They needed to move but they all stood still. Jade heard the thud and swish but did she hear a second thud? A tell that Buckbeak had gone? She didn't think so. Maybe she had blocked it out, maybe she just missed it because she wasn't focused on it. She couldn't tell what the boys were thinking but Hermione was a shuddering mess in front of her.

"Come on." Jade whispered, "Let's get her inside." This got them moving but only a few feet before a loud cry got their attention.

"Hagrid." Harry paused and then began to turn to go back but Ron and Jade blocked his way.

"We can't," Ron mumbled. "He'll be in worse trouble if they know we've been to see him."

"How could they?" Hermione choked out. "How could they?" His friend's current state made Harry ditch his efforts to go back and he wrapped a comforting arm around Hermione.

"Come on," Ron told them and they continued up to the castle. "Scabbers, keep still," Ron hissed, clamping his hand over his chest.

"Why did you even bring him back?" Jade hissed and Ron paused again, they were almost to the front doors.

"What's the matter with you, you stupid rat? Stay still! Ouch!" Ron yelled and they all shushed him. "He bit me!"

"Ron, be quiet!" Hermione whispered. "Fudge'll be out here in a minute."

"He won't stay put!" Ron struggled with the small rodent, it couldn't have weighed more than two pounds but it was causing havoc in Ron's hands. "What's the matter with him?"

"Crookshanks!" Hermione moaned and Jade looked in the direction Hermione was shooing in, her ginger cat was stalking low to the ground and coming towards them. "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"

"Scabbers, no!" The mention of Crookshanks made Scabbers freak out more and he bit Ron's finger and escaped to the ground. Crookshanks sprang after him, and before Harry or Hermione could stop him, Ron had thrown the Invisibility Cloak off himself and pelted away into the darkness.

"Ron!" Hermione called after him. They went after him at a sprint, Harry running, trying to wad up his cloak in the lead. Ron no longer was trying to stay quiet, he was yelling at Crookshanks as he tried to get a hold of him.

"Get away from him! Get away! Scabbers, come here!"

"All this for a nasty old rat." Jade panted. There was a loud thud a few feet ahead of them.

"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat." They stopped in front of Ron as he tried to keep Crookshanks away from Scabbers who was now thrashing around back in his pocket.

"Ron… come on back under the cloak." Hermione sighed, trying to catch her breath. "Dumbledore, the Minister, they'll be coming back out in a minute." But as Harry started unfolding his cloak, over the sound of their labored breathing, they heard soft thuds on the ground. Jade thought Dumbledore and the others had found them but the footsteps were coming at them quickly and they didn't sound very heavy. They all turned to see a huge black dog coming towards them, its lips pulled back in a snarl. Harry fumbled for his wand but the dog made a giant leap and its front paws hit him in the chest and sent him down.

"Harry!" Jade yelped, the dog was huge, she'd seen big dogs before but this one had them all beat, it was almost bigger than Harry. Luckily, the force of the dog's leap had carried it too far and it rolled off him. Hermione and Jade quickly reached for Harry and helped him off the ground. The dog began a low growl as it got back to its feet and circled them. Ron fumbled his way towards them, they were all back to back, no one letting the dog escape their sight. The dog stopped and leaned back before springing towards them. Hermione and Jade shrieked as the dog lunged at Harry but instead of attacking him, it shoved its way past him and latched onto Ron's outstretched arm. The dog started to pull back with Ron locked between its jaws. Harry lunged forward, he grabbed a handful of the dog's hair but it didn't seem to phase him. Suddenly, they were all knocked on their backs and Jade groaned as a searing pain stung her chest. Hermione moaned next to her,

"What the hell happened?" Jade sighed, everything hurt.

"Lumos!" She heard Harry whisper hoarsely and a bright light shone a little to her right. Jade followed the light and saw the trunk of a large tree.

"Oh, sh-" Jade scrambled and tried to heave herself out of the way of another incoming branch. She could feel the large boom it made when it connected with the ground a few feet in front of her in her stomach. They had run right into the Whomping Willow when they had chased after Ron. The tree was lashing around, keeping them from going any further but the dog had gotten through the branches no problem and was dragging Ron into a large gap in the roots. They watched helplessly as Ron tried to fight to get away from the dog but he was slipping out of sight.

