and would still be chained to Pettigrew and Ron. I had to do something. I had to do something to protect Ron from Lupin's werewolf form. I broke free from Dad's protection and made a second attempt to get at Lupin but again, Dad grabbed me, this time around my waist, and held me back.

'Leave it to me –' he gasped, his eyes not leaving Lupin's pained form. 'RUN!'

'No, I won't leave him!' I shouted.

'Jenna, you mustn't! He's not –'

Dad's shout was drowned out by a terrible snarl ripping through the silent night. I froze, my eyes watching in horror as Lupin finally gave in to his illness. Bent down on his hands and knees Lupin yelled in anguish as his body began to change. His face began to lengthen, becoming the werewolf's muzzle and his teeth becoming sharp and pointed; his shoulders hunched and grew larger as his bones began to twist and reset into his wolfish form, the formidable werewolf's size taking place of Lupin's lean body; fur started to grow over his face and hands, soon also replacing the clothes that had ripped on his back; finally his hands and feet scrabbled at the grass beneath them as they became large clawed paws that could rip through flesh with ease like a knife going through butter. Suddenly the werewolf reared and let out a deafening howl. It's large paw ripped the manacle off its front leg like it was made of plastic. It looked round at all of us behind it, its brown eyes full of bloodlust as it stared at the numerous prey it had before it.

'No!'

With a rush of adrenaline I broke free of Dad's grip and ran forwards. In one smooth leap I transformed and landed on the ground as the same wolf as before. I sprinted at full speed the few feet separating me from the werewolf. Not knowing if it would work, I took a running jump just before I reached him and, using my front paws, I pushed Moony back away from Ron and Pettigrew. The force of my jump pushed Moony over and the two of us rolled across the grass away from the others. But my attack had its consequences. Moony was back on his feet before I even had time to regain my bearings. I looked up to see Moony towering over my small wolf form. His teeth were bared and he snarled viciously at me.

You again! he snarled. How dare you block a werewolf from his prey!

Moony, this isn't you! I growled back. Those are your friends! Please don't hurt them!

But the Moony I knew wasn't there. Consumed with rage and bloodlust from being near humans for the first time in years, uninhibited by a Potion forcing him to keep his human mind or restrained by being in seclusion from others, Moony was unstoppable. It was then I finally saw why people feared werewolves so much. Moony snarled again and with a single swipe of his paw, slashed me straight across my muzzle for my interference. I whimpered as his claws cut through my skin, feeling the blood trickling through my fur.

A second loud growl sounded behind the werewolf. I blinked away the pain. The werewolf had become distracted by whatever was behind it. It span round just as the large bear-like dog from earlier attacked it. Dad must have transformed again. The dog grabbed the werewolf by its neck and dragged it back from me, giving me time to get back to my paws and back away. The werewolf reared a second time and threw the dog down on the ground with tremendous force. The dog didn't relent, however, and was soon attacking the werewolf once more. They were almost matched in both size and skill, the werewolf and dog both much larger than I was, as they snapped at each other with their fangs and tore at each other's fur with their claws. But soon it was clear that the dog was no match for the werewolf as Dad's time in Azkaban had made his body weak and his reactions slower than before when they were teenagers. With a particularly vicious swipe, the werewolf knocked the dog back and threw him against the rocky outcrop at the base of the castle.

In the distance I heard Hermione scream. It distracted me long enough from the fight between the dog and werewolf for me to see Ron get thrown to the ground by a spell. Pettigrew had got a hold of Lupin's wand that he'd dropped when he transformed. I was suddenly torn between stopping Pettigrew and helping the dog, not knowing what I should do. I heard Harry's shout of Expelliarmus and telling Pettigrew to stay where he was. But then I heard the dog whimper and I looked round to see the werewolf throw him once more to the ground like he was nothing more than a toy. That made up my mind.

I got back to my paws and charged at the werewolf. It raised its paw to attack the dog. I locked my jaws around it, my teeth digging into its leg, and pulled it back so the dog could escape. The werewolf snarled when it felt me grab it. It tried to pull its leg from my grip, using its other front paw to try and hit me away. I dodged and ducked as best I could but my young age and inexperience of tackling a full-grown werewolf in a blood-fuelled rage meant I was too easy to predict in my movements. The werewolf reared and tore its leg from my grip. I was lifted on to my own back paws as I fought to hold on. With its leg now free and my under-body exposed, the werewolf lashed out. Its claws caught me clean across my chest and I was thrown backwards. My body hit the ground, rolling a few feet more across the grass, and I transformed back into my human form unable to hold the wolf any longer. I screamed in pain when I felt the scratches that now crossed my chest, my robes ripped and blood soaking through them. I was lucky though. Had I been any closer then the werewolf's claws would have gone a lot deeper; when I braved looking at them I saw that they had only just broken the skin and were surface wounds like the ones on my cheek.

'Jenna!'

'Jenna!'

Harry and Hermione appeared by my side. Hermione looked terrified, her eyes wide when she saw the state of me back in my human form.

'Are you OK?' she gasped.

'I'm fine,' I winced. 'But Dad – someone's got to help Dad!'

The dog and werewolf were fighting once more. Growls echoed loudly in the empty grounds. I sat up as best I could to see them locked jaw to jaw with each other. From somewhere in the distance another howl rang out. I listened to it, identifying it clearly as another werewolf. The werewolf must have heard it too. It howled back in reply then ran off down the hill towards the Forest.

'Sirius, he's gone,' shouted Harry. 'Pettigrew transformed!'

No, I thought. Pettigrew can't have –

My thoughts of Pettigrew having escaped were pushed from my head the moment I saw Dad. The dog got to its paws and took an unsteady step forwards. Its body was covered in deep gashes from its fight with the werewolf, blood soaking into its black fur. With a last burst of energy, it ran off.

'Dad,' I breathed.

'Jenna?' I looked up when Harry said my name. 'Are you OK? Can you get up?'

'Yeah, I think so.'

With help from Harry and Hermione, I got to my feet. My body was sore from the fight with the werewolf and my chest and cheek both stung from the scratches. I quickly glanced myself over, seeing I had got off lightly with only those two injuries. With me back up and able to move, Harry, Hermione and I hurried over to Ron. He was lying slumped on the floor, his eyes half-closed and his mouth hanging open. His chest was rising which showed he was breathing at least. It looked like he'd simply been Stunned.

'What did he do to him?' Hermione asked.

'I don't know,' said Harry worriedly.

'It looks like he's been Stunned,' I said. I knew the affects because Lupin had taught me to recognise them. 'Stunning Spells cause people to look half-conscious like that. He should be fine.'

'Well what do we do now?' asked Hermione. 'Snape's still unconscious and there's a werewolf loose in the grounds. We could get killed if it comes back.'

'We'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone,' said Harry. 'Come –'

Out of the darkness we heard a loud whimpering noise, the sound of a dog in pain …

'Dad …' I breathed, fear consuming me.

'Sirius …'

It took less than a second for me to make up my mind of what I was going to do. Ignoring my injuries I sprang to my feet and ran off. Fear filled my entire body right to my core. I had to find my Dad and find out if he was all right, to help him if I could. Even with Pettigrew gone, I couldn't lose him, not now! I followed the sound of the dog's whimpers and ran down the hill. The noise got louder the closer I got. It was coming from inside the Forbidden Forest. I ran across its boundary and into the overgrowth, the bushes and low branches of the trees scratching me as I ran through them without much care. I rushed through a final band of trees to find myself somewhere near the Black Lake, a far-reaching pool that seemed to be separated by the trees of the Forest. I looked round desperately for any sign of Dad. I found him a few feet in front of me lying by the water's edge back in his human form. I ran over to him.