"Ron!" Harry shouted after him, he tried to follow but a heavy branch whipped through the air and he was forced back again. All they could see now was one of Ron's legs, he had hooked it around one of the large roots to try and stop the dog from pulling him any further, but the Whomping Willow sent a large branch his way and a sickening crack like a whip landed on Ron's leg. They heard his pained scream, his leg let go of the root, and he was gone.

"Harry, we've got to go for help." Hermione gasped, she was bleeding from a large cut on her shoulder where a branch had cut through her sweater and ripped open her skin.

"We're not just going to leave him with that thing!" Jade argued, the Whomping Willow was swaying above them dangerously but it didn't lash out, they must've been far enough away to appease the giant tree.

"That thing's big enough to eat him!" Harry agreed. "We haven't got time."

"Harry, we're never going to get through without help." Another branch whipped down at them to emphasize Hermione's point.

"If that dog can get in, we can," Harry told her, he was determined to get by, his best friend's life was hanging in the balance. Harry looked up at the tree, trying to figure a way past its deadly branches. Maybe if they could distract it somehow.

"Oh, help. Help!" Hermione whispered frantically, "Please." She pointed at Crookshanks who had darted forward. Jade forgot all about the cat but it was now slithering through the thundering branches coming down around him until he reached the trunk and placed his front paws on a knot at the base of the tree. Abruptly, as though the tree had been turned to stone, it stopped moving. It was like a statue, a stray leaf fluttered down to the ground but other than that, nothing moved.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly. Hermione came to Harry's side. "How did he know?"

"Smartest cat I've ever seen." Jade sighed, grabbing at her chest, it hurt for her to take deep breaths.

"He's friends with that dog," Harry said. "I've seen them together. Come on, and keep your wands out." They approached the tree carefully and then once they reached the trunk, Crookshanks slid into the large gap between the roots.

"In we go, I guess," Jade grumbled. She would do it for Ron, and Ron would do it for her, she wanted to find him and make sure he was okay. She repeated this to herself as they went one by one into the earthy slope that led to a low tunnel. The cat was a little way along, his eyes flashing when he looked back at them from the light in Harry's wand.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione whispered, her voice slightly high-pitched in fear.

"This way," Harry set off after Crookshanks.

"Where does this tunnel come out?" Hermione asked breathlessly from behind him.

"I don't know. It's marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it. It goes off the edge of the map but it looked like it was heading for Hogsmeade." It was hard to walk quickly half bent over in the small area but Crookshanks was determined to lead them somewhere. They went on for a long time, Jade's back began to ache from the uncomfortable position. Gradually, the tunnel began to rise and moments later it twisted and they lost Crookshanks. At the end of their train, Jade couldn't see much but a small amount of light began to fill the tunnel as they walked on and they finally came to an opening. Harry and Hermione paused in front of her and she tried to peer over Hermione's shoulder.

"What is it?" She asked and slowly Harry went through it, and then Hermione, and then Jade could see for herself. It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. The wallpaper was peeling off of the walls and there were different kinds of stains all over the floor underneath a layer of dust. The furniture in the room looked as if someone smashed it and the windows were boarded up. The room was empty, no Crookshanks and no Ron, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a small dark hallway. Hermione grabbed Harry's arm. Her wide eyes were traveling around the boarded windows.

"Harry," She whispered, "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack." At that moment, there was a creak overhead. Something had moved upstairs.

"Brilliant," Jade mumbled, taking a small step closer to Harry. With Hermione's free hand she grabbed a hold of Jade's and squeezed. Quietly as they could, they moved as a unit out into the hall and up the rickety staircase. They reached the dark landing.

"Nox," Harry whispered, and the light at the end of his wand went out. Only one door was open. As they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it, there was a low moan, and then a deep, loud purring. That's where Crookshanks had gone and the moan sounded familiar, Jade hoped it was Ron. Hermione exchanged a nod with Harry, wand held tightly before him, Harry kicked the door wide open. Jade and Hermione moved out of Harry's shadow and stood at his sides. Crookshanks was in there alright, he laid on a four-poster bed, his tail swishing slowly as he purred at them. But they only saw him for a second before focusing on the boy beside him on the floor. Ron was clutching his leg. It looked wrong, it was sticking out at an odd angle. Jade tried to avoid looking at his leg as they approached him. "Ron, are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Where's the dog?" Hermione questioned and Ron shook his head.

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

"What?"

"He's the dog… he's an Animagus." Ron was staring past them. Harry wheeled around quicker than the girls, Jade didn't know what Ron was going on about, everything was happening too quickly. With a snap, a man in the shadows closed the door behind them. Jade gasped at the sight of him and her scream got caught in her throat. He had long, filthy, matted hair that hung past his shoulders. If his dark eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep sockets, he could have been a decaying corpse. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It didn't take long for Jade to place where she'd seen this man before, she saw his face every time they visited Hogsmeade, on the flyers that were hung everywhere. It was Sirius Black.

"Expelliarmus!" He croaked, pointing Ron's wand at them. Their wands shot out of their hands, high in the air, and Black caught them. He took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on Harry. Jade's mother's words ran through her head, everything she had told her about Sirius Black. "I thought you'd come and help your friend." He spoke again, his voice crackling out of his throat like he desperately needed a glass of water. "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."

"Don't talk to him." Jade's own courage came through in a growl of her own, she was surprised she could speak at all, she was utterly terrified. Black seemed to just now notice the two girls next to Harry and he furrowed his eyebrows at Jade.

"You look…" His words died off, those dark eyes of his examining her face. Harry started forward, but Jade and Hermione quickly grabbed a hold of his arms and kept him from getting any closer.

"No, Harry!" Hermione gasped. Ron was the next to talk to Black.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" He said fiercely, pulling himself up and leaning heavily against the bed for support. Something flickered in Black's eyes.

"Lie down," He said quietly to Ron, gently, as if he were a friend. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, the fight in his tone fading quickly as he clutched onto one of the bedposts. "You'll have to kill all four of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," Black spoke and a grin split open his dry mouth to flash his yellow teeth again.

"Why's that?" Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of the girls' grip on him. He didn't sound scared at all, he sounded angry. Jade had pushed her mother's words from her head and decided for herself that Sirius Black was a threat. He just admitted himself that he was planning on murdering someone. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew. What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Harry!" Hermione whimpered.

"Be quiet!" Jade hissed, tightening the grip she had on him. It was an awful idea to antagonize the criminal in front of them and Harry didn't seem to realize that they were all in danger.

"He killed my mum and dad!" Harry roared, and with a strong tug, he broke free of Hermione's and Jade's hold and lunged forward. Jade understood how angry he was, she would be too, but the rational side of her brain instead of her understanding side screamed at her that he'd gone mad! That she needed to get out herself, get a teacher, someone who could actually stop this man who was now struggling with Harry. Harry forced Ron's wand down and with his other hand, he punched Black in the face. Jade didn't know what she could do to help, Hermione was screaming, Ron was yelling at Harry, all Jade could do was watch, she thought about maybe helping Harry and getting in there herself but what would that do? Suddenly, a jet of sparks flew out of the wands Black clutched in his hand that barely missed Harry's face. Though Black tried to hit Harry with magic, he didn't fight back physically and Jade didn't get why, Harry was landing blow after blow on any part of Black he could connect with. She didn't see how it happened but Black had grabbed a hold of Harry's throat and pushed him off of him.

"No," Black hissed, "I've waited too long." Harry groaned as Black tightened his grip on his neck. Jade didn't have a choice now, he was going to kill Harry. Jade ran at the two of them. Hermione had the same idea because she flung her foot out and kicked Black, distracting him and when Jade made contact with him he let go of Harry. Jade grabbed for the wands in Black's grip and yanked. The wands went rolling onto the floor. Black smelled awful, she couldn't smell him before but as she wriggled to get away from him the smell shocked her nose. Jade got to her feet and stumbled away, Crookshanks had leaped off the bed and landed on Harry's hand that had found his wand. Harry cried out as Crookshanks' claws dug into the back of his hand. Jade reached for Crookshanks and grabbed under his belly to throw him off.

"Get off, you stupid cat!" Jade panted, Crookshanks didn't seem to mind, he was already darting for Harry's wand.

"No, you don't!" Harry groaned and he aimed a kick at Crookshanks that made the cat leap aside, spitting and hissing. Harry got his wand and stood. "Get out of the way!" He shouted at Hermione. Hermione scrambled aside, snatching up the other wands.