'Dad!' I shouted. I fell to my knees beside him and turned him over. He didn't seem to be able to hear me as he didn't react to my voice. He was unconscious from exhaustion and injury. His ragged robes were even more torn from the fight with the werewolf, deep scratches just visible beneath them. 'Dad, come on! Dad, wake up!'

There was a rush of footsteps behind me but I didn't look round to see who it was. Next moment they were by my side.

'Sirius!' Harry shouted, running down the slope towards us. 'Sirius! Jenna, is he OK?' he asked me, crouching beside me.

'I don't know,' I breathed. 'He's not responding …'

The two of us continued to try and rouse Dad but nothing would work. As we knelt there I could feel myself starting to shake. At first I thought it was from the fear I had about the welfare of my Dad but when I saw my breath starting to mist in front of me, I realised my body was getting steadily colder and colder. Cautiously I looked up from Dad at the water before us. In the distance I could see something that looked like ice forming on its surface. It creaked and crackled as it spread across the length of the pool towards the bank where Dad, Harry and I were gathered becoming a dark shimmering grey mass. All of a sudden Dad let out a shuddered gasp for air and he opened his eyes.

'Nooo,' he breathed. 'Noooo … please …'

Dad's eyes were staring at something directly above us. Harry and I looked up. A swarm of about a hundred Dementors had surrounded us, a large black swirling mass in the night's sky. I felt the familiar sensation of ice running through my veins and breathing becoming harder as if I was drowning in the cold. Thoughts of Dad dying filled my mind as I stared at the Dementors above me and I could not push them out of my head. I felt myself begin to weaken, and my remaining energy be taken from me, as one by one the Dementors swooped past where the three of us were crouched and attempted to suck the life and happiness from us.

'Jenna, think of something happy,' yelled Harry. He got to his feet and raised his wand. 'Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!'

I closed my eyes and tried to block out the images in my head of Dad dying. I tried to think of something happy but everything I thought of instantly turned against me. I had found my father; my Dad was now dying in front of me. Lupin finally believed what I'd been telling him all along; the werewolf side of him had taken over and he was now running wild somewhere in the Forest. Harry finally believed me about my Dad; Harry and I probably weren't going to live long enough for us to be able to reconcile. From the dark depths of my mind a memory surfaced. My Mum and Dad together, smiling and laughing, the sounds of their voices ringing in my ears as they held me. I fought to make it clearer. I wasn't even sure if it was even a memory. But I clung on to it. The image of my Mum, Dad and I together.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wand. I used the last of my strength to raise it above me.

'Expecto patronum,' I shouted as best I could. 'Expecto patronum!'

Faint silvery wisps shot from my wand tip but nothing more. A Dementor swooped low and took a long, rasping breath. I screamed as I felt them tear at me, attempting to rip every last remaining happy thought from me. More and more came, each taking their turn in sucking the life-force out of me, Harry and Dad. Having been severely weakened by the werewolf, it didn't take long for me to collapse. I fell forwards over Dad, my head lying on his chest. I stared at his lifeless face, watching as a Dementor tore at his body. He screamed until suddenly his voice cut out. I watched as tiny ball of light floated out of his mouth, lingering lost in the air. His soul.

'Dad …' I breathed. It seemed like forever I was there, begging him to wake up. 'Dad … please …'

Then … the coldness ebbed away … I blinked, unsure in my barely conscious state of what was happening. I turned my head just enough so I could look across the lake. A pair of lights, growing bright and brighter … They were sending the Dementors away … I could feel the warmth return to the air and the fog in my head beginning to lift …

With a last breath I closed my eyes and gave into the darkness …

---

AN: So Prisoner of Azkaban has turned out much longer than I thought it could be but it felt so vital to include everything that i've now written that this chapter too was so long it had to be split into two. So you actually get the bonus of two new chapters tonight, so I hope you enjoy both and let me know if you like how its changed.