"Are you alright?" Jade asked, gently grabbing her chin to get a look at her bloody lip. Hermione let out a deep sigh and nodded. Ron had collapsed back to the floor, his pale face turning slightly green and Jade and Hermione went to his side. He was clutching his leg with both hands now and a pained groan came from his lips. Black was at the bottom of the wall. He didn't move as Harry came near him.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" He whispered. Harry stopped right above him, his wand pointing at Black's chest. Black's nose was bleeding and a bruise was already beginning to form from one of Harry's hits.

"You killed my parents." Harry's voice shook slightly, but his wand hand was steady. Harry was going to do it, he was going to kill him.

"Harry-" Jade spoke quietly, she didn't want him to turn on her, think she wasn't on his side, but she didn't want to see him murder someone.

"I don't deny it," Black's voice brought Harry's attention back to him. "But if you knew the whole story-"

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

"You've got to listen to me," Black said, a sort of urgency slipping into his voice, "You'll regret it if you don't. You don't understand-"

"I understand a lot better than you think." Harry's voice was low. "You never heard her, did you? My mum trying to stop Voldemort killing me… and you did that… you did it…" It must've been a terrible thing for Harry, to remember the sound of his mother's last words, pleading for Voldemort to spare her child. The room was filled with tension but Crookshanks ran across the room and plopped himself down on Black's chest, right in the way of Black's heart, where Harry's wand was pointing.

"Get off," Black murmured, he tried to push Crookshanks off him, but Crookshanks wouldn't be moved, he sank his claws into Black's robes. Crookshanks didn't want Black hurt. Hermione began sobbing next to her but Harry didn't move. He didn't flinch, Jade knew Harry wasn't going to let a cat stop him from getting his revenge. But to do it right in front of Hermione... the small seconds seemed to last forever. They were all waiting, Harry, staring down at Black, Black holding Harry's eye contact, and then came a new sound. Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor. Someone was there.

"We're up here!" Hermione screamed suddenly. "We're up here! Sirius Black!" Jade shushed Hermione, they didn't know that whoever was coming was going to help them, they were in the Shrieking Shack, it could be someone just as dangerous as Black. Black took the opportunity to move, Crookshanks almost flung off him. The footsteps were thundering up the stairs and Harry still hadn't moved. The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Harry wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurtling into the room. His eyes flickered over Ron first, lying on the floor, and then over Jade and Hermione who were cowering next to him. Thank God that it was Professor Lupin who found them. He would keep them safe, he was very fond of Harry, and even if he wasn't, he was still their Professor.

"Expelliarmus!" Lupin yelled. Harry's wand flew once more out of his hand, as well as Hermione's and Jade's. Lupin caught them all deftly, then moved into the room, staring at Black, who still had Crookshanks lying protectively across his chest. Even though Professor Lupin took their wands, Jade still felt safe, he probably did it so none of them would accidentally hurt each other with a misdirected spell. Then Lupin spoke, in a very tense voice. "Where is he, Sirius?" Jade's eyebrows furrowed, they were on a first-name basis? A memory came rushing back to her then, it was of her mother in the library over Christmas break. He was inseparable from Remus Lupin… Jade froze, sure they were best friends in school but Black had murdered people since then, surely they weren't still so close, Professor Lupin hadn't even spoken to him in years. Black was staring up at Professor Lupin, he didn't speak but he raised his hand slowly and pointed at Ron. "But then…" Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intensly it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "… why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless..." Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, he wasn't looking at Black anymore, he was looking past him as if putting together the pieces of a puzzle. "Unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?" They had no idea what the two older men were talking about, they didn't know what was going on but then Black nodded his head.

"Professor," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going-" Harry's question died in his throat as he watched Professor Lupin lower his wand. The next thing that happened was what Jade had feared, Lupin walked to Black's side and seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell off, and embraced Black in a fierce hug.

"I don't believe it!" Hermione cried, she was outraged so she was brave to call them out but when she spoke, Jade wished to clap her hand over her friend's mouth to shut her up. They could easily team up and kill them all. Lupin let go of Black and turned to her. Hermione stepped away from Jade and pointed at Professor Lupin, "You! You-"

"Hermione-" Professor Lupin addressed her gently but Hermione wasn't having any of it.

"You and him!"

"Hermione, calm down."

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked, she was on the verge of tears again. "I've been covering up for you."

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Lupin raised his voice to a shout and Jade tensed, she didn't know what Hermione was talking about. Did she know that Lupin had been friends with Black as well? "I can explain." He lowered his voice again. Harry stood in between his friends and the two men.

"I trusted you." Harry's voice shook with anger, "And all this time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," Lupin shook his head. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now." They all shifted, panic flickering on their faces and he sighed, "Let me explain."

"No!" Hermione screamed. "Harry, don't trust him. He's been helping Black get into the castle. He wants you dead too." Jade had thought that maybe it was possible Professor Lupin didn't really like them at all and it had all been an act to lead up to this moment, but if so then why was he trying so hard to ease their worries? Why didn't they just kill them and be done with it? But to hear Hermione be so against her once favorite Professor shook Jade's resolve that Professor Lupin meant them no harm. "He's a werewolf!" She cried out and the silence that followed rang loud in Jade's ears. She hadn't seen that coming at all.

"How do you know that?" Jade asked, her normal tone came out loud in the quiet room. Professor Lupin didn't react much to this accusation, he wasn't denying it and he wasn't admitting it.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione." He finally spoke. "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." Hearing him say that didn't ease Jade much, he could always be lying. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf." Ron went to get up again but then fell back down with a muffled groan. Professor Lupin went to help him but Ron's head whipped up.

"Get away from me, werewolf!" Lupin stopped. Professor Snape had taught them about werewolves, they were deadly creatures, kill you in seconds, turn you into one of them if they wanted to. "How long have you known?" Ron asked Hermione.

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

"He'll be delighted," It was the first time Professor Lupin let some annoyance slip into his voice. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant… Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the Boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?" That's what it had been, a full moon. Jade didn't even think about when Professor Lupin had gotten sick, how it matched up exactly, she felt stupid for missing all of the very clear signs.

"Both," Hermione said quietly. Lupin forced a laugh.

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

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

"But they already know," Lupin countered. "At least, the staff do."

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

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

"And he was wrong!" Harry objected. "You've been helping him all this time!" He pointed at Black, who suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank onto it, his face hidden in one hand. Crookshanks leaped up beside him and stepped onto his lap. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg.

"I have not been helping Sirius," Lupin repeated. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look-" He separated their wands and threw them back to their rightful owners. Jade was very confused as her fingers curled around her wand, she didn't know what to think of Professor Lupin, and Sirius Black was no longer trying to attack any of them. "There." Lupin made a grand gesture to show them he was putting his wand back in his belt. "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

"If you haven't been helping him," Harry started, with a furious look at Black, "How did you know he was here?"

"The map," Lupin replied. "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it-"

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

"Of course I know how to work it," Lupin said, waving his hand impatiently. "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 lot might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his Hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?" Hermione and Jade shared a quick look, a flicker of their eyes mainly but Professor Lupin nodded. "You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry-"

"How d'you know about the cloak?"

"They were all friends," Jade spoke. "At school... Sirius, Remus, and James… inseparable." Jade recalled that Harry knew about Black and his father, but she must not have mentioned Lupin when sharing what her mother told her.

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it…" Lupin nodded, "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still 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 toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

"What?" Harry asked. "No, we weren't."

"I couldn't believe my eyes," Lupin went on. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"No one was with us!" Harry repeated. Jade didn't know who Professor Lupin could be talking about but she didn't understand why he and Black had been so vague, they could just let them know who they were talking about.

"And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black… I saw him collide with you. I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow-"

"One of us!" Ron interrupted angrily.

"No, Ron," Lupin said sternly. "Two of you." He focused more so on Ron now instead of Harry. "Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" He asked evenly.

"What?" Ron scooted back a little, as much as his leg would let him. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything. Could I see him, please?" Professor Lupin asked, Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. The rat emerged, thrashing desperately. Ron had to grab his nasty bald tail to stop him escaping. Lupin moved closer to Ron to get a better look at Scabbers.

"What?" Ron asked again, holding Scabbers closer to him. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat." Black finally spoke again.

"What d'you mean? Of course he's a rat."

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

"An Animagus." Black chimed in, "By the name of Peter Pettigrew."